Q&A with Nic Retsinas

Nic Retsinas, of Providence, R.I., is the director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and served as the immediate past chair of Habitat for Humanity International’s board of directors. He offers the following thoughts on the organization’s future and evolving environment:

In the past few years, how have you seen peoples’ perceptions of housing change? Have natural disasters (tsunami, Katrina) changed that perception?

Over time there is a growing realization that housing is not just necessary as shelter but important to families and how they live, important to communities, indeed important to nations. In recent months however, we have seen that just because you have a home doesn’t mean you can keep a home, particularly when we read headlines about foreclosures and foreclosures.

The disasters we have encountered have reminded people that many are very vulnerable, but I think in some ways, however, the natural disasters have had an unintended impact though. When people read in the newspapers and see on TV the widespread devastation that has occurred, sometimes it has distracted people from understanding that people live on the brink of disaster every day around the world.

Which current Habitat initiatives are most exciting to you, as far as impact on the organization’s future?

I love all Habitat initiatives! I think they’re all exciting and can make a difference.

Habitat for Humanity has come to a realization that no matter how many volunteers we mobilize, how much money we raise, we really can’t do it ourselves. If we want to make sure that everyone has a decent place to live, we have to engage with others. I’m particularly excited about advocacy.

I’m also excited about disaster programs. I think the initiative I find really exciting is Habitat reaching out to garner new relationships to address the challenge of decent housing for all.

What are some of our greatest challenges?

One of our biggest challenges is the more we become aware of the problems, it would be easy to become frustrated and discouraged. There is so much to do and such a high mountain to climb. One of our challenges is maintaining our momentum, our energy, and reaffirming our sense of what needs to be done.

As the world becomes more urban and, through technology, more “connected,” how is Habitat growing philosophically and organizationally to better participate in housing solutions?

Habitat is evolving and changing in response to the changing world around us. In 2007, this is the first year in the history of the world that more people live in cities than do not live in cities. As Habitat looks at how it plays a role, we have to go beyond the notion of building a home for a family. We have to get to scale. Technology is a way to doing that to make sure we can better learn from each other and make sure our families are partners and connected to the broader community. We are bridge builders as well as home builders. That is the new Habitat and what we must be doing more of.

What are your favorite memories from your tenure as chairman?

The memories that are the most vivid are the memories of the dedications and homebuilding with the families. Whether is it Guatemala or Manila or Phuket or Lonavala, it is a reminder of the humanity that ties us all together, the chance to see firsthand the heroic efforts of families, of volunteers to make this world a better place.

How can Habitat strike a balance between building in neighborhoods in which families—and especially children—can be safe, and on the other hand, helping to reclaim drug- or crime-scarred neighborhoods through homeownership?

There is a threshold issue. We need to make sure we are building and working with families in communities that aren’t safe, but we can’t walk away from the communities or they’ll never be safe. It’s not so much a matter of balance but of scale. We have to partner with other community groups, make sure the schools work for children. We need to make sure we bring a battalion of volunteers, a battalion of partners to make sure the communities are safe not only for Habitat homeowners but for all homeowners.

In your own house, which is your favorite room, and why?

The kitchen, in part because I am a Greek American and food is often a way in which families come together –not only in the Greek community, but in lots of families. It’s a way of addressing a need—eating—and coming together. I think of when I was growing up with my grandmother, and her being in her kitchen. When I’m in my own kitchen I think of her and the importance of family.

In our next Q&A: Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes when thousands of volunteers travel around the world to build? Submit your questions for David Minich, director of Habitat’s Global Village program, to QAndA@habitat.org