Fortner, Miami-Dade Public Housing director, tapped to lead HANO

On Thursday, the Housing Authority of New Orleans announced that it has chosen Gregg Fortner, a New Orleans native, to serve as its executive director. Fortner will official take over the reins on July 7, 2014.

Coming on the heels of the signing of official transition documents by Mayor Mitch Landrieu, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and HANO, the appointment of Fortner is the next step in the plan to transition the agency back to local control. HANO is expected to complete its full transition by July 7, 2014.

Fortner

“Gregg Fortner is an excellent choice as the new Executive Director of the Housing Authority of New Orleans,” Mayor Landrieu said Thursday. “After an exhaustive local and national search, we welcome Mr. Fortner back to New Orleans to lead HANO as it officially transitions back to local control. He is highly qualified with decades of experience leading other public housing authorities across the country and we look forward to his leadership as HANO takes this important step forward. Our commitment to providing quality, affordable housing for our residents has never been stronger. Together, we are building a better, stronger New Orleans.”

“After years of financial instability, recent HUD audits have shown, the Housing Authority of New Orleans Agency is now more stable than it’s ever been,” explained Secretary Donovan. “Despite the fact that we are transitioning back to local control, HUD isn’t walking away. We will continue to provide technical support and make sure the city has all the resources they need to make HANO work for the people of New Orleans.”

Fortner brings more than two decades of executive-level experience to HANO from several public housing authorities. He currently serves as the executive director of the Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development Department. In this role, he manages one of the largest public housing authorities with a $435 million annual budget, and a profile of 9,000 federally and state-funded public housing units and 15,000 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. In addition, Fortner administered the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership, Neighborhood Stabilization, and Documentary Stamp Surtax programs for Miami-Dade County.

Fortner also served as the deputy executive director and chief administrative officer for the Oakland Housing Authority, executive director for the San Francisco Housing Authority, and held several management and administrative positions at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.

“The Citywide Tenant Association is excited about the hiring of Gregg Fortner as the executive director of HANO,” said Cynthia Wiggins. “We believe based on his experience and our knowledge of the work he completed in Miami and San Francisco, he will continue to move HANO forward by building on the strong foundation left behind by the Gilmore Kean Team. We look forward to working with him.”

This article originally published in the June 30, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.