Boston Housing Administrator Sandra Henriquez is New President of Council of Large Public Housing Authorities

Washington D.C.  -- April 23, 2004 -- Boston Housing Authority chief Sandra B. Henriquez is the new president of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA,) a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education.

"It is an honor to become president of the leading advocacy organization for public housing authorities across the nation," said Henriquez. "The responsibility is great, particularly in these difficult times, with severe budget cuts being made to low-income housing programs even as more and more families cannot find a decent place to live.

"One of CLPHA's major goals is to continue to educate people about the crucial role that government can and should play in providing affordable housing."

Henriquez has been Administrator and CEO of the BHA since1996 and holds the cabinet position of Chief of Public Housing for the City of Boston with the Menino Administration.  She is a former principal of Maloney Properties, Inc., a private management firm that specializes in the delivery of management services to resident-controlled and non-profit housing, and previously served as Director of Housing Management and Tenant Services for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

"I am excited to have someone with Sandi's background and ability leading our organization," said CLPHA executive director Sunia Zaterman. "The innovative programs that BHA has initiated under her direction show how much public housing agencies can accomplish, with the right resources."

Henriquez succeeds Renee Lewis Glover, CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority, who has been nationally acclaimed for her efforts in leading public-private partnerships that revitalized some of Atlanta's most distressed neighborhoods.

CLPHA's vice president is Michael Kelly, director of the D.C. Housing Authority. Jon Gresley, Oakland Housing Authority director, is the treasurer; Tony O'Leary, Akron Housing Authority director, is serving as secretary.

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The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization headquartered in Washington D.C. Its members are 60 of the nation's largest public housing authorities who together manage more than 40 percent of all public housing, and administer 30 percent of the housing choice voucher program