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Statewide Housing and Community Development Association Announces New Board Members and Officers 4/10/2024 The Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey (the Network) announces the appointments of four new members to the HCDNNJ board of directors for 2024-25. Cierra Hart, Director of Housing & Economic Justice at the NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence; Scott Millard, chief executive officer of Passaic County Habitat for Humanity; Randi Moore, chief executive officer of Affordable Housing Alliance; and Anthony Smith, executive director of Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District join the HCDNNJ board for three-year terms. The Network board of directors also welcomes new leadership. Edward Bethea, executive vice-president and chief operations officer of the Bridgeton-based Gateway Community Action Partnership, transitions from vice chair to chair. Pilar Hogan Closkey, executive director of Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society, serves as vice chair, with Dan Antonellis of Region Nine Housing Corporation continuing to serve as treasurer. Cierra Hart is the Director of Housing and Economic Justice for the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence and a national consultant for the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s Housing Consortium. Her role sees her providing advocacy, training, technical assistance, public awareness, and support for advocates and survivors. She has been involved in various federal, state, and local housing and economic justice advocacy and policy initiatives to help survivors heal, restore, and renew their lives. Ms. Hart’s work has been instrumental in expanding survivors’ access to housing statewide, as well as in in creating a hotel aggregator program in March of 2020 to house survivors and children fleeing from domestic violence during the global pandemic. She has worked with many communities in the areas of homelessness prevention, emergency and transitional housing, domestic violence program development, community development, eviction prevention, and rental assistance programs. Scott Millard is the chief executive officer for Passaic County Habitat for Humanity. His career in the nonprofit sector began in 2008 as President of Connor’s House, an organization he co-founded to aid families of children with severe health needs. During this time, he was also working as a pastor and, eventually, the Director of Global Program Development and Operations with the Bethlehem Evangelical Free Church of Randolph, where he worked with several local nonprofits to address housing, education, and health on a local and international scale. He became chief executive officer of Passaic County’s Habitat for Humanity in 2019, aiming to promote home ownership with new housing developments and help underhoused residents. Randi Moore joined the Affordable Housing Alliance (AHA) as chief operating officer in 2020 before becoming chief executive officer in 2021. Since earning her B.A. in Sociology from Drew University in 2005, her commitment to improving living conditions for New Jersey residents led her to several leadership roles in both the state government and multiple nonprofits. Her career began with leading the Ending Homelessness Team at Monarch Housing Associates, where she worked with various municipalities to develop plans to end homelessness, before managing permanent supportive housing projects as the Director of Real Estate Development for the New Jersey Community Development Corporation. Ms. Moore then spent 10 years with Hudson County Division of Housing and Community Development — first as the Program Director for housing assistance, then as Division Chief, and briefly as the Division Director in 2020 — introducing new housing initiatives and managing federal grants for community development and homeless programs. Anthony Smith took on the role of executive director at Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District in 2014, leading the organization as it aims to improve stability, ensure housing, and build community in the Newark neighborhood through increased cultural and artistic opportunities. His current position headlines his 30 years of dedication to place-based economic and community development. He has experience as a Project Manager at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and as a Project Manager for various community and cultural initiatives on the Newark Municipal Council. Mr. Smith also serves in leading positions at the Newark Museum of Art, the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation, the New Jersey Nature Conservancy, Newark-based real estate and community investment nonprofit corporation Landbank, and as the Commissioner of Landmarks and Historical Preservation for the City of Newark. “As chair of the Network’s board, it is my job to make sure our leadership represents the diversity of the 275+ member organizations that comprise the Network,” said Edward Bethea. “I am happy to welcome these new members to the board as we work together to ensure that everyone in New Jersey has a safe, affordable, and high-quality living environment.” About the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ |
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