What to know about Angela D. Brooks, the former nonprofit leader who will be spearheading Mayor Parker’s H.O.M.E. initiative

Angela D. Brooks, Philadelphia’s new chief housing and urban development officer, sees an “opportunity” for housing growth in Philadelphia.

The Seattle native, who spent almost two decades working in housing in the Chicago area, said when she heard of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s H.O.M.E. initiative, she wanted to be a part of “the largest housing investment in the city’s history.”

In her new role, Brooks will oversee the project, which aims to build or repair 30,000 homes.

Brooks, who previously served as the leader of a housing nonprofit in Chicago, outlined her commitment to her new home Wednesday during a budget hearing on Parker’s initiative before City Council. She was introduced at a news conference in February and began her position in March

Here’s what to know about Philly’s new chief housing and urban development officer.

Brooks has been tasked with spearheading the H.O.M.E. initiative, which faced questioning during Council’s budget hearing Wednesday morning.

The $2 billion plan to build or preserve 30,000 units — 13,500 newly constructed homes and 16,500 preserved units — of housing was unveiled during Parker’s budget address in Council chambers last month and includes a mix of new initiatives and expansions of existing city housing programs.

Brooks’ salary is $200,000. According to the Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development, her day-to-day responsibilities include directly working with the department, including the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. and the Land Bank, on carrying out the components of H.O.M.E. She also will support the creation and execution of new programs and accelerating existing programs.

“As the Chief Housing and Urban Development Officer for Philadelphia, Angela is leveraging all the tools in her toolbox by using her extensive experience to address our city’s current housing challenges and urban development needs,” said Jamila Davis, public information officer for the planning and development department, in a statement.

Brooks’ vast amount of housing experience comes predominantly from the Windy City, where she had yearslong stints at the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the American Planning Association, and the Chicago Housing Authority, to name a few.

Chicago faces similar challenges as Philadelphia when it comes to housing, including a lack of affordable housing and politicized land-use rules.

“The consistent challenge everywhere? Lack of housing supply,” Brooks said during her testimony Wednesday. “This isn’t just a Philadelphia issue.”

As the Illinois director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a nonprofit that aims to combine affordable housing with support services, Brooks oversaw a $10 million office budget, as well as training, lending, technical assistance, and racial equity work, Davis said, and her work supported the development of Chicago’s system for providing permanent housing.

“Angela brings a wealth of affordable housing, policy, urban planning, community development and housing finance experience,” Davis said, later adding that she is an “international well-respected voice on all things housing.”

In her 10 years at the Chicago Housing Authority, Brooks managed various development projects, including a $25 million family resource center, Davis added. She also oversaw major redevelopment projects and capital improvement projects valued at over $172 million.

Brooks recently served as the first Black female president of the American Planning Association, a two-year term, and facilitated a national campaign that brought together individuals in the housing sector with local governments.

“She helped launch and colead the Housing Supply Accelerator, which brings together local governments, community planners, homebuilders, Realtors, and other partners to advance solutions for housing supply challenges at the local level,” said Joel Albizo, CEO of the American Planning Association, a professional organization for planners, commissioners, and other planning stakeholders.

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who chairs Council’s housing committee and has a master’s degree in city planning, was excited about Brooks’ hire and said that she is a “rock star,” but wishes she saw “more of her” in the housing proposal, noting that at community meetings or town halls, other folks speak more, and that she wants to see her “fingerprints” on how the plan outlines spending.

“And I want to see her take up more space. I believe in her ability to be the architect of a housing plan for Philadelphia that is equitable and that is impactful.”

Brooks said Wednesday that she was inspired to address the housing shortage in Philadelphia, which she estimates is approximately 17,000 new units short, and wants the housing plan to be a “living, breathing document and continue to ebb and flow and introduce new things.”

“Ensuring Philadelphia offers diverse housing options for people of all income brackets, races, veteran status, ages, and physical abilities is why the H.O.M.E. plan is so vital at this time,” Brooks said during her testimony Wednesday.

Brooks also said Wednesday that she hopes the city’s public investment in housing will spur private entities to do the same. H.O.M.E “isn’t intended to be the ask-all, be-all of solving the housing crisis,” she said.

Brooks said she wants to hold the community’s opinion throughout this process in high regard, saying that through her leadership on the Chicago Zoning Board and the Seattle Planning Commission, she has become “super sensitive to community engagement.”

And with Brooks only roughly a month into her new job, she says she has already gotten acquainted with her new city and defended the Parker administration’s community engagement strategy.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been in the community more than I have ever in my X-number-of-year-career,” Brooks said. “So we are definitely an administration that clearly believes in engagement. We would never circumvent that by any stretch.”