Imagine Housing Blog

Important Board of Directors Organizational Update

Dear Imagine Housing community members,

We all recognize that the Eastside is facing a housing crisis of epic proportion.  With high-paying jobs flooding the market, housing production cannot possibly keep up.  Finding affordable housing for our essential workers and others that are vulnerable in our community is next to impossible.

Local citizens, grassroots coalitions, government officials, corporate leaders and nonprofit agencies must work together to address this increasingly urgent issue.  Imagine Housing is proud to have been a component of the community fabric providing solutions since our founding in 1987. Today, we are the largest nonprofit affordable housing organization located in East King County; as of this date, we are providing 639 apartments to low-income individuals and families across 15 properties.

In early 2020, our Board of Directors began to examine Imagine Housing’s business model to ensure long-term organizational sustainability, growth in our resident services program and the continued success of our affordable housing development projects.

In January 2021, the Board hired Sean Heron Interim CEO. Since then, Sean has brought on highly qualified staff to lead the organization into the future.  In addition, the Board adopted a comprehensive operational strategy for the next 18 months to navigate the organization out of the pandemic.

In the September 2021 board meeting, and with strong staff in place and near-term organizational priorities defined, the Board unanimously agreed that now is the best time to restructure and step down from volunteer leadership. The group concluded that a different board would be better poised to hire a permanent Executive Director to meet our mission goals, advance a bold vision, and aid the organization for this next era of Imagine Housing’s growth.

This Emeritus Board group remains extraordinarily committed to successfully advancing Imagine Housing’s mission. The group selected two members to continue to serve during this transition and act as catalysts for change.  Carolynn Ferris was named President/Vice President and Bill Kearns is to be the Secretary/Treasurer of the reconstituted Board of Directors.  We will be working closely with staff, stakeholders, and the broader community to rebuild the board and expand our network of supporters to be able to address the housing crisis in an impactful way.

In partnership with the existing Board and our stakeholders, Imagine Housing will seek to recruit individuals who share the diverse perspectives and lived experiences of our residents, and those who possess expertise in the affordable housing, resident services, asset management and real estate development sectors to work on creating a more inclusive and vibrant Eastside.

Imagine Housing’s leadership has already begun the work of identifying new potential members and welcomes input and connections to candidates – this will be a deliberate and thoughtful process to ensure the best possible results.

With your support, Imagine Housing has accomplished a great deal in the last 30 years.  The next 30 years must be even more extraordinary.  This is an exciting moment for our organization and for our cities – we proudly shepherd the investments of those that came before us and welcome the broader community to join us in taking an active stake in the organization’s bold vision for affordable housing and resident services on the Eastside.

Emeritus Board