The Obama administration has announced the president’s choice to head the Federal Housing Administration. The nomination comes as many homeowners are giving up the American Dream in favor of renting apartments, and the proposed chief has a background in multifamily.
The FHA commissioner post was vacated by David H. Steven on March 31. Stevens subsequently went on to head the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Robert Ryan was named acting FHA commissioner in April, then left the job to take on the role of senior housing finance advisor for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.
In July, the Obama administration named Carol J. Galante acting commissioner of FHA. Galante holds a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley and is a licensed real estate broker.
On Wednesday, the White House announced the president’s intent to eliminate “acting” from Galante’s title and nominate her to be HUD assistant secretary and FHA commissioner.
Prior to taking on the FHA job, Galante served as deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing at HUD, where she was appointed by Obama in 2009.
Before that, she was president of BRIDGE Housing Corp., where she spent 25 years. HUD has said that BRIDGE is the largest nonprofit developer of affordable apartments and homes in California.
Galante’s experience is timely for HUD given the current migration of many U.S. residents from home ownership to landlord-tenant living arrangements.
Galante also held key leadership positions as the executive director for Eden Housing, Inc., according to the White House. She is in the housing and planning department of the City of Santa Barbara, Calif.
