PHADA and Rutgers Announce Class of 2024 Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) Graduates

PHADA and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, are pleased to announce the 2024 graduating class of the Executive Director Education Program (EDEP). PHADA and Rutgers congratulate the graduates on this extraordinary achievement and wish them continued success in their careers as housing professionals.

The 2024 graduates were celebrated at a luncheon during PHADA’s 2024 Commissioners’ Conference in San Diego, CA, in January. The video of the Class of 2024 Graduation speaker, Terri Lee, President & CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, can be viewed here.

2024 EDEP Graduates

• Tiffany Askew, Executive Director, Gaffney Housing Authority.
• Amber Baltzley, Deputy Director of Operations, Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority.
• Libby Bernier-Michaud, Director of Housing, Brunswick and Topsham Housing Authority.
• Crystal Carver, Deputy Director, Lafayette Housing Authority.
• Mindy Cochran, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Arlington.
• Turkessa Coleman Lacey, Deputy Executive Director, Huntsville Housing Authority.
• Sierra Executive Director, Housing Authority City of Mt Vernon.
• Liz Edgerton, Deputy Executive Director of Administration & Finance, Raleigh Housing Authority.
• Stephan Fontenot, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Alexandria, LA.
• Lisa Gentry, Executive Director, Lafayette Housing Authority.
• Hannah Gore, Executive Director, Jefferson County Housing Authority.
• Lindsi Green, Director of Grants and Administration, Franklin Housing Authority.
• Kirsten Hathaway, Director of Finance and HR, Rutland Housing Authority.
• Cleman Johnson, Deputy Executive Director, Bessemer Housing Authority.
• Jessica Jones, Program Manager, Hamtramck Housing Commission.
• Terri Lee, President & CEO, The Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia.
• Cheryl Lewis, Director of Finance, Jefferson County Housing Authority.
• Amber Maxwell, Operations Director, Housing Authority of Utah County.
• Christi McNeil, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Osage County.
• Bernadette Mekalska, Director of Administration, Housing Authority of the City of Freeport.
• Latoya Nix, Senior Vice President of Property Management & Maintenance Operations, Columbia Housing Authority.
• Keokuk Orr, Assistant Executive Director, Florence Housing Authority.
• Janice Payne-Hubbard, Manager of Housing Programs, Lynchburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
• Mary Randol, Assistant Director, Anderson Housing Authority.
• Libby Schoen, Chief Programs Officer, Lucas Metropolitan Housing.
• April Shepherd, Operations Manager, Lynchburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
• Tawanna Smith, Executive Director, Smithfield Housing Authority.
• Derick Steele, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Kokomo.
• Glynis Tanner, Acting President and CEO, Montgomery Housing Authority.
• Dr. Michael C. Threatt, Chief Operating Officer, Dothan Housing.
• Borhan Uddin, Assistant Director-Finance, Housing Authority of the City of Arlington .
• Teresa Wade-Chase, Director of Finance/CFO, Huntsville Housing Authority.
• Shelly Watkins, Programs Manager, Kelso Housing Authority.
• Tracey Webb, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Guin.
• Harolda A. Wilcox, Director of Public Housing, Rochester Housing Authority.
• Michele Williams, CEO, Housing Authority of Jefferson County.
• Tiffany Wright, Executive Director, Allen Metropolitan Housing Authority.

The PHADA-Rutgers University Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) provides a comprehensive approach to professional development for housing authority executive directors and has helped participants from around the country stay current with industry standards and gain new insight into the profession for more than a decade. Classes reinforce the technical, managerial, and strategic competencies required of a successful executive director, blending theoretical concepts with practical problem-solving techniques. The program examines critical functions that serve to define the executive director’s position and provides a structured environment in which mid-career professionals can hone their management skills and enhance their knowledge. Participants complete the rigorous 10-course curriculum over a period of 18 months.

Learn more about the EDEP Program here.

About PHADA

PHADA’s 1,900 member housing agencies represent over 1.9 million low-income housing units throughout the United States. Our members manage small, medium, large, rural, and urban housing authorities that run programs including public housing, housing choice vouchers, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and a variety of other innovative public-private partnerships. The Association provides its members with important information, professional development, and advocacy to help them administer adequate, safe housing for those in need across America. PHADA also works closely with members of Congress in efforts to develop sensible and effective public housing statutes and obtain adequate funding for low-income housing programs, in addition to advocating before the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on a variety of regulations governing public housing nationwide.

About Rutgers

The Center for Government Services (CGS), a unit of the Division of Continuing Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has been providing timely and relevant training for state and local officials for more than 60 years. With a mission to improve the knowledge, competency, and professionalism of state and local government officials and employees, CGS (with its partner the Center for Executive Leadership in Government) trains more than 8,000 individuals each year through 22 programs that include more than 850 individual course, seminars, and conference.