Dear Colleagues:

One of the most important responsibilities in my new role as Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner is building our leadership team in the Office of Housing.  As such, I am extremely pleased to announce the addition of three talented housing professionals across three offices – Multifamily, Single Family, and Risk Management.

First, I’m proud to announce that President Obama and Secretary Donovan have appointed Marie Head for the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs. As many of you know, Marie has been a prominent figure in the housing industry for about 30 years. She spent the first 20 of those years as part of the HUD team in Atlanta, where among other roles, she served as the production chief of the Atlanta Hub.

Most recently, Marie served as the President of Prudential Huntoon Paige, the FHA lending business of the Prudential Mortgage Capital Company. Prudential Huntoon Paige manages a $7.8 billion FHA multifamily, healthcare and hospital portfolio and achieved FHA production of $2 billion in 2010, a company record since its creation in 1973. In 2009, Marie arranged a $756 million construction loan for Capital Health System Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey – the largest in FHA history.

Marie’s tremendous accomplishments have distinguished her in the housing industry. She was chosen as one of Real Estate Forum’s Women of Influence for 2011 and was the recipient of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s prestigious Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award in 2008. I’m thrilled she has agreed to lead the Office of Multifamily Housing at such a dynamic and critical time for our organization, and I know she will be a tremendous asset to our team as we move forward with process improvements to fulfill multifamily market demands.

In the Single Family Office, Sarah Gerecke has accepted a position as Senior Policy Advisor. Sarah joins us from the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at NYU’s School of Law. She will play an integral role in structuring the new Office of Housing Counseling and related activities.  During her time at the Furman Center, Sarah launched the Institute for Affordable Housing Policy, and co-authored the voluminous Directory of Affordable Housing Programs.

For nearly a decade, Sarah also led Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City (NHS).  It was there she created innovative, award-winning collaborations with government, private foundations and other non-profits including NHS Mortgage Corporation, a mission-driven social enterprise, and Earn the Dream, a Section 8 program focusing on “homeless to homeownership.”

Please also join me in welcoming Frank Vetrano, CFA as the newest leader in the Office of Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs.  Frank started last week as my Senior Advisor for Risk. His experience in the field, including special expertise in assessing mortgage credit risk, is extensive. 

Frank spent 20 years at Freddie Mac, where he earned the Chairman’s Award twice, and established Freddie Mac’s ABS and CMBS investment businesses in the mid-1990s.  After Freddie Mac, he went on to become a Senior VP at Radian Guaranty, where he lowered claims expenses, and developed credit strategies to target lender-specific early payment default (EPD) performance as the cornerstone of a counter-party risk management program.  I am excited to have Frank on board, where he will utilize his expertise to implement risk management strategies for the Federal Housing Administration.

Thank you for your support of these outstanding additions to the Office of Housing.  I look forward to working alongside them and all of you, to continue helping American families, creating jobs, and strengthening our nation’s economy.  In addition to these exciting announcements, I am also hoping to introduce additional critical leadership nominations in the near future.

Sincerely,

Carol Galante