News Release

March 24, 2009

King County Executive Ron Sims has appointed Michael Brown to serve a five-year term as a King County Housing Authority commissioner. Brown was approved on March 23 by the Metropolitan King County Council. Brown replaces KCHA Commissioner Debra Coates, who has served on the board for two terms.

“I am delighted to welcome Mr. Brown to the KCHA board,” said Executive Director Stephen Norman.  “He has extensive experience in community and economic development – from financing affordable housing to developing initiatives that provide educational and economic opportunities that help low-income households succeed.”

A graduate of Loyola University, with a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Washington, Brown has worked for more than 15 years to improve the lives of the region’s poor.  Currently, Brown is the vice president for community leadership at The Seattle Foundation, where he oversees grant making for the foundation’s investments in the region’s low-income communities.  Prior to joining The Seattle Foundation, he served as a legislative aide to Seattle City Councilmember Richard McIver and as the deputy director of the Washington Association for Community Economic Development, a nonprofit that provided training and technical assistance to community-based development organizations statewide.

Brown is a former chair and current member of the board of directors of Impact Capital, vice president of Building Changes (formerly AIDS Housing of Washington) and a board member of the Washington State Budget and Policy Center.  He also serves on the Interagency Committee of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County and as an advisory board member for Neighbor to Neighbor and United Way’s Seattle Community Council.  Michael is an American Marshall Memorial Fellow and a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow.

As one of five commissioners, Brown will help guide KCHA’s policies and priorities.

“I look forward to working with KCHA to continue to build and strengthen communities around the county,” said Brown. “In addition to providing high quality affordable housing, it’s also important to create opportunities for economically disadvantaged adults to get education and job skills that allow them to be successful in our economy.  While I am passionate about all-things housing, I am especially pleased to share my expertise with the Authority as it develops a system to remove barriers faced by low-income working adults so they may achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.”

Debra Coates, who has served on the board since 1999, has completed two terms as a commissioner. “We’ll miss Debra’s dedication and her knowledge of commercial real estate and economic development issues,” said Board Chair Nancy Young.

“Ms. Coates has provided invaluable assistance to the Authority in designing and executing its development strategies,” said Norman.

KCHA administers a range of quality affordable rental and homeownership programs for residents of King County. The Authority serves more than 18,000 families, elderly and disabled households on a daily basis.