50/50 Women of Influence with Joy Horak-Brown: Building Hope, Dignity and a Lasting Legacy

We’re closing out the 50/50 Women of Influence in Affordable Housing Summer Takeover with Joy Horak-Brown, President and CEO of New Hope Housing, in conversation with her longtime friend and fellow 50/50 honoree Diana McIver.

As New Hope Housing’s first employee, Joy helped grow an organization that began with just 40 apartment homes into one of Houston’s leading providers of permanent supportive housing, with more than 2,000 homes today. Along the way, she championed a belief that housing should offer more than shelter. It should provide dignity, beauty, quality and hope.

As Joy prepares for retirement, she reflects on the people who shaped her, the mission that became her life’s work and the lessons she hopes others will carry forward: ask for help because people truly want to give it, don’t wait until you have all the answers, start walking, and always care deeply about the quality of what you build.

It’s a fitting finale to an unforgettable summer celebrating women whose influence will be felt for generations to come.