Madi Ford's journey in affordable housing began long before her professional career. As the granddaughter of Eugene "Gene" Ford, Sr., founder of Mid-City Development—a major provider of affordable housing nationwide—Ford was immersed in the world of housing and community development from an early age.
"My family's business has been predominantly the ownership and operation of affordable multifamily housing," Ford explained. "I've been associated with it my whole life."
During her grandparents' lifetime, Mid-City Development funded a wide range of affordable housing programs at their properties with a focus on economic empowerment—creating after-school programs, resume building workshops, and job training opportunities for residents. This holistic approach to housing—seeing it not just as physical shelter but as a platform for community growth and individual advancement—would become a cornerstone of Ford's own philosophy.
Today, Ford is the co-founder and managing partner of Audeo Partners, a real estate development and investment firm based in Virginia.
Hammers & Heart: Building A Legacy Through Community Engagement
Madi Ford speaks at a Habitat for Humanity Women Build Event
Ford's commitment to housing extends well beyond her professional obligations. Seeing the importance of housing first-hand Ford has dedicated her time to several local organizations.
Since 2017, she has been deeply involved with Habitat for Humanity of Washington DC & Northern Virginia – most notably the organization’s Women Build Campaign – an annual fundraiser that provides women (and men) opportunities to support affordable housing ownership in their communities. Ford currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board and the co-chair of Habitat DC-NOVA’s 35th Anniversary fundraising campaign.
With Ford's involvement, Habitat DC-NOVA has continued to expand its impact in the region. Since its inception, the organization has built homes for 300 families, with the goal of doubling their impact by 2030.
In 2019, Madi joined the newly formed Leadership Council of the Partnership to End Homelessness – where she had the chance to convene regularly with developers, housing advocates and people with lived experience from across DC.
“What’s great about the Partnership is the array of voices of opinions they have at the table,” Ford shared. “I’ve learned a tremendous amount listening to the very real conversations about the problems that we need to address to end homelessness in our community.”
“The Partnership has done a great job of making these conversations value-driven and focused on our shared goals across the various housing constituencies represented.”
A large part of that work included engaging in advocacy work advocating for increased funding for crucial programs like the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), vouchers, and emergency services for those experiencing homelessness.
“I don’t believe we’ve done a good job in providing and maintaining affordable housing in this country,” Ford explained. “We can and must do better – and the private sector plays a critical role in that.
Building Career Pipelines to End Homelessness
One of the exciting ways that Ford is stepping up is through the work of her family’s foundation, the Alice & Eugene Ford Foundation, where Ford serves as President.
Established by Ford’s grandparents to further their mission of encouraging economic empowerment for those residing in affordable housing communities,, this past year, the organization made a significant investment in one of DC most urgent – and frequently overlooked -systemic needs – increasing the number of social workers working with the unsheltered
For years, housing providers in DC have struggled to hire enough social workers to serve the city’s homeless population. In 2023, 800 people who qualified for a housing voucher remained homeless because there weren’t enough workers to process their cases.
Ford and her family’s Foundation partnered with the National Catholic School of Social Service to launch the Ford Scholars program – a $1.76 million initiative to support graduate scholarships for students willing to provide clinical services to the unsheltered in the District.
Created in honor of Madi’s grandmother, Alice Ford -- an alumna of the National Catholic School of Social Service-and her daughter, Louise Ford, the Ford scholarship provides students with opportunities and the resources to work in a field that they otherwise may not have had.
A family at Friendship Place - one of the five service providers participating in the Ford Scholars program.
“As part of the program, Ford scholars are connected with homeless service providers across the District,” Ford explained. “This gives them first-hand clinical experience in case management, community outreach, and other important skill sets while providing much-needed services to the homeless population.”
Just one year into the scholarship program, Ford scholars have already logged more than 1,700 hours of service at five different housing service providers across DC.
The Ford Scholarship is also open to both new and existing graduate students. This allows individuals currently working in the homeless services field – especially those with lived experience –to pursue an advanced degree and subsequent career advancement opportunities.
“These case workers – and the providers they work with -- are the future,” Ford shared. “The more we can invest in them and provide capacity-building support for the work that they do, the more success we will see in the long-term fight to end homelessness.”
As Ford concludes her service on the Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council, she remains confident that homelessness is fundamentally solvable.
"We know how to solve this problem—it's just hard and expensive," Ford states candidly. "We need to be willing to do the work while respecting the dignity of our unsheltered neighbors by providing the care and support they need through the rehousing process. "
“I’m grateful for the continued leadership of the Partnership, as we continue to unite around common goals and work towards a community where everyone has a place they can call home.”
The Community Foundation is grateful for Madi Ford’s leadership as a founding member of the Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Council.
If you would like to support the work of the Partnership to End Homelessness, visit https://donate.thecommunityfoundation.org/give/588288/#!/donation/checkout
For more information on the Partnership to End Homelessness, visit https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org/partnership-to-end-homelessness