People

Enterprise Community Partners selected Doris W. Koo as president and chief executive officer. Prior to joining Enterprise as executive vice president in 2001, Koo was deputy executive director of the Seattle Housing Authority, a community leader in New York City and the founding executive director of Asian Americans for Equality, which became under her leadership the largest owner and developer of low-income housing in New York City’s Chinatown and Lower Eastside. She succeeds Bart Harvey, who will assume the role of board chairman for Enterprise Community Partners, Enterprise Community Investment and Enterprise Community Loan Fund.

Rachel Maleh joined Enterprise Community Partners as vice president of Communications. Maleh will work with and lead all public relations, marketing and communications staff under one department. Previously she was executive vice president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Maleh has more than 15 years experience in communications, with expertise in media relations, publications, Web sites and events.

The 2007 Fannie Mae Foundation James A. Johnson Community Fellows are: Nancy Biberman, founder and president, Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation, Bronx, NY; Young Hughley, president and chief executive officer, Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation, Atlanta, GA; John Mealey, executive director, Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio, CA; Walter Moreau, executive director, Foundation Communities, Austin, TX; David Silva, executive director, Home Ownership Made Easy, Culver City, CA; and Sue Taoka, executive director, Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, Seattle, WA.

The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc.’s new president and chief executive officer is John O’Callahan, a former director of public affairs for Fannie Mae’s southeast region. Since 1994 he helped lead the Federal National Mortgage Association’s 11-state housing and community development outreach network. He replaces Hattie Dorsey, who created ANDP in 1991 following a merger of two Atlanta organizations.

Bruce Katz, the founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, received the 12th Annual Heinz Award in Public Policy. Katz has served as the chief of staff and senior policy adviser at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where he helped create and implement the HOPE VI program.

Organizations & Initiatives

HANDS, Inc., of Orange, NJ, was awarded the Neighborhood Builders Award from Bank of America’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative, which offers leadership training and general operating support for growing nonprofits. The award provides $200,000 in funding over two years and leadership training. www.handsinc.org

NeighborWorks America and Safeco announced a new community building initiative aimed at improving neighborhoods and living conditions for thousands of families. The five-city Safeco Community Build Program will strengthen neighborhoods by bringing together volunteers to repair and revitalize homes. The six participating NeighborWorks organizations are: Beyond Housing, St. Louis, MO; Central Area Development Association, Seattle, WA; IMPACT Group, Duluth, GA; NeighborWorks Waco, TX; Reynoldstown Revitalization Corp., Atlanta, GA; and Westside Housing Organization, Kansas City, MO. About 1,000 Safeco employees and community residents nationwide will donate 8,000 volunteer hours to help elderly, disabled or low-income residents who are unable to keep their homes in safe condition on their own. www.nw.org

The Union Bank of California Foundation announced the recipients of its Cornerstone Awards, a $685,000 grant program that provides flexible operating grants and funding for technical assistance to up-and-coming affordable homebuilders. Community Housing Partnership in San Francisco, Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation in San Diego and Rancho Housing Alliance in Coachella will each receive $195,000 over a three-year period to complete new affordable housing developments in their local areas. An additional $100,000 is earmarked for day-to-day administration and measurement of the program. It is reported that the first round of Cornerstone grants enabled three developers to create 344 much-needed units of affordable housing – 119 more than originally anticipated – and move 484 more units into predevelopment. www.unionbank.com

The recipients of Fannie Mae Foundation’s 2006 Maxwell Awards are: Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Chicago, IL, for the Harold Washington Unity Cooperative; Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development Inc., New Bedford, MA, for Acushnet Commons; New Economics for Women, Los Angeles, CA, for Tierra del Sol; and Lawrence CommunityWorks, Lawrence, MA, for Reviviendo Family Housing. This year’s awards focused on effective and creative strategies to reduce abandoned and vacant properties. www.fanniemaefoundation.org

LINC Housing Corporation awarded the William F. McKenna Award to three industry leaders at its 13th Annual Tribute to Affordable Housing Leaders: Nancy O. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of Low Income Investment Fund; Julie Bornstein, president of The Campaign for Affordable Housing; and Percival Vaz, president of AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc. The award is named after one of LINC’s founding board members and a long-time advocate for affordable housing. www.linchousing.org

Bethel New Life received the Metropolitan Planning Council’s 2006 Burnham Award for its work on the Bethel Center, which exemplifies transit-oriented development and the use of green technology. www.bethelnewlife.org