NeighborWorks America Board of Directors Names Eileen M. Fitzgerald CEO

Washington, D.C.–The Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, doing business as NeighborWorks America, has appointed Eileen M. Fitzgerald as the new CEO.

Fitzgerald has 25 years of experience in nonprofit and government leadership. She has served as the Acting CEO since January 2011, and was chief operating officer at NeighborWorks America starting in 2005.

“The need to assist families and individuals with one of life’s basic building blocks – a healthy, safe and affordable home in a vibrant and safe community – has never been greater, making NeighborWorks America’s mission more critical than ever,” says Fitzgerald.  “NeighborWorks America supports a network of 242 local and regional nonprofit organizations that deliver sustainable homes on the ground and create strong communities every day. We are proud of our preeminent training courses that last year served professionals in 3,000 nonprofits and municipalities working in communities across the nation. We are committed to working with our many partners, including more than 1,300 local and national foreclosure-intervention counseling agencies, to assist families and communities recover from the foreclosure crisis.”

Fitzgerald succeeds Kenneth Wade, who was CEO from 2004 through 2010.

Before coming to NeighborWorks America, Fitzgerald served as senior director, national initiatives at the Fannie Mae Foundation, where she was responsible for program development, strategic management, and alliance and relationship management with key partners. Prior to Fannie Mae, Fitzgerald served as acting executive director and vice president of program operations at the McAuley Institute, a national nonprofit intermediary committed to improving the housing conditions of women and families through community-based efforts. She also served as the chief investment officer for Single-Family Finance at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust where she launched the HIT HOME program.

Previously, Fitzgerald served as the Associate Administrator and Acting Administrator of the USDA Rural Housing Service, where she led the conversion of mortgage servicing to a centralized system. She also served in both Virginia and Maryland State governments.