Celebrating Women’s History Month: Meet Yadhira Espinal, Senior Director of Planning and Project Management 

Every March, we mark Women’s History Month by celebrating the contributions women have made throughout American history as well as the achievements women continue to make today. This year’s theme highlights “women who advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion,” and we recognize women in our community who, through their leadership and advocacy, are helping to create a NYCHA community that is more inclusive, equitable, and fair. 

Since she first joined the NYCHA workforce nearly two decades ago, the learning has yet to cease for Yadhira Espinal.  

Having served stints with several distinct departments at the Authority, Ms. Espinal has acquired a range of perspectives of the agency’s inner workings in support of residents and employees. She began her NYCHA career in 2007 as an Analyst in the Finance Department and later moved to positions in Operations, Procurement, and eventually, the Office of the Chief Operating Officer (COO). In 2021, she was named Special Assistant to the COO, before becoming Senior Director of the new Planning and Project Management Department in May 2023.   

“I’ve been blessed to see NYCHA from many different angles and from many different lenses,” Ms. Espinal said. “I think what I’ve loved most about my job is having the opportunity to move around and see NYCHA from so many different angles and relearn NYCHA every single time. NYCHA is so big and there’s so much to learn.”  

Ms. Espinal was born and raised in the Bronx, where her family was a Section 8 program participant. She recalled how she came to the NYCHA team unexpectedly after college but has been proud to progress in her career by assisting the Authority with its mission.   

At Planning and Project Management, the Senior Director leads a department of 16 staff that works to “bridge the gaps” to develop and implement strategic solutions for issues faced across various locations, ensuring consistent service delivery throughout NYCHA. Some examples on the project management side include an effort to distribute handheld devices to Caretakers X, who previously were the only field staff without them, and an initiative to assist residents through the use of stair climbers in the event of an elevator outage. On the management and planning side, department responsibilities include providing contract and funding oversight such as encumbrance management, managing annual safety notices and laundry service leases, as well as administrative support for Operations.   

“We wear a lot of different hats,” she said. “Our job in general is to make sure that Operations can run effectively – and if there’s any roadblocks that we can remove, we want to do that.”   

The team is also pioneering ways to leverage existing technology. One project currently in development focuses on streamlining the intake process for community center repairs, using current technical platforms to create a smoother experience and build a more efficient system for both community centers and responding Operations staff.  

As a woman leading a technologically focused department at NYCHA, which currently includes an all-female team in the Project Management Unit, Ms. Espinal believes it’s meaningful to support opportunities for women to succeed in the industry.   

“There are a lot of women here who are doing a lot of important work and understand the technical aspects of things, so it’s important for me to demonstrate that there are women who can do it,” she said.   

Throughout her years engaged in various efforts to improve services for the NYCHA community, Ms. Espinal said she has found satisfaction in seeing how the Authority fosters a family-oriented environment for both residents and staff. It’s that conviction and her commitment to service that drive the former child of Section 8 housing to make a difference for the city’s affordable housing community.   

“My family is from this community, so it’s important to me that residents’ needs are being met,” she noted. “I want to effectuate change in a grand way.”