NEWS RELEASE/MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release MEDIA CONTACT: Greer McVay
March 20, 2019 (510) 874-1563
The Oakland Housing Authority Executive Director Eric Johnson Announces
His Retirement After 11 years With the Agency
OAKLAND, CA - Eric Johnson, the Executive Director of the
Oakland Housing Authority, has announced his intention to retire at the end of
2019, after 11 years of service to Oakland and over 29 years in the affordable
housing industry.
A nationally recognized leader in affordable housing, Mr.
Johnson has made tremendous strides to facilitate and increase access to
affordable housing opportunities and development of new affordable housing in
Oakland, dramatically improved the transparency of its programs and finances,
and brought empowerment, resources and opportunity to residents and
neighborhoods.
“I took on this work in 1990 knowing that systems will never
change or improve without people of vision and purpose making those changes
within the agencies tasked with their administration.” Johnson noted, “It has
been very rewarding to work for a Board, with a Mayor, and in a City where that
is not only tolerated, but admired. I
will be forever grateful for that.”
“Oakland city leaders have benefited immensely from Eric’s
leadership at the Housing Authority, and many more of our vulnerable residents
and families enjoy a sense of housing security thanks to his personal mission
to make federally funded programs work better for those who most rely on them,”
said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “As a member of
the city’s Housing Cabinet, Eric approached his role with a refreshing blend of
technical expertise and humanity. During the worst affordable housing crisis in
a generation, Eric has created initiatives which serve as a model for the
region, and consistently fought to break down silos in the human service sector
that have historically kept communities from ending cycles of poverty. My
colleagues and I will miss him dearly and wish him well in all his future
endeavors.”
“Eric has exceeded our highest expectations and has been a
pleasure to work with,” Greg Hartwig, Chair of the Oakland Housing Authority
Board of Commissioners stated. “He has
always kept the welfare of our residents and the need to expand our reach to
serve even more people as his highest priority; adding new life enhancing
services for our residents and significant numbers of new affordable housing
units. His leadership in mitigating the
effects of the worst rent and housing crisis in Oakland history has been
exceptional. In addition, Eric has
positioned OHA for long term success in an era of uncertain government funding
and has won both local and national recognition. He will be dearly missed by all of us.”
Accomplishments include:
- 1,922 units of new affordable housing in Oakland created by
the Housing Authority, either completed or under development, since 2008.
- Increased the Section 8 Project Based awards from 570 units
in 2008 to 5,208 units by the end of 2018, and partnered with the City of
Oakland NOFA to award many of these vouchers through one competitive process.
- Developed innovative inter-governmental systems alignment
for special needs populations, including emancipated foster youth, chronically
homeless and re-entry populations in partnership with the City of Oakland and
County of Alameda.
- 289 services-enriched Single Room Occupancy units in Oakland
awarded an operating subsidy preserving the housing stock and allowing for
housing stability and services at these properties in the last two years.
- Secured the first data sharing agreement between a local
school district and a housing authority in the country in 2010, which has
resulted in developing and growing educational Promise Plus pilot programs to
increase parent engagement and address chronic absenteeism for our families.
- Increased the Authority’s annual investment in resident
training and employment opportunities, including expanded summer employment for
youth and bringing a competitively awarded four-year $2.7 Million dollar Jobs
Plus job training and placement HUD grant for West Oakland.
- A strong advocate for resident leadership and empowerment,
created a Resident Leadership Center to facilitate giving residents access to
professional office space to further their individual and collective advocacy
in many areas, including housing, health, and education.
- Preserved 1,806 former public housing units by moving the
249 properties onto the Section 8 Project Based rental assistance program
through HUD’s Section 18 Disposition process, which dramatically increased the
HUD monthly assistance to the properties allowing for their on-going
replacement and restoration. In
addition, 261 public housing units in mixed finance developments are scheduled
to convert to RAD Section 8 Vouchers in September of 2019.
- Awarded for five consecutive years the Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance
Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA), for its
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is
the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and
financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment
by a government and its management. OHA
is one of only three public housing authorities in the nation to receive this
award.
"It has been a challenging and very rewarding experience
being with the Oakland Housing Authority for the past 11 years. The work we have done together is
unparalleled in the industry, and I have been honored to lead this agency, and
better position it to face the challenges to come from our current political
climate and uncertainty in Washington,” Johnson stated.
The Oakland Housing Authority will be conducting a national
recruitment process seeking a new Executive Director, and expects to name a new
Executive Director in the Fall of 2019.
For more information about the Oakland Housing Authority, call (510)874-1510 or visit www.oakha.org.
###