Governor Bill Haslam has appointed three new members to Tennessee Housing Development Agency’s board of directors in time for its July meeting and two members were reappointed.
Tennessee Housing Development Agency, THDA, has a 19-member board representing
aspects of the housing industry and the general public. One position is representative of customers of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
“Our programs are designed to serve people across Tennessee with a variety of housing
needs,” said Board Chair Brian Bills. “By learning from others who are experienced we will be more effective.”
The returning members are Benjie Shuler, a Knoxville real estate broker with Collins and Shuler Management Group, Inc., and Terry Cunningham, Executive Director of the Kingsport Housing & Redevelopment Authority. Cunningham previously served in the Speaker of the Senate position.
The first-time appointments to the board are Dorothy Cleaves a lender with Paragon Bank in Memphis; John Baker, executive director for The Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board of the City of Memphis; and Ronald K. Jones, executive director of Trevecca Towers, an apartment community in Nashville. Cleaves fills the West Tennessee at-large position, Baker the local government position and Jones the not-for-profit position.
Appointments are for four years with the possibility of a second consecutive term.
THDA administers housing programs to meet a range of needs for persons of very low, low or moderate incomes. The programs include mortgages for first-time buyers, a Web site for rental housing of all price points, www.TNHousingSearch.org, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit for development of rental housing, the Housing Trust Fund, the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), HOME and the Keep My Tennessee Home Program for persons struggling to pay their mortgages. Program details are available at www.thda.org.
The board meets every other month at THDA’s offices. Members’ information and the meeting agendas are posted at www.thda.org.