The National Housing Trust (NHT), a Washington D.C.‐based nonprofit focusing on affordable housing preservation, is pleased to announce the appointment of Priya Jayachandran as President. Effective February 1, 2018, Jayachandran will succeed NHT’s long‐time President, Michael Bodaken.
“I am honored to lead such a talented group of people, many of whom I have worked closely with throughout my career,” said Jayachandran. “I look forward to maintaining the Trust’s impact in the affordable housing world and expanding our work through new strategies and partnerships.”
Bodaken praised the Board’s choice, saying “I could not be happier for NHT. I have nothing but confidence in handing the torch to Priya and know NHT will thrive under her leadership.”
Jayachandran is currently Senior Vice President of Affordable Housing Development at Volunteers of America (VOA) where she creates and implements strategy for affordable housing development, acquisition and recapitalizations as well as manages the development pipeline and budget. Prior to her role at VOA, Jayachandran was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), managing the largest department within HUD and some of the Department’s most important programs.
Prior to joining HUD, Priya spent more than 15 years in community development and real estate banking in New York and Washington, D.C. at both Citi and Bank of America. She also worked for the Inter‐American Development Bank (IDB) in La Paz, Bolivia as a consultant to women’s microcredit organizations; Credit Suisse as an investment banking analyst; and California State Treasurer Kathleen Brown as a Capital Fellow.
“I want to thank Michael for his invaluable leadership over the past 25 years. Through affordable housing’s peaks and valleys, he continued to push new and innovative ideas that led directly to the preservation of more than 36,000 affordable homes,” says NHT’s founder and Board Chair, Marilyn Melkonian. “Priya combines the talents of public service and the private sector to lead the Trust forward. She brings new perspectives to meet the nation’s affordable housing challenges and, no doubt, will help expand our impact.”
