After spending nearly nine years in a leadership role with the Californian Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), Tia Boatman Patterson is joining the Biden administration as associate director for housing, treasury, and commerce in the Office of Management and Budget.
She heads to Washington, D.C., after serving the last six and a half years as CalHFA’s executive director.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has named Don Cavier as acting executive director until a permanent replacement is appointed. Since 2015, Cavier has served as the agency’s chief deputy director.
Boatman Patterson spent two years on CalHFA's board before then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed her as executive director in 2014, just as the agency was starting to recover from the Great Recession housing crisis. She oversaw that recovery and led CalHFA to its most successful period in its 46-year history, according to officials.
Under her guidance, CalHFA achieved record-breaking production numbers, improving from less than $100 million in lending the year before she took over to nearly $5 billion last fiscal year. Between first mortgages and downpayment assistance for low- and moderate-income homebuyers, and affordable units created and preserved by multifamily lending and bond issuance, CalHFA helped 60,000 California families find a place to call home during Boatman Patterson’s tenure.
She was a five-year board member for the National Council of State Housing Agencies, including two terms as board chair, and served on national affordable housing advisory councils for the National Housing Conference, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the UCLA Ziman Center.
"I cannot say enough about what Tia Boatman Patterson has meant to CalHFA. Her strong positive influence has been felt throughout California and the nation when it comes to affordable housing," said Michael A. Gunning, acting chair of the CalHFA board. "Tia’s tenacity, her leadership ability to build successful collaborative relationships and innovative ideas have turned CalHFA into a model for all other housing finance agencies in the country."
