Vitae

Jeanette Harris is the Director of the Office of Community, Planning and Development in the Detroit, Michigan Field Office of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD has employed her for 34 years in various capacities in Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington D.C. and Detroit, Michigan. She has experience in the Housing side of the Department as a former Public Housing Director.

In her work as the Community Planning and Development Director, she helps to develop and implement the Community Development Block Grant, HOME and Continuum of Care Programs throughout the State of Michigan. She works to devise practical strategies to make local plans mesh with federal requirements. She has written policy papers on variety of community development issues. She has planned and conducted training sessions for elected officials and Community Development Directors. She is an active participant in the Michigan Community Development Directors Association. She devised a plan to move the implementation of the stalled Homeless Management Information System from the City of Detroit to a nonprofit agency without incurring the wrath of the City or forcing that entity to lose face. Recently, she developed a strategy to transfer all the slow moving Shelter Plus Care grants from the City of Detroit to the State of Michigan.

She worked with a task force from the Michigan Community Development Directors Association to develop performance measures, which could be used in Michigan's community development programs before the Department provided performance measures for all grantees

For the past 90 days, Ms. Harris has been the Acting Field Office Director in the Detroit Field Office. In these 90 days, she has provided new ideas to help market the FHA Single Family Programs. Prepared and delivered several presentations for Michigan's Congressional staff and joined the City of Detroit's Task Force on Money Wise.

EDUCATION:

Harvard University - two week program at the Kennedy School of Government designed to promote interrelationships with State local and Federal Leaders September 1992

DePaul University - four-week program designed to promote cross training among Departmental Mangers June- August 1995

Master of Public Administration, Washington Public Affairs Center, and University of Southern California, 1981. Research thesis was on alternative housing assistance strategies.

BA Social Science, James Madison College, Michigan State University, 1972. Senior thesis was on school financing alternatives. Honors College, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Mortar Board

SPECIAL INTERESTS:

Kiwanis Number 1 Club of Detroit - Chairperson, Processing Books for Kids - organizes volunteers to get books to Detroit school children

Trustee, Metropolitan United Methodist Church, Detroit, MI Radio Reader - Detroit Radio Information Service. This organization has readers that read print media over a sub carrier of local public radio stations and cable television. Recognized as the 2003 People's Choice Reader

Languages - read and write Spanish; studying French

Ms. Harris has two children. Jonathan is a graduate Engineering student at the University of Michigan. Geoffrey is a sophomore at the University of Michigan. (She has a virtual bumper sticker, which reads, " I work for tuition".