LeadingAge New York Adviser Adviser LeadingAge NewYork Spring 2019 final | Page 25

Coffee and Conversation in the
Exposition Hall: Balancing Work & Life
Live to work, or work to live? For many people, maintaining a healthy work-life balance seems like a goal that is
nearly impossible to achieve. In the Tuesday morning Coffee and Conversation session, attendees got to listen
to and interact with motivational speaker John Pelizza, Ph.D., as he explained how everything we do in our lives
is based on our energy level, and that in order to achieve a healthy work-life balance, we need to have energy.
The session focused on helpful tips and tactics to reduce stress and generate more energy. One of the
many tips Dr. Pelizza shared was to avoid feeding all of your energy into receiving the “reinforcers” in
your life and instead save some energy for the things that you are connected to on an emotional and
personal level (EPs). “Staying in touch with your EPs,” the things in life that hit you at a visceral
level, will enable you to increase your happiness and energy levels. Dr. Pelizza also discussed
how positive discovery can bring abundant energy for a lifetime, advising attendees to
“discover something new, take a risk, make a change.” He then went on to speak about
the importance of resiliency and how regardless of where you are or how you are
doing in life, you could still be improving and doing better.
“94 percent of cases of anxiety/depression are based on the pictures in your head.
It’s how we choose to respond or think. You’re one thought away from feeling better,”
Dr. Pelizza shared. He went on to say that “90 percent of the time people are depressed
is because they are drifting. They do not know where they are going.” Some tactics he shared
on how to generate or maintain a positive outlook included performing acts of kindness, exposing
yourself to new experiences and being productive/creative with your thoughts. Dr. Pelizza then
explained that one positive way to handle these moments would be to sit outside by running water for 15
minutes, an hour or however long time permitted. This activity has proven itself to be soothing and relaxing,
and it will allow your anxiety level to decrease and will trigger thought with a clearer mind. As soon as you
form a decision on where you are going, you will reach a level of homeostasis in your mind, and your energy
will go up. When your energy level goes up, you will be more capable of achieving your goal of a healthy work-
life balance.
What Now? LIHTC Property
Dispositions at Year 15
At this advanced look at the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program,
LeadingAge New York was thrilled to welcome nationally renowned expert Jim
Bowman, the former president and CEO of the National Affordable Housing Trust, and
Mark Oswanski, vice president at Hampden Park Capital & Consulting, as presenters. This
session focused on the options facing non-profit general partners when they reach Year 15 of
the LIHTC regulatory agreement. In most cases, the general partner is the non-profit that handles
the day-to-day affairs of the organization, whereas the limited partner is the investor who would
typically be a passive actor in the agreement and step aside at the close of the regulatory period. As LIHTC
properties throughout the country approach Year 15 of their regulatory agreements, however, more and more
organizations are finding that the limited partner does not want to abandon their property interest, particularly
in areas like New York City where real estate prices have soared over the last decade. In many cases, they want
to remain involved in the partnership in an effort to make money off the property. This session highlighted
the need for non-profits to be aware that this eventuality is facing them and that it is best to prepare well
in advance by seeking out the assistance of an attorney and a housing expert. Various options that may be
pursued at Year 15 were also discussed, including resyndications and buyouts, but to be executed well, those
options, like all others, would require a good deal of advance planning.
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