People

Stacey Davis Steed is the new president and CEO of the Fannie Mae Foundation, and the first African-American to hold this position. Prior to this position, Ms. Steed served as vice president for Housing & Community Development in Fannie Mae's Southeastern Regional Office.

John Bohm, former deputy assistant secretary for legislation at HUD, has become the public affairs director at the National Housing Conference (NHC). Prior to HUD, Bohm was executive director of the National Affordable Housing Management Association.

Max Finberg has joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH) as a legislative assistant. Finberg will focus on issues affecting low-income people, including nutrition, housing and anti-poverty programs. Prior to this position, Finberg worked at the Congressional Hunger Center (founded by Hall). Finberg replaces Kim Miller, who served on Hall's staff for three years. Information: www.house.gov/tonyhall/.

Citigroup has named Andrew Ditton director of its new Center for Community Development Enterprise for the U.S. Prior to joining Citigroup, he served as chief operating officer and chief credit officer with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Information: Maria Mendler, Citigroup, 718-248-6175.

Lawrence Small, former president and chief operating officer for Fannie Mae, will depart after eight years with the organization to become secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He is credited with dramatic expansion of services to homebuyers during his tenure. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Small was chair of the executive committee of the boards of directors of Citibank/Citicorp.

The Loka Institute has announced its new executive director, Jill Chopyak. Chopyak was most recently the Washington, DC director of Redefining Progress, a think-tank that focuses on economic issues. Douglas Taylor is Loka's new Community Research Network Project Director, taking over from Madeleine Scammell. Taylor was formerly a professor at the School for New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago. Scammell will remain as consultant to the Project and a Loka Institute Fellow.

William T. Sullivan, CEO of Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing Association (RMMHA) has been appointed to the Colorado State Housing Board by the governor to advise the Colorado General Assembly, Governor Owens and the Division of Housing on the state's housing needs.

In Memorium: Wardell Yotaghan
Co-Founder, Coalition to Protect Public Housing

African-American activist Wardell Yotaghan, 53, died of a heart attack on June 15. Yotaghan was a co-founder of the Coalition to Protect Public Housing and president of the Chicago Association of Resident Management Corporations. He helped secure federal funding to teach tenant leaders in public housing how to run their buildings.

Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is awarding six million dollars in no-interest loans to local nonprofit housing developers under the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP). Funded by HUD, SHOP provides loans that are 75 percent forgivable when such housing is produced using "sweat equity" labor. Applications for this year's awards are due Nov. 12. Information: HAC, 202-842-8600; fax: 202-347-3441; cdd@ruralhome.org

On September 21 HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo hosted a national satellite celebration for the Enterprise Foundation, the first nonprofit to have built or rehabbed 100,000 low-income homes. Enterprise raised over $3 billion to build these homes, which are located on 400 sites across the country and house over a quarter of a million people. Information: Joanne Veto, Enterprise Foundation, 800-624-4298.

The National Community Reinvestment Corporation (NCRC) received a major grant from the Ford Foundation to conduct public opinion research and education on issues of access to capital and community economic development. Focus groups in New Hampshire, Texas, New York, and Iowa will be followed by a nationwide poll whose results will be released on November 23rd this year. Information: 703-276-1604.

The Neighborhood Investment Alliance, formed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), is a collaborative effort announced in August between Fannie Mae and the mayors of six California cities that surround Los Angeles. Through the alliance, mayors will be able to tap a pool of $10 million to complete designated projects related to housing rehabilitation and renovation. Information: Coleen Haggerty, Fannie Mae, 626-396-5225.

HUD's Continuum of Care initiative in anti-homelessness work, New York City's Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program, and New Jersey's housing rehabilitation subcode are three of the ten 1999 winners of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Innovations in American Government Awards, sponsored by the Ford Foundation. www.innovations.harvard.edu/ content.cfm?activesection=8

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation's new National Insurance Task Force (NITF) will help homeowners reduce preventable damage from fire, water, high winds and theft and keep insurance affordable and accessible for lower-income residents. NITF will work with insurance companies, city agencies, local community organizations and residents in targeted neighborhoods of Charleston, Chicago, Denver, Staten Island, Richmond and St. Louis. Information: Claudia Askew, 202-220-2360; caskew@nw.org