From the county government:

Acting Manager Niki Jones has named Melinda Lord as Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director, effective immediately. Lord has served as Interim Director since February 2024 after the resignation of former director Roderick Wallace. 

Lord has more than 20 years of experience in community development initiatives with an emphasis on affordable housing opportunities, homeless assistance, economic development, budgeting, and grant oversight and compliance. She joined HCD in 2015 as a Community Development Specialist and was promoted to Community Development Administrator and later Assistant Director over the next six years. 

“In her time as Assistant Director and Interim Director, Melinda has demonstrated her ability to effectively lead the Housing and Community Development Department,” said Jones. “She not only brings a wealth of experience and compassion to the position, but she has also collaborated extensively with community partners to increase their capabilities and services to Athens-Clarke County’s residents while meeting compliance requirements.” 

Lord also served as the Program Operations Manager for the City of Atlanta’s Department of Grants and Community Development during 2022 before returning to ACCGov. 

Prior to joining ACCGov, Lord worked for a non-profit organization in Greenville, SC for nearly 13 years to provide transitional housing and supportive services to homeless individuals and families. She has a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on public administration and public policy from Georgia Southern University. 

“I am honored to continue serving the Athens community in this new role and will work diligently each day to advance HCD’s mission in support of its residents,” said Lord. 

The ACCGov Housing and Community Development Department, through its community partners, provides grant funding to support affordable housing, economic development, public service, and public facilities and improvements activities to support the Athens community. HCD does not provide housing or direct services to the community. 

HCD manages the use of federal funding granted to local organizations through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and the Continuum of Care (CoC) grants. HCD also manages the use of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and local ACCGov general funds to carry out affordable housing, homeless, youth, mental health and public services initiatives. 

For more information about HCD, visit www.accgov.com/hcd.