People

HANDS, Inc. executive director and NHI founding member, Pat Morrissy, completed NeighborWorks America’s Achieving Excellence in Community Development program in February. The 18-month organizational investment program, in conjunction with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, helps seasoned community development directors enhance their leadership performance. Morrissy founded HANDS in 1986, and the CDC is now celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Carey Shea has ended her tenure as chief financial officer of Habitat for Humanity-New York City to become the Rockefeller Foundation’s program officer for New Orleans. She previously served as director of the Community Development Program at Surdna Foundation. Shea’s background in community development includes establishing the East New York Urban Youth Corps in Brooklyn and serving as program director at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, joins the board of directors of both Rainbow/PUSH and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, two long-time civil rights organizations. Both nonprofits are coalition advocacy groups with strong ties to the civil rights movement and to today’s urban communities.

Anne Pasmanick is the new vice president of coalition relations for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Former executive director of the National Neighborhood Coalition, Pasmanick’s role will be to broaden and strengthen NCRC’s relationship with its members and the extended community. A 20-year veteran in organizing and advocacy, she worked for many years as a tenant organizer in NYC and as the executive director of Community Training and Resource Center.

The Foundation for the Mid South in Jackson, Mississippi, has appointed Ivye Allen to succeed founding president George Penick. Allen resigned as chief executive officer of MDC Inc. in North Carolina. She was previously a consultant to nonprofit organizations and has taught graduate public policy and urban affairs at Jackson State University and Hunter College. She also served as director of fellowship programs for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Doug Shoemaker resigned from the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, where he served as deputy director for five years. He was an integral part of developing NPH’s policy agenda and advocacy strategy. Shoemaker is now a deputy at the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing.

Violet Law received a Robert L. Vann Media award, presented by the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, for her article “Life After Lockup,” published in Shelterforce (#139). The awards recognize outstanding journalism that relates to the black community of Western Pennsylvania. Vann was an early 20th century lawyer, crusader and publisher.

On May 5, journalist and activist James B. Goodno died after a fierce battle with cancer. Jim wrote for many popular publications, including The American Prospect, In These Times, Planning and Shelterforce, and for academic journals. Jim was sweet, sincere, smart and generous. He was a total professional who believed in social justice. He advanced our work, here and abroad, through well-researched articles, fearlessly blunt and elegantly written. We’ll miss him.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation New York City honored seven groups that have made significant achievements in community development during the past year. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the organizations instrumental in getting the NYC Housing Fund established. They are ACORN, Housing Here and Now, the Initiative for Neighborhood and City-wide Organizing, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development and Neighborhood Opportunities Fund. The Innovation of the Year Award went to the Bridge Street Development Corporation for providing a holistic living environment for Bedford Stuyvesant seniors. The Pratt Center for Community Development received the Champion of Community Development Award for its 40-year history of supporting community development organizations and for promoting the adoption of inclusionary zoning that will allow the creation of more affordable housing throughout New York City. www.lisc.org/new_york

At its 24th Annual Housing Leadership Awards reception, the National Low Income Housing Coalition recognized Sister Lillian Murphy of Mercy Housing, Inc. and the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service for their affordable housing advocacy. Murphy, recipient of the NLIHC National Housing Leadership Award, has been president and chief executive officer of Mercy Housing, Inc. since 1987. TxLIHIS, recipient of the NLIHC Community Advocacy Award, has supported low-income Texans in achieving decent affordable housing since 1988. www.nlihc.org

The Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California honored those who have made outstanding contributions to the affordable housing field. Jane Graf (Mercy Housing) received the Catherine A. Bauer Lifetime Achievement award; Rob Wiener (California Coalition for Rural Housing) received the Inspirational Non-Profit Housing Advocate award; and Betty Pagett (EAH, Inc.) received the Unsung Hero award. www.nonprofithousing.org/2006Awards.html

The Philadelphia Housing Authority received a 2006 Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design from the American Institute of Architects for its redevelopment of a high-rise public housing project. The project’s goal was to return the downtown area to health, targeting 50 percent of new construction to be located on the site of the demolished towers and the rest as extensive renovation and infill development in the surrounding community. The architect patterned the development on Philadelphia’s neighborhood traditions. http://pha.phila.gov