Chandra Western, former Acting Director of the National Community Development Association (NCDA) was selected by an executive search committee as the new Executive Director for the association. Western assumed the responsibility as Acting Director this time last year.

Western brings nearly fifteen years of knowledge and expertise on community development related issues to her new position. Prior to her appointment as Acting Director, she served as Legislative Counsel for NCDA, Program Associate for the Council of State Community Development Agencies (COSCDA), located here in Washington, and Project Planner for the City of Manchester, New Hampshire. Western possesses a Master’s Degree in Planning and Community Development and a Bachelors in Public Policy Analysis, both from Michigan State University.

Since 1968, the National Community Development Association (NCDA) has been at the forefront in securing effective and responsive housing and community development programs for local governments. NCDA works through its members to impact the federal legislative and regulatory process. The overall mission of the organization is to assists local governments to achieve high quality, locally-responsive programs for making communities better places to live, particularly for low- and moderate-income people. It is a national non-profit organization comprised of more than 550 local governments across the country that administer federally-supported community and economic development, housing and human service programs, including HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs. The Association was created in 1968 as a result of the Model Cities Program, and although the Model Cities program no longer exists, its guiding principals are still very much alive in the CDBG program – the major source of local community development funding in the nation.

Since 1987, NCDA in conjunction with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities (NLC), the National Association of Counties (NACo) and other national organizations, have highlighted the accomplishments and achievements of the federal government’s Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). This joint effort provides an ideal opportunity to educate new lawmakers, and re-educate veteran legislators on the importance of the CDBG program as a critical revitalization tool for neighborhoods across the nation.