Wyckoff Houses Property Manager Shelisa Reid
 I was raised in Breukelen Houses, where I still live. Our property manager then was Melania Allen, now director of the Bronx Property Management Department. She encouraged me to join the Housing Youth trainee program, and I was hired full-time in 1994, even before I completed my training. Living in public housing makes it easier to relate to residents, because I understand the frustration and hardship they face and I’m fighting for the same things. I’ve worked under Melania as I came up through the ranks from secretary, and I’ve had other mentors, too. ‘Each one teach one, each one reach one’ is my motto. I’ve tried to also help others who want to advance here. It’s good to take pride in other people’s accomplishments, not just your own.
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Growing up with a single mom in a Section 8 home, the subject of money was taboo because we didn’t have a lot. But I learned a lot from how my mom managed our finances and appreciate the love of learning she fostered in me. As Assistant Director of Asset Building and Financial Literacy in REES, I’m grateful to be able to help residents reach their financial goals of saving, decreasing debt and pursuing homeownership. The highlight of my career was being recognized with a 2016 Hundred Year Association of New York Public Service Award for doing the work I love to do, which is helping residents invest in themselves by obtaining higher education with support from the NYCHA-CUNY Resident Scholarship Program. Education has provided me with financial security and I want to see the same thing happen for our residents.
I previously worked as deputy director of the then-Brooklyn Community Operations Department for nine years and was ready for a career change. Then I had the chance to work with residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, and I felt that I could make a difference in the area of emergency management. In the Emergency Services Department [ESD], you confront a lot of difficult situations and sometimes have to be prepared for the worst. My dedicated staff responds to high-level emergencies like fires, floods and collapses, which can have fatalities, and also gas disruptions, electric outages and more common problems which affect our residents greatly. Although I am the first female director of ESD, and most of my counterparts in the field are men, I never think about being a woman. I just do the work to the best of my ability.
My family was personally affected by Hurricane Sandy, which first made me interested in working with City programs to rebuild stronger and more resilient than before. The recovery work that NYCHA is doing affects the lives of tens of thousands of families and will also make future generations safer. Right now, both the largest FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] grant in history and Hurricane Sandy project in the City are being overseen by four women: Chair Olatoye, EVP for Capital Projects Deborah Goddard, VP for Recovery and Resilience Joy Sinderbrand (my boss) and myself. Most of this work is in the predominantly male-oriented construction field. If someone like me, who is new to construction, can flourish in this field, then women can do anything.
