Shelterforce CEO Schlonn Hawkins marks new era for longtime nonprofit publisher
By Mariela Santos-Muniz
“There aren’t that many folks that look like me in [this] position,” says Schlonn Hawkins, the new CEO and publisher of the New Jersey-based nonprofit Shelterforce magazine.
But at a time when people of color, and more specifically women of color, are still underrepresented in the industry, Hawkins says she has the support of her diverse team and board of directors. They’ve shown they are “understanding the direction where we need to go, and being open to that.”
Hawkins joined the organization in October of 2020, following the retirement of Executive Director and Publisher Harold Simon, who led Shelterforce for 26 years. In his retirement announcement, Simon said in part, “I do this with more than a little sadness, but it is time for me to move on and clear the way for the next generation.”
Based in New Jersey, Shelterforce is an independent, nonprofit trade publication covering community development, affordable housing and neighborhood stabilization nationwide. Now in its 46th year of operation, under Hawkins’ leadership Shelterforce has moved to establish the publication — a previously print-focused newsroom — as a digital magazine.
“When I came on board, it really was to take the organization to its next phase, which is really establishing ourselves even deeper … as a digital platform, as a fully digital magazine, and to also use the opportunity to go deeper with our current audience, and also to go broader,” Hawkins said during a recent phone interview.
Over the years, Shelterforce reporters have covered housing advocacy and groundbreaking local stories including the CARES Act and evictions, and segregation and redlining in Atlantic City. The magazine also produced a look back at the Spanish-language film Techos y Derechos, which Shelterforce co-produced in the late ’80s. Focused on tenant organization and tenant rights in two New Jersey cities, the issues explored in the film are still relevant today.
Shelterforce has reported on national stories and developments, including paying community members for sharing their expertise, protecting domestic violence survivors from eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic, and expanding commercial spaces through community land trusts, to name a few. Housing has been a long-time focus of Shelterforce’s reporting, an increasingly critical issue in the U.S., due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing and the economy.
“Going digital has not changed the topics. If anything, we are able to turn around content … quickly and diversify how we deliver the content,” said Hawkins. Her plans for the digital magazine place a premium on diversification of content — with increased multimedia such as video pieces or segments and animation to explain complex topics. But ultimately, the shift to media will still draw on Shelterforce’s mission of “providing a venue for conversations” needed to achieve compelling stories.
Collaboration is part of her vision for Shelterforce in the coming years.
“There’s so much power in collaboration. I think that it provides an opportunity for the parties that are involved. All have some benefit out of it; whether it’s being introduced to an audience they wouldn’t typically be. Also, being able to show a united front on different topics, definitely transcends to those that are actually reading it, and we all know that even on the ground, nothing can happen in silos. You can do so, so much greater things when you collaborate with folks,” Hawkins said.
She’s very passionate about her work, and it’s been a lifelong calling.
“As I’ve matriculated through life, the harsh reality hit me when I came to the understanding that everyone’s living experience is vastly different. And that difference could come down to race or even zip code. The unbalanced scale has been the fuel to my passion, especially as a woman of color.”
Before joining Shelterforce, Hawkins was already doing work to benefit vulnerable communities, including serving as the director of Delaware’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. According to Hawkins, her work went beyond ensuring that children were reading at the appropriate level and included helping young people to find career or college pathways and helping families lacking financial stability.
“It is important to me to show up when it matters. Showing up means being a voice for the voiceless, a champion for equitable access for individuals in low-income communities, and holding the system responsible for developing the infrastructure that is foundational for our communities by keeping all people at the center of their decision to ensure the community thrives,” Hawkins said. “So, now, I am fortunate to lead a digital publication that provides ‘right now’ content to help support people on the ground advocating and changing policy for families across the nation.”
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Mariela Santos-Muniz is the collaborative journalism newsletter and database coordinator for the Center for Cooperative Media.
About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with funding from Montclair State University, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, the New Jersey Local News Lab (a partnership of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, and Community Foundation of New Jersey), and the Abrams Foundation. For more information, visit CenterforCooperativeMedia.org.
