JESSICA MILLS was recently appointed the executive director of the Fulton Community Development Agency (CDA). Mills, who has been with the agency for nearly 10 years, holds a bachelor’s degree in business, management, and economics from SUNY Empire State College. She is also certified as a HUD housing choice voucher (HCV) specialist and housing quality […]
JESSICA MILLS was recently appointed the executive director of the Fulton Community Development Agency (CDA). Mills, who has been with the agency for nearly 10 years, holds a bachelor’s degree in business, management, and economics from SUNY Empire State College. She is also certified as a HUD housing choice voucher (HCV) specialist and housing quality standards specialist, as well as a HUD certified housing counselor, providing housing-counseling services in the areas of financial management, housing affordability, fair housing, homeownership, avoiding foreclosure, and tenancy. In her role as executive director, Mills is responsible for the management and administration of low-income public housing programs and any programs authorized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She supervises all agency operations, maintains contact with HUD and New York State housing programs representatives, and supervises participation in federal grants and other sources for funding. Mills also develops, implements, and oversees the agency’s budgets, while managing day-to-day operations and keeping board commissioners informed. From January 2019 to the present, she worked as the housing programs director at the CDA, where she oversaw the organization’s housing programs and staff for HUD and New York State Homes & Community Renewal programs. Mills worked with a caseload of 200 clients, property managers, and government officials to make sure that all regulations are followed. She was responsible for property and fiscal oversight, development of policies and procedures, hiring, supervising, training and development of operation staff, reporting to funding sources, and interfacing with community members. Mills has also served as a housing counselor/administrative assistant at the CDA, where she handled incoming communications, processed applications for a variety of programs, and assisted the executive director. She has grown the agency’s housing counseling programs to include more funding opportunities and services. In addition, Mills has served for more than two years as a housing counselor/senior law assistant at the Hiscock Legal Aid Society in Syracuse.