FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2024
CONTACT
Maximillien Inhoff
607.341.6759
After 17 Years, Karen DuBois-Walton, President of Elm City Communities, to Depart From Organization
New Haven, CT (September 17, 2024) – Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (ECC) announced today at their monthly Board of Commissioners meeting that Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton, President of ECC, will be departing from the organization in November. She is set to join The Community Foundation of Greater New Haven and will serve as their President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We are saddened to see Karen leave Elm City Communities. It is through her leadership that ECC has developed into the pillar of the community that it is today,” shared William E. Kilpatrick, Chair of the ECC/HANH board. “We are forever grateful for her commitment to our communities and look forward to seeing her continue serving New Haven in her new role at the Community Foundation.”
Dr. DuBois-Walton has spent 17 years at ECC, 16 of which she served as President. During her tenure, she focused on improving and expanding affordable housing, forging innovative partnerships, and engaging with the community. Her leadership helped residents achieve and move toward their goals of employment, self-sufficiency, and homeownership through ECC’s Moving to Work designation, which the organization received in 2001. Dr. DuBois-Walton’s track record includes over $850 million in capital improvements to the Housing Authority of New Haven’s properties and a $1 million new lead abatement program, among a number of new developments, redevelopments, and expansions.
As President, Dr. DuBois-Walton advocated for pro-housing policies addressing the root causes of the housing crisis. Her advocacy included testifying in support of numerous policies and legislation discussed at the State Legislature. In 2023, Elm City Communities released Breaking Ground, a report aimed at providing actionable solutions for the state and local governments to implement that would directly address the housing crisis.
“ECC has been an integral part of my life and identity for the past 17 years. While the decision to move on was difficult, I feel the time is right,” said Dr. DuBois-Walton. “I want to extend a big thank you to my Board, team, residents and everyone who has worked so hard to help further ECC’s mission of making a positive difference in the lives of New Haven residents and providing high-quality homes for our community. I’m leaving teary-eyed and with a heart full of gratitude.”
In 2022 Dr. DuBois-Walton was appointed Chair of the CT State Board of Education by Governor New Lamont and in 2024 was named to the inaugural Board of the Municipal Redevelopment Authority. Earlier this year, Dr. DuBois-Walton was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in the state by the CT chapter of the NAACP. She is one of the longest-serving government leaders in the state.
The Board of Commissioners will direct the transition and appointment of the new President of ECC.
Photos of Dr. DuBois-Walton can be found here.
About Elm City Communities
About Elm City Communities / Housing Authority of the City of New Haven (ECC/HANH): We, at Elm City Communities, believe public housing is the foundation from which the American Dream will survive and thrive for generations to come. Our vision is a New Haven where every resident has a safe and decent home that they can afford and opportunities to fulfill their goals. Since becoming a HUD-designated Moving To Work (MTW) agency in 2000, Elm City Communities has become an incubator of innovation and an economic engine in New Haven, Connecticut. As a result, Elm City Communities has increased affordable housing choice, provided an array of self-sufficiency programs, created across the board cost savings measures, and spurred millions of dollars of indirect economic activity through redevelopment projects and job creation. Through the development and operation of affordable communities of choice and by providing opportunities for greater self-sufficiency in New Haven, we offer a lifeline to the American Dream.
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