Troubled agency gains enthusiastic new chief
Former U.S. housing official named to lead R.I. Housing
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a 4-to-0 vote, the Rhode Island Housing Board of Commissioners on Friday selected acting executive director Barbara Fields to continue her leadership of the agency as the new executive director.
Only four of the seven commission members were present, but that was enough to form a quorum: Macky McLeary, deputy chairman, and the director of the state's Department of Business Regulation; General Treasurer Seth Magaziner; Michael DiBiase, who is also director of the state Department of Administration; and Stephen P. McAllister II, of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"I am very excited, very thrilled," said Fields. "I want to thank the board for its unanimous support."
Earlier this month, Fields, a Providence resident, was selected as one of two finalists from 20 applicants for the position. Eric Chatman, the president and executive director of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, was the other finalist. They were both interviewed at a closed board meeting last week.
Friday's votes authorized negotiations on a two-year contract with Fields for her services beginning April 1. Fields stepped into the role on an interim basis in January, after the resignation of executive director Richard H. Godfrey Jr.
Fields is the former New England administrator of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She is also the former executive director of the Rhode Island office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a group formed by the Ford Foundation to foster community development and economic recovery in depressed communities.
Fields has an undergraduate degree in political science and German from Tufts University and a master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The appointment of Fields begins a new chapter for Rhode Island Housing after the troubled period that led up to Godfrey's departure. Godfrey fired his deputy director, Gayle A. Corrigan, in December 2013 after she raised concerns about the operation of the Safe Haven homeless residence in Pawtucket. Corrigan was reinstated in 2014. More recently, three separate federal HUD reports have found fault with various financial and administrative controls at Rhode Island Housing involving millions of dollars in federal money.
Fields struck a more positive note Friday afternoon, saying she was eager to continue her work with the team at Rhode Island Housing. On Twitter, she said she was "excited to lead a great agency" and work "to build a stronger RI."
Rhode Island Housing was created by the General Assembly in 1973 as a privately funded public-purpose corporation to help finance affordable housing in the state; it offers low-interest loans, grants, education and assistance to Rhode Islanders.
—cdunn@providencejournal.com
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On Twitter: @ProjoChris