Community Shelter Board head is ready to lead
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Barbara Poppe
On Monday October 19, 2009, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) announced that Barbara Poppe would serve as the new Executive Director. Ms. Poppe has served as the Executive Director of the Community Shelter Board (CSB) in Columbus, OH since 1995. She has been a key driver of Columbus’ efforts to achieve its community-wide prevention and homeless services goals. She has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of housing and homelessness. Ms. Poppe has been a leader in both the Columbus area and across the nation on efforts to prevent and end homelessness.
Under her leadership, CSB received the 2002 Nonprofit Sector Achievement Award at the Alliance’s annual Awards Ceremony, as well as the 2004 Buddy Gray Award for homeless activism from the National Coalition for the Homeless.
In Columbus, Poppe, 51, managed the creation of Rebuilding Lives, a program that places the homeless in long-term housing supported by social services and counseling to help them overcome the problems that made them homeless.
The program has created 835 apartments for the homeless since it started in 1999.
She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of National Alliance to Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), one of our national partners.
USICH is tasked with coordinating the federal response to homelessness and forging partnerships with every level of government, as well as with the private sector, to end homelessness in the United States. The Council is currently chaired by Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Ms. Poppe will take over daily management from Acting Executive Director, Pete Dougherty. In that role, she will spearhead the Council’s efforts to improve coordination across the federal government; assist state and local governments, advocates, service providers, and consumers; and provide technical assistance for preventing and ending homelessness.
The Advocacy Network congratulates Ms. Poppe and looks forward to working with her in this new position.
