NYCHA Now

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NYCHA Now
April 2015 

Staff Changes Support New Strategic Direction

Michael Corwin

On January 23, Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye and General Manager Cecil House announced significant operational and staffing changes that will position the Authority to implement key initiatives, including NextGeneration NYCHA, the agency’s ten-year strategic investment plan, and the recently launched Optimal Property Management Operating Model (OPMOM) pilot, which empowers property managers with far greater control over development operations. These  changes, along with other critical activities now underway, will help restore NYCHA’s fi nancial stability and strengthen our quality of services to residents. However, the Chair and General Manager stated that increased revenue and new funding cannot alone restore NYCHA’s financial stability or strengthen service delivery to residents. “These imperatives…are also dependent upon changing how we work and operate, and how we’re structured.” The changes involve six newly created positions filled by highly qualified staff; five new appointments or promotions to existing executive positions; and new reporting lines and expanded missions for three other departments.

These changes include:

  • Elimination of the Executive Vice President for  Operations position and promotion of Operations’ two Vice Presidents, Brian Clarke and Luis Ponce, to Senior Vice President for Operations and Operations Support Services, respectively. The NYCHA operations veterans now report directly to the GM.
  • Appointment of Melanie Hart, formerly Director of the Community Legal Resource Network at the CUNY School of Law, as EVP for Community Programs and Development, filling a vacancy in one of NYCHA’s largest departments. Melanie brings to this position extensive experience in nonprofit leadership and management; public and private fundraising; program design, development, management and implementation; and legal services.
  • Appointment of Joan Lebow, formerly Chief  Communications Officer, to the newly created position of Senior Director for Strategic  Marketing, supporting the implementation of NextGeneration NYCHA.
  • Appointment of Jean Weinberg, formerly Director of Public Affairs at the NYC Department of Health and Mental  Hygiene, to Chief Communications Officer. Prior to joining the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, she served as press secretary for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
  • Promotion of Michael Johnson, formerly Senior Advisor to the General Manager, to the newly established position of Director of Customer Operations, reporting to the EVP for  Administration. Michael now responds to customer inquiries and concerns while sharing  information with administering departments to develop permanent solutions.
  • Promotion of  Sybille Louis, formerly Deputy Director of Research and Management Analysis, to Director of Research and Management Analysis. As Deputy Director, Sybille spearheaded development of the Maintenance and Repair Action Plan and expansion of the Executive Information System dashboard.
  • Promotion of Barbara Turkewitz, formerly Deputy Director in the Office of the Vice President for Operations Support Services, to Director of Strategic Priorities. In this role  Barbara assists the organization in identifying and addressing opportunities for improvements that will help NYCHA strengthen its delivery of services.
  • Promotion of Alana Agosto, formerly Deputy Director in the Department for Management and Planning, to Senior Advisor to the  General Manager. Most recently, Alana served as project manager for OPMOM, where she successfully led the development, implementation and roll out of this significant initiative.
  • Renaming of the Office of State and City Legislative Affairs as the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, with Brian Honan continuing as director, to better align all intergovernmental and legislative matters on the City, State and Federal levels.
  • Sadie Bynum, Director of Emergency Preparedness, now reports to the EVP for Administration. Sadie is responsible for  supporting NYCHA operations in disaster response, recovery and mitigation efforts.
  • Vice  President for Research and Management Anne-Marie Flatley now oversees the Enterprise  Program Management Office (EPMO) in addition to the Research and Management Analysis Department.
  • Appointment of Rasmia Kirmani Frye, formerly Director of the Brownsville  Partnership, as Director of Public/Private Partnerships.