Mary McBride is sworn in by HUD Deputy Director Ron Sims at the HUD headquarters in downtown Seattle March 2.SEATTLE — March 22, 2010 — On March 2, in a mid-morning ceremony attended by local housing officials, friends, and family, Mary McBride was sworn in by HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims as the Regional Director for Region X, which serves Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
McBride was appointed to the position in mid-February by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.
"I look forward to working with Secretary Donovan, Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, and HUD stakeholders to remove barriers, create greater efficiencies, and accomplish needed reform and improvements within HUD," McBride said at her swearing in ceremony held at HUD headquarters in downtown Seattle.
As Region X Director, McBride will oversee the HUD Regional Office as well as manage the construction and support of affordable housing for the region.
"Mary knows the region and is the ideal person to help us build partnerships that will ultimately improve upon our services and the delivery of programs to the communities that rely on them," Donovan said. "Her economic and community development experiences will be great assets to us as we assist communities during these challenging economic times. I am excited to have her as a part of our team."
"I am pleased to be here in Seattle to introduce the first Regional HUD director to be sworn in anywhere across the country. As we evaluated the credentials for possible candidates for this position, Mary really stood out. She hit the ball out of the ballpark," Sims said.
McBride most recently served as U.S. Senator Patty Murray's South Sound Regional Director. She was a lead resource to Senator Murray for statewide initiatives involving affordable, public and farm worker housing, and community and economic development issues.
"I am very excited that President Obama has selected Mary McBride to serve as Region X HUD Director," said Senator Murray. "As a regional director on my staff – first in Central Washington and later in South Puget Sound – Mary has a unique understanding of the housing challenges around our state and is well equipped to help solve these challenges in her new role. I am proud to have recommended Mary for this position and I applaud President Obama for his excellent choice."
Prior to that position, she served as the Washington state Director for USDA Rural Development.
McBride has over 25 years of experiences in economic and community development at local, regional, state, national, and international levels. After earning her Bachelor of Sciences degree in criminal justice at Georgia Southern University, she went on to study regional and urban planning at Eastern Washington University.