Bill Text: VA HJR384 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Steve Nesmith.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-07 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ384ER) [HJR384 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR384-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, in 2022, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board of Directors unanimously voted Steve Nesmith as their new chief executive officer; and
WHEREAS, Steve Nesmith, brought years of knowledge and experience to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA), having previously served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, counsel to several housing authorities across the country, chief operating officer (COO) and director of economic development for the Philadelphia Housing Agency, COO of a Fortune 500 company, and partner at an international law firm focused on affordable housing, mortgage, banking, and financial services matters; and
WHEREAS, as chief executive officer (CEO), Steve Nesmith launched a historic homeownership program for public housing residents and voucher holders, which was the first of its kind across the country; the comprehensive homeownership initiative for all public housing residents highlighted by the Biden Administration's Washington, D.C., HUD office as the type of program that should be syndicated across the country, and supported by Governor Glenn Youngkin's Department of Housing and Community Development; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Steve Nesmith, RRHA launched a program entitled, Hope, Jobs, and Security in Richmond's Big Six public housing communities and six senior living sites; the program provides free job training and opportunities for career placement, along with implementing a new security force to better protect residents, and strives to address health disparities, health and wellness issues, and mental health in these communities; and
WHEREAS, by restructuring RRHA's Finance and Accounting Department, Steve Nesmith helped put the organization on stronger financial footing, implementing new financial protocols and hiring a chief compliance officer to tackle enterprise-wide compliance throughout the organization; and
WHEREAS, Steve Nesmith hired a nationally known former public housing authority CEO who has begun reforming all operations as part of an overall reorganization of the agency and, with the help of the executive team, has created for the first time a five-year strategic plan for the organization; and
WHEREAS, Steve Nesmith transformed RRHA's approach to real estate development by adopting national models and tailoring them to what works best in the City of Richmond, and also focusing on development strategies that will create unrestricted revenue for the agency and stronger public-private partnerships; and
WHEREAS, Steve Nesmith relaunched the Richmond Redevelopment Corporation as a subsidiary of RRHA to help transform RRHA's real estate development strategy by attracting public and private financial investors and transitioning to the "self-development" stage, wherein the organization can begin to develop its own projects in partnership with a developer and generate unrestricted revenue; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Steve Nesmith, chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, for the organization's major accomplishments under his leadership; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of the resolution for presentation to Steve Nesmith as an expression of the General Assembly's respect and admiration for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority's work to provide quality affordable housing and build vibrant communities.
