As HUD Secretary Fudge prepares to retire from public service, LISC CEO Michael T. Pugh reflects on her impact and the career-long dedication to creating affordable housing for all.
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Michel T. Pugh, LISC CEO |
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, who announced her decision this week to retire and step down from her cabinet position, is a public servant close to LISC’s heart. As she has often said, and we agree, the affordable housing crisis is about so much more than housing. It is a crisis for the integrity of our country, and one that we have a moral imperative to repair—it is inextricably linked, she points out, with the ability of everyday Americans to live near where they work, to accrue generational wealth, to build lives of dignity and wellbeing.
Secretary Fudge has worked to pave the road to quality, affordable decent housing for all during her tenure at HUD, as well as throughout her time in Congress and as mayor of Ohio’s Warrensville Heights. In the past three years, she has helped families avoid foreclosure and made it easier for people with student loans to get federally backed mortgages. Under her leadership, nearly a quarter of a million Black Americans have purchased a home, and she has pushed hard to root out racial bias in home appraisal. These are efforts LISC is deeply engaged with, and we are indebted to her support.
Personally, it has been an honor getting to know Secretary Fudge and having the opportunity to discuss our shared priorities for affordable housing. With HUD funding, LISC has leveraged billions of dollars in capital for affordable housing across the country. It is an engine for our work to help close this country’s entrenched economic equity gaps, and her service has propelled that work forward. I am profoundly thankful for her years of dedication and what will be her enduring legacy.