Julianna Stuart helps thousands of affordable housing residents take the next steps in improving their employment, education, and health.

As vice president of community impact at POAH (Preservation of Affordable Housing) Communities, she manages the strategy and operations of POAH’s approach to investing in residents. It’s a big job that stretches across the Boston-based nonprofit’s portfolio of 12,000 units in 11 states and the District of Columbia.

In her role, Stuart manages POAH's Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program, the largest of its kind in the nation. The FSS program enables Department of Housing and Urban Development-assisted families to build assets, increase their earned income, and achieve personal and financial goals.

“Our work is about advancing economic mobility, an issue that we are committed to,” she says. “I’m grateful to POAH for all of the investment and intentional approach to that side of the work.”

Stuart will also play an integral role as the organization embarks on a major project to advance trauma-informed innovations in resident services, property management, and physical design.

Stuart, 32, was first exposed to affordable housing while serving in the AmeriCorps Vista program at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. She later went to work for The Community Builders (TCB) as a resident services coordinator in Chicago.

“I haven’t left the industry since,” she says.

Prior to joining POAH Communities in 2017, Stuart worked at the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), where she managed a national project to demonstrate the impact of service-enriched rental housing among members the SAHF network.

“I’ve stayed in affordable housing because I believe the work we do is essential to building a more racially just and equitable society,” she says. “We can preserve and expand the supply of affordable rental housing, while investing in the economic and personal goals of the thousands of families that call our communities home.”

Outside of work, Stuart is an avid runner and a proud aunt.