Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC Names Susanne V. Slater to Top Post

Interim President & CEO – and former Board member – accepts permanent position with DC Habitat.

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Susanne V. Slater has been selected to fill the President and CEO position at Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. (DC Habitat) by the organization's Board of Directors.  Slater, who served as Interim President and CEO during the previous six months, brings more than 25 years of experience in government, academia and nonprofit management to overseeing DC Habitat's development of affordable housing for lower-income families in the District. 

"I'm honored and excited to serve DC Habitat as it enters its 25th year," Slater said.  "The staff and board have great enthusiasm and experience, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to provide much needed housing opportunities for low-income residents, and to surmount the great challenges that face nonprofit housing development in the nation's capital.  We have ambitious plans to move toward a more urban model with multifamily structures and mixed use/mixed income projects that fit the current economic climate."

Prior to joining DC Habitat's staff as interim chief, Slater served on the organization's Board of Directors as Treasurer and development liaison to DC Habitat staff. Before that, she was Associate Dean for Executive Programs at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she created an award winning program for employees of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Over an 18-year career at the University of Maryland, she taught courses that dealt with every aspect of moderate and low income housing policy, environmental policy and management control in nonprofit organizations.  Slater was also a founding board member and vice president of a nonprofit development corporation, where she oversaw the conversion of a troubled public housing complex into a successful mixed income neighborhood in the DC's Ward 7. 

"Following a rigorous search process, the Board unanimously approved Susanne as DC Habitat's new President and CEO," said Board Chair Susan Moser. "From the moment Susanne stepped in to serve in the interim role, she brought a very high level of vision, structure and accountability to the organization, which is needed for DC Habitat to most effectively execute its mission.  We are thrilled to have someone with her leadership skill and expertise take on this very important role."

Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Slater worked for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, principally assisting his service on the Senate Budget and Senate Finance committees; and before that, she was a financial analyst at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Since she began serving as Interim President and CEO in November of 2011, she has worked swiftly to finalize plans for DC Habitat's construction of six passive homes in the Ivy City community of Northeast DC and to help successfully launch the organization's first-ever signature event, the Art for Humanity Auction & Cocktail Reception.  She also led the development of an aggressive strategic plan that calls for considerable capacity and revenue growth for DC Habitat over the next three years.

Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. believes that everyone deserves a house they want to call home. That's why we work to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness in the nation's capital by building affordable, energy- and resource-efficient homes for people in need. DC Habitat builds and rehabilitates homes in order to sell them to families who are ineligible for conventional financing. Visit us at www.dchabitat.org for more information.

CONTACT: Heather Phibbs
Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC
(202) 882-4600, ext. 233
[email protected]

SOURCE Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C.