Atlanta Housing President and Chief Executive Officer Terri M. Lee Announces First Major Leadership Change

Chief Housing and Real Estate Officer and Chief Operating Officer Named

ATLANTA, May 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Terri M. Lee has announced the first new leadership appointments to the Atlanta Housing’s Executive Team.

Dr. Alan Ferguson, Sr., Chief Housing and Real Estate OfficerDwayne Vaughn, Chief Operating Officer

When appointed to lead the 86-year-old organization in January 2024, Lee stated that one of her primary focus areas would be to enhance the agency’s ability to implement innovative solutions to expedite the delivery of affordable housing for Atlanta families. Her first two leadership appointments reflect that priority as she continues to drive Atlanta Housing toward the fulfillment of its strategic goals, the first of which is to create or preserve 10,000 units of affordable housing by 2027. 

“Addressing one of the most critical issues of our time will require us to drastically reshape the way we think about serving Atlantans,” said Terri M. Lee. “Atlanta Housing will move forward with a renewed sense of urgency to deliver vital services which will uplift people. We have set audacious goals, and to achieve them we must move from a posture of transactional activity to transformative leadership. This will, in many ways, require a cultural shift for this historic institution, but we are prepared to leverage our real estate portfolio using creativity and innovation to preserve access to Atlanta for all people, across all income levels, who wish to call this city home. Leaders with the experience, reputation, and track records of Alan Ferguson and Dwayne Vaughn will encourage that evolution. Welcoming Alan and Dwayne to my executive leadership team is a significant step in that direction.”

Mayor Andre Dickens said that he values his partnership with Terri M. Lee and Atlanta Housing. “My administration is proud to have Atlanta Housing’s partnership as we work to move Atlanta forward to a city of opportunity for all,” said Mayor Dickens. “I applaud the bold decisions Terri has made in the early days of her tenure, setting the tone for the significant role Atlanta Housing will play in ensuring the affordability of our city for generations to come. Terri’s ability to recruit a leader as accomplished as Alan Ferguson and retain and elevate someone with the depth of experience as Dwayne Vaughn says a lot about the vision she has set forward. I am proud to welcome them in their new roles and look forward to their collaboration as our offices work together to ensure that all Atlantans have access to safe, quality, and affordable housing options.” 

“The Atlanta Housing’s Board is excited by the momentum coming from Terri and her team as they continue to bring forward new opportunities to advance the mission of Atlanta Housing,” said Larry Stewart, Atlanta Housing’s Board Chairman. “We welcome Alan Ferguson to Atlanta Housing and look forward to deepening our relationship with Dwayne Vaughn as he officially transitions from General Counsel to Chief Operating Officer.”

Chief Housing and Real Estate Officer

Dr. Alan Ferguson, Sr. brings extensive experience and expertise in affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and community and economic development. Known for creating and advancing future-forward solutions to address Atlanta’s affordable housing availability, Alan most recently served as the President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta, Inc., where he led the organization’s return to full production post-COVID-19 pandemic, diversified funding, established new partnerships, and advanced strategies to pursue denser housing development. Alan formerly worked at Invest Atlanta and, during his 8-year commitment to the organization, led teams focused on building vibrant communities and increasing economic prosperity for all Atlantans.  This involved bringing together policy, strategy, and innovative tools to create and deliver diverse housing, development, and revitalization opportunities in the City of Atlanta. While at The American Opportunity Foundation, Inc., he led affordable workforce housing acquisition and investment activities. Alan’s previous experience at Fannie Mae includes a number of roles, one in particular at Fannie Mae’s American Communities Fund, where he led debt and equity investments for neighborhood housing community revitalization investments for the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Throughout his career, his dedication and focus to completing complex transactions in the areas of housing, commercial real estate, business finance, public finance, and equity investments furthered his broad experience in community and economic development leadership. 

Alan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Banking and Finance from Morehouse College, an MBA from The Goizueta Business School at Emory University, and a Master of Science in Real Estate from the J. Mack Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University. Alan pursued doctoral studies (ABD) in Real Estate Finance at Georgia State University and earned a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at The University of the Cumberlands.

“I’m excited to join the amazing team at Atlanta Housing under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer, Terri M. Lee. Together, we share a core belief that quality housing provides more than shelter. Housing provides a pathway for both individual and community transformation, a means to address inequities, and an opportunity for prosperity. I’m looking forward to continuing and expanding Atlanta Housing’s efforts to open doors for everyone.”

Alan’s role as Chief Housing and Real Estate Officer is effective June 3, 2024

Chief Operating Officer

Dwayne C. Vaughn is an experienced and respected leader with a track record of guiding static and comfortable organizations and business units toward vibrant market-sustainable entities focused on serving families and other clients with honor, respect and equity. Most recently serving as Interim COO for Atlanta Housing, Vaughn has devoted more than 30 years of increasingly complex legal and operational experience to assist Boards, policy makers and executives enhance and reposition programs and affordable assets. Prior to being tapped to serve as interim COO, Vaughn led Atlanta Housing’s legal team as General Counsel for nearly three years, working closely with the Board of Commissioners, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and executive team to provide legal leadership for Atlanta Housing’s affordable housing and human development services initiatives. 

For more than two decades, Dwayne has practiced real estate, corporate, employment and civil rights law and spent many years in executive and senior-level positions with housing authorities in the Southeast. Dwayne joined Atlanta Housing in 2021 from Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., where he served as Vice President of Housing Policy and Development. 

Dwayne earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law.

“Atlanta Housing has entered a new era, necessitating innovative approaches to the challenges of today’s accelerated housing market. There are few goals that are more noble and necessary than making quality housing opportunities available to Atlanta’s families. I am proud to focus my service to Atlanta Housing as Chief Operating Officer, enhancing the lives of Atlantans across the socio-economic spectrum. I am honored that Terri M. Lee has entrusted me to help actualize her vision of an Atlanta Housing organization that leverages housing as a starting point to elevate people to economic success.”

Dwayne’s role as Chief Operating Officer is effective immediately. 

ABOUT ATLANTA HOUSING 
President and Chief Executive Officer Terri M. Lee leads The Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation. One of 139 Moving to Work (MTW) public housing authorities in America, AH is an industry leader in providing and facilitating affordable housing resources for nearly 27,000 low-income households comprised of approximately 45,000 people, including AH-owned residential communities, tenant-based vouchers, supportive housing, as well as down payment assistance, where innovation leads the approach to making the dream of home ownership attainable for more Atlantans. Programs are funded and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Visit AH at atlantahousing.org or follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at @housingatlanta.

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SOURCE Atlanta Housing