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Seven longstanding housing and community developers and advocates were appointed in January to boards of directors in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system: Timothy W. Wright III and Mindy Turbov, Chicago; Nancy Miller Heron, Cincinnati; Tony Scallon, Des Moines; Susan Taoka, Seattle; Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell, Boston; and Edwin Reed, New York. Carol Wayman, National Congress for Community Economic Development, 202-289-9020 x112. The Enterprise Foundation has named Kelly Cartales as senior vice president for program services and Doris Koo as west coast vice president and regional director. Cartales oversees training and implementation for Enterprise’s services in affordable housing, organizational development, community employment, child care and safety. Koo will oversee community building and lending efforts for Enterprise in California, Colorado, Washington, Idaho and Utah. Nicci Millington, The Enterprise Foundation, 410-772-2444. Conrad Egan, director of policy for the National Housing Conference (NHC), has been selected as the executive director of the new Millennial Housing Commission. Egan, a 35-year housing veteran who has seen two tours of duty with HUD, will be on leave from NHC to assume the role. The National Low Income Housing Coalition announces the hiring of Leigh Marjamaa as communications director, James Brashears as membership associate and Theresa Bearer as office manager. |
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| Organizations & Initiatives | The General Accounting Office (GAO) has taken HUD off its “high risk” list as a result of significant management reforms set in place under Secretary Andrew Cuomo’s leadership. This reverses a 1994 action taken by GAO citing HUD’s vulnerability to waste, fraud and abuse. Cuomo dramatically overhauled the agency’s management, governing philosophy and programs. GAO praised HUD’s implementation of its 2020 Management Reform Plan, its commencement of physical inspections and financial assessments of its multifamily housing inventory and the performance of its Homeownership Center and Enforcement Center. HUD, in conjunction with The Enterprise Foundation, has launched the Asset Control Area (ACA) initiative, a multimillion dollar program that will accelerate the rehabilitation and resale of HUD-owned homes to more than 500 low- and moderate-income families in seven U.S. cities. Under the ACA program, the cities will purchase foreclosed Federal Housing Administration-insured homes at discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent. To be eligible to purchase a home under the program, a family must use the home as its principal residence, have a household income no greater than 115 percent of the area’s median and participate in homeownership counseling. The approved cities are Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Cleveland, OH; Rochester, NY; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chicago, IL; and Syracuse, NY. HUD, 202-708-0685. Enterprise Baltimore has received a three-year, $750,000 grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to strengthen families, create employment opportunities, and stimulate economic and physical development in the Sandtown-Winchester area of the city. The grant is a part of the Casey Foundation’s Making Connections initiative, aimed at connecting families in low-income neighborhoods with services and opportunities that will improve their chances for success. Kim Griffin, Enterprise Baltimore, 410-230-2119. President Bill Clinton announced in late December that HUD will award more than $1 billion in grants to help homeless individuals obtain housing and needed support services designed to keep them off the streets and help them become self-sufficient. According to HUD, the grants represent the largest amount of homeless assistance in U.S. history and will fund more than 2600 programs designed to end homelessness. More than 200,000 individuals are expected to be helped by the awards. HUD, 202-708-0685. The New Jersey Community Development Corporation in Paterson, NJ has received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Congress to rehabilitate a historic locomotive mill and transform it into a “Transportation Opportunity Center.” The Center’s programs and services will include a job shuttle service, a transportation information center, a job training program, a transportation and technology academy, and a family center for economically-disadvantaged pre-schoolers. The First Union Regional Foundation has awarded HANDS, Inc., an Orange, NJ CDC, a $300,000 grant to help underwrite a multiyear problem properties initiative that will develop community/government/private sector solutions to abandoned housing and neighborhood blight. Regional President Reggie Davis of First Union’s Atlantic Bank made the award to Pat Morrissy, executive director of HANDS (and NHI board member) in recognition of the “bold and creative ways” HANDS is tackling this systemic problem plaguing cities throughout the nation. |
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