PHADA and Rutgers Announce 2023 Class of Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) Graduates

PHADA and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, are pleased to announce the 2023 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 2023 graduates were celebrated at a luncheon at PHADA’s 2023 Commissioners’ Conference in Orlando, FL, in January. The video of the Class of 2023 Graduation speaker Oche Bridgeford, Director of Communications and Compliance for the Harrisburg Housing Authority, can be viewed here.

2023 EDEP Graduates

• Jon Adkins, Director of Resident Services, Housing Authority of Covington
• Dwayne Alexander, President and CEO, Jacksonville Housing Authority
• Martell Armstrong, CEO, Housing Authority of Elgin
• Emel Alexander, Director of Community Development, Metropolitan Development. & Housing Agency
• Beverly Barber, Executive Director, Opp and Florala Housing Authorities
• Sonya Barnette, Senior Vice President/Deputy Director of Housing Operations and Client Services, Fort Worth Housing Solutions
• Michael Bishop, Chief Executive Officer, Independence Housing Authority
• Nathan Blatchley, Executive Director, Hocking Metropolitan Housing Authority
• Kattie M Bond-Hancock, Senior Vice President of Operations and Community Development, Lucas Metropolitan Housing
• Weston Brehm, Executive Director, Carbon County Housing Authority
• Oche Bridgeford, Director of Communications and Compliance, Harrisburg Housing Authority
• Shawn Burr, Executive Director, Rochester Housing Authority
• David Bustamante, Executive Director, City of Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority
• Tia Cauley, Executive Director, East Chicago Housing Authority/MECHA
• Joaquin Cintron Vega, President & Chief Executive Officer, Lucas Metropolitan Housing
• Thomas Cochran, Executive Director, Laconia Housing
• Stacey Daniels-Fayson, Chief Financial Officer, Hampton Roads Workforce Council
• Missy Delby, Deputy Director, Wytheville Redevelopment and Housing Authority
• Gwendolyn Dowell, Executive Director, Bluefield Housing Authority
• Dominique Dunn, Director of Housing Operations, Durham Housing Authority
• Seth Embry, Chief Operating Officer, Housing Authority of the Birmingham District
• Leah Eppinger, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the County of Dauphin
• Shaunté Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Spartanburg Housing
• Jennifer Hammond, Executive Director, York Housing Authority
• Sharon Hutton, Executive Director, Michigan City Housing Authority
• Mike Jackson, Director of Development Operations, Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority
• Bren Jones, Deputy Director, The Housing Authority of Georgetown
• Kevin Jones, Executive Director, Buford Housing Authority
• Adrian Lowery, Executive Director, Housing Authority City of Lumberton
• Nome Marienau, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Delaware County Indiana
• Matthew McClammey, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Opelika, AL
• Linda Miller, Executive Director Appointee, Big Rapids Housing Commission
• Rodney Mitchell, Deputy Director, Wayne Metropolitan Housing Authority
• Ava Mitchell-Crew, Director of Public Housing Operations, Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority
• Alicia Morlatt, Executive Director, Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority
• Kennard Randolph, President/CEO, Selma Housing Authority
• Richard Reiter, Executive Director, Flint Area Consolidated Housing Authority
• Karen Shafer, Executive Director, Elmira Housing Authority
• Jennifer Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Macoupin County Housing Authority
• Taleshia Stewart, SVP of Resident and Strategic Initiatives, Columbia Housing
• Matthew Sutter, Chief of Public Housing Development and Modernization, Lucas Metropolitan Housing
• Neil Thompson, Executive Director, Pinellas County Housing Authority
• Kelly Tinsley, Executive Director, Marion County Housing Authority
• Christopher Vincent, Deputy Director, East Chicago Housing Authority
• Odessa Walker, Director of Human Services, Rockford Housing Authority
• Lily Walton, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Champaign County
• Anthony Webster, Deputy Director, Bluefield Housing Authority
• David Williams, Director of Modernization & Development, Jefferson County Housing Authority

The EDEP program 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.