Sheila Crowley Retiring after 17 Years as President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Board Announces Executive Search - September 23, 2015

Yesterday Sheila Crowley announced that she will retire in 2016 from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) after leading the organization as President and CEO for over 17 years. Dr. Crowley will continue with NLIHC through April 2016 to ensure a smooth and successful transition for her successor.

“Sheila has been instrumental in shaping NLIHC to the force for change that it is today,” said Brenda Clement, NLIHC Board Chair. “Her leadership has been extraordinary. NLIHC is grounded in the conviction that access to safe, decent, affordable housing is a basic human right, and Sheila has carried the torch. Using research and data, organizing, communications and media outreach, Sheila has developed partners and champions on both sides of the aisle, within Congress, multiple Administrations, and with thousands of low income housing advocates across the country. She has established, cultivated, and solidified the reputation of NLIHC as a trusted source of information for policymakers in Washington, DC and the members we serve. NLIHC is well positioned for continued success due in large part to Sheila’s leadership and vision.”

“We celebrate Sheila’s many accomplishments at the helm of NLIHC,” said Ms. Clement. “In particular, it was her determined advocacy for so many years that led to the creation of and funding for the National Housing Trust Fund.” The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), designed to build, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate rental homes for people with the lowest incomes, was created in 2008 as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA). Due to begin providing grants to states in 2016, NHTF is the first new federal funding in a generation that is targeted to expand the supply of rental housing affordable for extremely low income households. NLIHC is now at the forefront in helping states prepare to utilize the new Trust Fund dollars, fighting back recent attempts to defund the NHFT, and advocating for new non-appropriated resources. Dr. Crowley initiated the United for Homes campaign that seeks to modify the mortgage interest deduction and use the revenue raised to fund the NHTF.

“It has been my great honor to serve an organization that is deeply committed to social justice and takes such bold positions to solve the housing problems of the poorest Americans. NLIHC has a talented and dedicated staff who work to advance NLIHC’s mission each and every day,” said Dr. Crowley. “I am confident that the Board of Directors will choose a new leader who will maintain NLIHC’s long-held values while taking the organization to new heights.”

The NLIHC Board of Directors has formed a Search Committee, composed of Ms. Clement, six current board members, and George Moses, who was the Board Chair from 2006 to 2012. The board has engaged the consulting firm Nonprofit HR to facilitate the search. A job announcement will be released in the coming month.

For further information, as well as to provide recommendations to the Search Committee, please contact NLIHC’s Executive Search Consultant, Patty Hampton, CSP, Managing Partner at Nonprofit HR via email at phampton@nonprofithr.com or 202-785-2060 ext. 103.