Sam Gilman

Sam Gilman is the co-founder and president of the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project (CEDP), which was later renamed the Community Economic Defense Project.14 He founded CEDP in April 2020 along with Zach Neumann as an all-volunteer community organizing effort to protect Colorado renters from eviction and displacement during the coronavirus pandemic.1

Some key points about Sam Gilman and his work with CEDP:

1. He developed a model to estimate eviction risk nationally and at the state level during the COVID-19 pandemic.3 His analysis suggested that 19-23 million Americans were at risk of eviction by September 30, 2020.

2. Under Gilman's leadership, CEDP expanded its scope beyond eviction defense to encompass a fully-integrated response to economic hardship.1 The organization now works on issues like mobile home residents' rights, foreclosure defense, and predatory debt.

3. Gilman helped create a housing stability fund that provided financial and legal services to low-income families facing eviction.2 This fund disbursed over $100 million in rental assistance during the pandemic.

4. He was a 2020 Harvard Kennedy School Fellow in Housing and Community Development at the Joint Center for Housing Studies.5

5. The organization Gilman co-founded has grown significantly since its inception. It now has about 100 employees and has served over 31,000 people.16

Sam Gilman's work with CEDP has been recognized for its innovative approach to addressing housing instability and economic hardship, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.