SHA Board of Commissioners

On July 9, 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development officially transferred the assets and governance of SHA to local control after a successful three year federal receivership.

SHA is now governed by a new, seven-member Board of Commissioners who were nominated by Mayor Lou Ann Palmer and confirmed unanimously by the Sarasota City Commission. SHA's new Board of Commissioners are:

John A. Colon, Chairman

Michael Carlson, Vice Chair

Valerie Buchand, Resident Commissioner

Resident Commissioner Valerie Buchand is a native of Sarasota, Florida. In her 30 years as a public housing resident Resident Commissioner Buchand has assisted, on a local and national level, in the development of public housing resident policies. She is a proud and active member of the Sarasota Housing Authority Resident Council and an advocate for low-income residents in the Sarasota community. Resident Commissioner Buchand also serves on several of the City of Sarasota’s resident boards.

 

Veavie R. DeLaughter, Commissioner

Commissioner Veavie R. DeLaughter is a native of Sarasota, Florida, and a graduate of Booker High School. Her postsecondary education includes matriculating at Harlem Hospital of Nursing, New York, NY; The Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, AL and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. In 2006 Commissioner DeLaughter retired from the Sarasota County Health Department following a 30-year career as a public health nurse. Since then she continues to serve the Sarasota community as an active member of the Sarasota Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.

 

G. Duane Finger, Commissioner

Photo Coming Soon

Marcella Levin

Joseph B. Miller, Commissioner

William Russell, Executive Director

William O. Russell (“Bill”) III is the Executive Director of the Sarasota Housing Authority. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Bill received a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science with Honors from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. For the past 12 years Bill has dedicated himself to a career in affordable housing serving in various capacities with the City of New York, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., where he was Deputy Assistant Secretary, and currently as the Executive Director of the Sarasota Housing Authority. He is married to his wife Kirsten of 15 years and has a six year old daughter, Caroline. Bill is a Leadership Sarasota alum, an Elder of Covenant Life Church and past President of the Sarasota County League and the Florida Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (“FAHRO”).

 

SHA Board Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the SHA Boardroom located at 1300 Blvd. of the Arts, Sarasota, FL 34236.