Agenda 11-11-2021; 5 - Orange County Housing Authority – Appointment Discussion

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Relevant Experience Board #1 My lens of affordable housing is colored through education and my experience as a homeowner with a disability. After a 15 year career in clinical research, public health, and wellness, and as a graduate of the MPH program at UNC, it's apparent that public health and behaviors that determine our health are embedded in our environment. Nowhere is this more important than our homes and communities. Providing those who have low or moderate incomes with housing in high opportunity areas in Orange County gives access to homes, jobs, and communities that otherwise would not be affordable or accessible. I have been an active member of each community in which I've lived. I purchased my first home through the Orange County Home Trust in 2007 and was elected to the Board of 140 West Barbee Chapel in Meadowmont in 2008. During that time, I made decisions regarding the budget, special projects, and HOA dues. Over the past 7 years as Vice-president and treasurer of the 500 Market HOA, I've developed and managed the budget for the HOA, including working closely with vendors to keep budget line items affordable, leading many HOA and annual meetings, overseeing projects, such as: the transition to a new property management company, improvement projects to 500 Market St., several amendments, revisions, and additions to the covenants & by-laws, managing a reserve study of the property, and most recently, the oversight of the installation of Google Fiber internet. As a Board member of the Southern Village HOA, I regularly attended and contributed to meetings, settled conflicts between neighbors, and advised on community projects throughout Southern Village, such as the renovation of curb cuts. After recently purchasing an investment property in a ground-floor condo in Southern Village, it has been my mission to provide an accessible and affordable home to local residents. Reasons Want to Serve Board #1 It would be a privilege to serve on the Orange County Housing Authority. As a person with a disability and after living the first 8 years of my childhood in inaccessible government-subsidized housing in Queens, New York, the notion of affordable and accessible housing seemed one of fantasy. It is this experience in my youth that has been integral to my core values that all should have access to quality affordable and accessible homes and communities. This mission and core belief has only grown through adulthood. After moving to Chapel Hill from New York in 2004, I lived in several quasi-affordable apartments. I then set my sights on home ownership. As a young adult with a disability making a modest living in medical research, I was excited and motivated about the prospect of purchasing a home through the Orange County Home Trust (OCHT). After completing the process in 2007 (less than 1 year after starting the process), I was a proud OCHT homeowner. Being a homeowner through the OCHT undoubtedly contributed to my social, career, and financial success. Affordable and accessible housing is foundational to our success as a county and community. This is why I want to serve: to facilitate this vision into a reality for many others in the coming years. Diversity of Viewpoints Board #1 As an adult with a disability and homeowner, I bring years of experience building more accessible communities through volunteering on HOA Boards as an officer and managing multiple projects. Be it through more accessible paths in common areas, ensuring that signage is clearly visible for egress and parking, managing the expensive task of maintaining elevators, or advising on curb cut renovations, I focus on how accessible communities can benefit all residents, regardless of their mobility. As a man who spent his childhood in government subsidized apartments in New York, I am keenly aware of how inequitable access to quality, affordable, and accessible homes and communities can have a detrimental impact on health, wellbeing, and social mobility. As a public health and research practitioner, I can provide insights into how our communities can remain vibrant and healthy through evidence based intervention-- whether it be in the home itself or the community that surrounds it. Conflict of Interest Board #1 None. Dennis Carmody 6