Transition and New Leadership for NVAHA

After 17 years as the founder and Executive Director of NVAHA, I plan to step down from the organization in December. It has been my great joy to work with such a dynamic and committed group of professionals who are so passionate about the work that we do. I will continue to be engaged in housing work in the region, but as Executive Director, I could not have asked for a more wonderful community of colleagues and friends.

NVAHA began as a ‘start-up’ organization in 2004 – a loose collection of nonprofit developers and human service providers in Fairfax County – advocating for financial resources and policies to address the loss of market-affordable housing during the County’s FY2006 budget deliberations. Our advocacy campaign successfully secured one penny of the real estate tax for preservation of affordable housing in that year’s budget. Over time, NVAHA evolved into an organization that promotes a regional response to unmet housing needs, especially for low and moderate income households. Working with our Leadership Council in 2007, we created a checklist for jurisdictions to adopt a set of best practices to advance housing affordability for the region. Through our public engagement and advocacy with key community partners, we’ve made significant progress, including:

• creation of local housing trust funds in four NoVA jurisdictions, ranging from $11 million to $30 million in their FY2023 budgets. In 2004, there was only one. Without the money from local housing trust funds, affordable housing would not be developed;
• adoption of land use policies that locate people and affordable housing near transit and amenities, including the use of public land and the co-location of housing with public facilities. The result has been thousands of TOD units developed and preserved throughout Northern Virginia;
• increased density as an incentive for market-rate developers to create mixed-income communities. NVAHA chaired the Affordable Housing Committee of the Tysons Land Use Task Force, developing recommendations that required workforce housing in residential development, as well as the creation of a Tysons housing fund capitalized with commercial developer contributions. The recent announcement of the Dominion West development at Tysons utilized $8.7 million of that Tysons housing fund;
• In 2012, our research called for preservation efforts when we documented the potential loss of 11,000 units of market affordable housing due to approved redevelopment plans for the Columbia Pike/Bailey’s Crossroads/Beauregard corridors. A majority of the tenants living there were Black and Brown residents;
• In 2019, we released a comprehensive report on housing supply and affordability in NoVA, pointing to the barrier that exclusive single-family detached zoning in a substantial percentage of residential land posed for increasing housing production;
• developed a website that provides research and resources on housing policy, eviction prevention, and the interconnectedness of housing, health, equity and economic development. There are graphs, charts, blogs and a housing glossary – all designed to provide better tools to support more informed advocacy;
• recognition that housing affordability is foundational for family stability and our region’s economic health and prosperity;

NVAHA will seek new leadership from the next generation of housing professionals to build upon what has been accomplished with our community partners. This summer, the Board and Leadership Council will work with a consultant on a visioning process as they search for a new Executive Director.

This is an important time for affordable housing in Northern Virginia and throughout the DMV. The years of being a regional voice for housing are paying dividends for NVAHA, and we are experiencing unprecedented demand for policy analysis and information services in areas of the Commonwealth beyond Northern Virginia. We can leverage our reputation as a strong regional voice for housing affordability, and a trusted, knowledgeable community partner.

To that end, we seek a dynamic individual who is an experienced leader and communicator; someone with a vision for what is possible for NVAHA’s future, and a passion for our mission of fostering diverse, equitable communities. NVAHA has a critical role to play in the region’s housing work, and we are dedicated to finding an exceptional individual who will take the organization to the next level. In the coming weeks, we will provide more information about this position.

Thank you to everyone for your partnership and your dedication! I am inspired by the work that each of you do every day.