With future Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump set to take office in January, there are 15 seats on the president’s cabinet to start speculating about. And the one that’s closest to housing, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, could possibly go to someone who was recently featured on the cover of HousingWire Magazine and recognized as a Women of Influence in 2013.
Pam Patenaude is currently the president of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America's Families, but could soon be the next HUD secretary, according to a POLITICO piece.
The piece speculated that Patenaude, a former adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, has emerged as a candidate to lead HUD.
During the George W. Bush administration, she served as HUD assistant secretary for community, planning and development.
Patenaude is also the former director of housing policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center and has more than 25 years of experience in housing, community economic development, real estate and public policy.
The J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America’s Families is hosting a bipartisan national Housing Forum at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 18 — which HousingWire is a media sponsor.
The forum features speakers including Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted, Carol Galante, former assistant HUD secretary and FHA Commissioner, Laurie Goodman from the Urban Institute and others from academia, government and industry trade groups.
The Housing Forum’s goal is to ensure that housing is front-and-center as the 115th Congress and the new administration begin to formulate their respective policy agendas for 2017.
This is especially important since it hasn’t been a big issue during the election season.
If selected, Patenaude would replace HUD Secretary Julián Castro.
Here’s Castro's message to HUD staff on the upcoming changes:
For further reading on Trump’s involvement in housing, here are his plans to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act.
