Former Executive Director of Congress for the New Urbanism Chosen to Lead Possible Office of Sustainable Communities at HUD

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has appointed Shelley Poticha as senior advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities. She will direct the office if the bill seeking to create it becomes law. “Poticha will help lead HUD’s effort to change the way we think about our communities,” says HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Her wealth of experience will help move us forward in creating sustainable, greener and smarter communities.”HUD is working with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) on legislation that seeks to create the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at HUD.Poticha currently serves as the president and CEO of Reconnecting America, where she has become a national leader for the reform of land use and transportation planning and policy with the goal of creating more sustainable and equitable development. Her efforts have stimulated a national conversation about the role of transit in shaping communities and the importance of building diverse and inclusive neighborhoods. Poticha will be joining James Lopez, senior advisor for sustainability issues to the deputy secretary and former director of Strategic Planning and Performance Management for King County, Wash. Lopez has been leading HUD’s interagency work with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation and Department of Energy.  HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims will be spearheading the Department’s Sustainable Communities Initiative. HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities will advance housing and communities that promote affordable, livable and sustainable living environments. The office will provide technical and policy support for energy, green building, and integrated housing and transportation programs at HUD and around the nation. Additionally, the office will manage the Department’s key relationships with other federal agencies in this arena like the departments of Transportation and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.  Prior to joining Reconnecting America, Poticha was the executive director of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Poticha has co-authored The New Transit Town: Best Practices in Transit-Oriented Development, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Capturing the Demand for Housing Near Transit,” the Charter of the New Urbanism, and The Next American Metropolis with Peter Calthorpe.