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Tag: fair housing

Virginia Housing CEO to retire

Virginia Housing CEO Susan Dewey will retire Dec. 31, after 24 years heading the Richmond-based authority.

“Under Susan’s leadership, Virginia Housing made critical and timely strategic changes over the years to position us for success,” Bill Shelton, chairman of the Virginia Housing Board of Commissioners, said in a statement released Tuesday. “We thank her for her dedication and wish her only the best in retirement.”

Prior to leading Virginia Housing, Dewey served as state treasurer from 1996 to 1999 and was also an ex-officio member of the Virginia Housing Commission.

“A lot has changed since I first began working in state government more than four decades ago, but my commitment to serving Virginians, especially related to safe, affordable housing, has remained a guiding force throughout my career,” Dewey said in a statement. “It’s been my greatest professional honor to work with Virginia Housing leaders and dedicated employees, and with our private and public sector partners, to fulfill our mission of helping all Virginians attain quality, affordable housing.”

Dewey received her undergraduate degree and MBA from William & Mary and is a certified public accountant. Dewey serves on the boards of the nonprofit HousingForward Virginia and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. In June, Dewey was one of three recipients of the National Housing Conference’s Housing Visionary Award.

The Virginia Housing board will begin the process of identifying Dewey’s successor, Virginia Housing Public Relations Manager Adrian Robinett said in an emailed statement. The board plans to conduct a national search but has not finalized details.

Founded in 1972 as the Virginia Housing Development Authority, Virginia Housing works to help low- and moderate-income Virginians secure affordable housing. The nonprofit, which does not receive state taxpayer funding, provides mortgages to first-time homebuyers and financing for rental developments and neighborhood revitalization projects.

HOME of Virginia announces next president and CEO

Richmond-based nonprofit Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) of Virginia Inc. announced that Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick will serve as its next president and CEO starting April 6.

“I am profoundly honored to have been selected to lead this storied organization, and I look forward to continuing in the proud tradition of aggressive enforcement of fair housing laws and ensuring that the promises of the Fair Housing Act can be realized,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “HOME is well‐known for its superb award‐winning housing counseling programs and its precedent-setting fair housing work.”

Fitzpatrick served on HOME’s board from 2013 to 2021 and as chair of the board from 2015 to 2016. He also chaired HOME’s legal and policy advisory committees. Fitzpatrick also chaired the Virginia Equal Housing Foundation from 2017 to 2020.

“We know that Tom’s commitment to fair housing and housing counseling services, evidenced by his tireless volunteerism for more than a decade to further our mission, will help us continue evolving and winning new battles to defeat the old foe of housing discrimination in Virginia as well as have housing counselors ready for the ever‐changing housing environment,” Marianne McGhee, HOME’s board chair, said in a statement.

Fitzpatrick was previously the director of the programs and services division of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Prior to that, he worked for the city of Richmond as chief deputy director of the city’s Department of Social Services and as deputy director of its Department of Justice Services. He also previously worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.

Fitzpatrick succeeds Heather Mullins Crislip, who was president and CEO from 2012 to 2021. Monica Jefferson, HOME’s vice president and chief operating officer, served as interim president and CEO.

Fitzpatrick holds both undergraduate and law degrees from William & Mary and is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute, the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership and Leadership Metro Richmond. He is a member of the Virginia Asian Advisory Board and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia. Fitzpatrick also serves as the Richmond Chapter Board Member of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities.

Founded in 1971, HOME of Virginia is a statewide fair housing nonprofit. It offers housing counseling approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.