SAN JOSE, Calif. – Jacky Morales-Ferrand has been appointed as San José Director of Housing by City Manager Norberto Dueñas. The San José City Council ratified her appointment today. Morales-Ferrand has served as interim director since January following the retirement of former Housing Director Leslye Corsiglia.
Morales-Ferrand has served as assistant director of the Housing Department since 2007 where she has overseen the planning and operations of programs with a combined annual budget of $62 million, a portfolio of $800 million of loans and grants, and a staff of 62 employees.
Prior to coming to San José, she served as director of housing and neighborhood development for the City of Denver. She also served as director of housing initiatives for Forest City Stapleton, a public-private partnership that redeveloped the site of the former Denver airport, and as homeownership program manager for the City of Boulder, Colorado.
“Jacky has an outstanding combination of experience, knowledge, and skills that have contributed to San José becoming a national leader for the creation of more affordable housing in one of the most challenging regions of the country for housing,” said Dueñas.
“I’m confident that she will provide the vision and drive necessary to help us continue to find solutions to the high cost of housing in Silicon Valley.”
“Jacky has displayed fierce leadership at a time when our city has faced an incredible homeless and affordable housing crisis. Her innovative solutions to those challenges are helping to rapidly rehouse our most vulnerable populations. I am grateful for her dedication to our city,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Among the major issues that Morales-Ferrand has led include the development of the San José inclusionary housing ordinance and the city’s housing impact fee, which both support the creation of more affordable housing.
She also oversaw the planning and implementation of the city’s programs dealing with the issues of homelessness, including the encampment response team and rapid rehousing. She reorganized housing services to reflect the loss of redevelopment funds following California legislation in 2011 that eliminated redevelopment agencies, which also reduced the department’s budget for housing by 40 percent.
“I am fortunate to work in this department that has earned an excellent national reputation for our successful affordable housing programs, and especially to follow in the footsteps of Leslye Corsiglia who was a leader in this field for decades,” said Morales-Ferrand.
“This is a great honor, and I look forward to working with our community and business partners to address the serious challenges for providing a range of affordable housing that can help sustain our neighborhoods and our economy.”
Morales-Ferrand received her bachelor’s degree in American Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her masters of public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is a resident of San José.
About the City of San José
Known as the Capital of Silicon Valley, San José is the nation’s tenth largest city, and the largest city in Northern California, with an ethnically diverse population of more than one million. San José was founded in 1777, once served as the state capital of California, and now encompasses 180 square miles. Facts about San José can be found here: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/780. The City’s website is www.sanjoseca.gov.
About the San Jose Housing Department
The mission of the San Jose Housing Department is to strengthen and revitalize the San José community through housing and neighborhood investments to ensure that residents have access to a variety of housing choices at prices they can afford; create sustainable neighborhoods; and support access to community facilities, services, and social networks that promote healthy lives. For more information about the housing department and its programs, go to: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=3051
