Shea Johnson is the Georgia field office director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. With affordable housing being a major topic in metro Atlanta, Johnson partners with other organizations and elected officials to help people in the community have a place to live at a reasonable price. Johnson was present at the Atlanta Business League’s Congress on the State of Black Business and was a panelist for the discussion of development opportunities and housing policies that impact marginalized communities.
Johnson spoke with rolling out about her role and the future of affordable housing.
What is your role?
I oversee key programs and initiatives within the state of Georgia. My staff covers customer service, congressional inquiries, and any inquiries that come from the public. Customer service is the heart of what we do. I do a lot of outreach events on homeownership and the list goes on. I work across program offices. I love to get out and help the people that we serve.
What should the community know about affordable housing?
The most important thing is that HUD does not only focus on providing affordable housing; what we want to do is make sure the person is home, meaning they have a home that’s affordable, and also that they’re able to keep the home, so we focus a lot on economic development, workforce development, access to health care, and the list goes on.
Where do you see the future of affordable housing?
I see it moving forward through partnerships, simply put. Partnering with our housing authorities, the CEO and president of Atlanta Housing, Terri M. Lee; we work really closely together and I probably see her a couple of times a month. We work closely with Mayor Andre Dickens, other city officials, congressional offices, and developers, so working together as a collaborative is the way that we’re going to continue uplifting our communities and providing quality affordable housing.
Why are Black businesses important?
They’re the heart and soul of uplifting us as Black people and other underserved communities. We need to help each other. That’s why it’s so important for Black businesses to band together to do that.
