Sally is Director of Regional and Community Relations at the University of Washington. In that role, Sally connects with neighborhoods surrounding the Seattle campus, local governments and communities all around the region in pursuit of policies and partnerships benefiting students, faculty, staff and communities. Previously, Sally served more than nine years on the Seattle City Council, including as Council President in 2012 and 2013 and Land Use Committee chair.
Rita Howard has a long history of acting upon her care and concern about community well-being. As a retired, senior resident of SHA for 10 years, she has been an advocate for seniors and the most vulnerable among us. In addition to her commissioner position, Rita volunteers at a local food bank and a non profit that renovates furniture for newly arrived immigrant families. She is an active member of a Seattle church that provides leadership in the Black community and is a volunteer leader in the community garden in her neighborhood.
Twyla is a secretary for the Greater Mt. Baker Baptist Church in Seattle and helps with the emergency feeding program. Twyla, who in the past experienced homelessness, has a passion for helping others. She is well known in her community as the main chef for holiday dinners. Twyla has lived in SHA housing for 20 years.
Gerald is an organizer at the Laborers’ Local Union 242. He serves as a board member of a nonprofit organization committed to developing affordable workforce housing, social justice, economics and education. Gerald also serves on the SHA Section 3 Committee, which advises a program to help public housing residents and others in the community with low incomes gain the skills, access to jobs and small business contracts they need to become self-sufficient. “I grew up in affordable housing,” said Gerald.
Paul Purcell was the President and founder of Beacon Development Group where he oversaw the development of nearly 5,000 affordable housing units. He served as Chair of the Washington State Governor’s Housing Advisory Board, the Governor’s Task Force on Financing Senior Housing, the Joint Committee on Farm Worker Housing and the Policy Advisory Team for Housing. Prior to founding Beacon, Paul oversaw housing development for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. He holds a B.A.
Robert is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Washington, where he served as department chair for eight years. He also directed the UW Graduate School’s Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program. His research and teaching focused on criminology, and a number of his studies were of Seattle neighborhoods.
Paula is Chief Equity Officer, University of Washington Medicine and Associate Vice President Medical Affairs, University of Washington. She was previously the CEO of Sound Generations in Seattle and Executive Director for the Meredith Mathews East Madison YMCA. Paula is a member of Seattle Rotary #4, where she has held an officer position, sits on the board of the Alzheimer’s Association, and is a member of the Seattle Art Museum’s Education and Community Engagement Committee.
Rod became Executive Director of the Seattle Housing Authority in May 2021 and leads strategic planning and the day-to-day operations of the organization. Prior to becoming Executive Director, he served for 10 years as SHA’s Director of Housing Operations, overseeing SHA’s largest department with approximately 400 staff serving more than 17,000 residents in approximately 8,500 housing units. Rod has extensive career experience in creating innovative policies and programs, building critical partnerships, managing large projects, operations and budgets and developing diverse workforces.