PHADA and Rutgers Announce Class of 2025 Executive Director Education Program (EDEP) Graduates

PHADA and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, are pleased to announce the 2025 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 2025 graduates were celebrated at a luncheon during PHADA’s 2025 Commissioners’ Conference in Miami, FL, in January. The video of the Class of 2025 Graduation speaker, Jeffrey Dodson, Executive Director of the Hudson Housing Authority, can be viewed here.

2025 EDEP Graduates

• Lucienne Andrew, Executive Director, Westerly Housing Authority
• Thomas (Ben) Bare, Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Middletown
• Denita Bearden, Chief Administrative Officer, Housing Authority of the Birmingham District
• Robert Bennett, Executive Director, Stanton Housing Authority
• Dr. Tamara Berry-Andrews, Chief Housing Officer, Dothan Housing Authority
• Molly Birecree, Operations Manager, Ithaca Housing Authority
• Neil Brickfield, Executive Director, Pinellas County Housing Authority
• Gail Charlton, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Somerset County
• Gabriel Ciccariello, Director of Modernization & Procurement, Medford Housing Authority
• Jennifer Clemons-Ferguson, Deputy Executive Director, Housing Authority of Champaign County
• Jalyn Clifford, Deputy Executive Director, Syracuse Housing Authority
• Shimeako Cole, Chief Financial Officer, Lucas Metropolitan Housing
• Christopher Cornwell, Executive Director, Hamtramck Housing Commission
• Jeffrey E. Dodson, Executive Director, Hudson Housing Authority
• Mechelle Dowdy, Director of Housing, Decatur Housing Authority
• Shirley Erazo, President/CEO, Delray Beach Housing Authority
• Christele Etienbla, Executive Director, Rockville Housing Enterprises
• Dontrelle Young Foster, President and Chief Executive Officer, Housing Authority of the Birmingham District
• Danielle Gerndt, Executive Director, Menard County Housing Authority
• Curtisa Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer, Muncie Housing Authority
• Tammy Harvell, Executive Director, The City of Leeds Housing Authority
• Inger Harvey, Executive Director, Pahokee Housing Authority
• Roderick Hawthorne, Chief Operating Officer, Village Communities of Texarkana Texas
• Jana Janes, Director of Finance, Rockford Housing Authority
• Amanda L. John, MBA, CEO/Executive Director, Laurinburg Housing Authority
• Ginny Kirby, Executive Director, Cumming Housing Authority
• Paul Lefebvre, Executive Director, Tupper Lake Housing Authority
• Hilary Lopez, Ph.D., Executive Director, Housing Authority of the City of Reno
• Maria Maguire, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Island County
• Miguel (Jose Miguel) Manero, Director of Finance, Housing Authority of Champaign County
• Sherri McDade, Chief Executive Officer, Denton Housing Authority
• Cathy McGrellis, Executive Director, Ilion Housing Authority and the St. Johnsville Housing Authority
• Jennifer McNabb, Director of Management, Medford Housing Authority
• Katie Nolte, Executive Director, Charles City Housing & Redevelopment Authority
• Jennifer Sanders, Chief Operations Officer, Linn-Benton Housing Authority
• Nicole Schurhamer, Executive Director, Burleigh County Housing Authority
• Louise Seeba, Executive Director, Saint Paul Public Housing Agency
• Connie Staudinger, President/CEO, Public Finance Solutions, LLC
• Kelley Terry, Policy and Planning Analyst, Housing Authority of the Birmingham District
• Toya Thomas-Chavis, Executive Director, Opelousas Housing Authority
• Angelia Washington, Executive Director, The Housing Authority of the City of Elkhart

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.