As Senior Associate, Paul Weech brings deep knowledge and accumulated wisdom earned over three and a half decades in affordable housing, community development, and financial services. Located in Washington, DC, Paul will support and advise high-capacity non-profits and other Mission Entrepreneurial Entities (Mee’s) to adapt and thrive in changing policy and practice ecosystems, both in the US and globally, with emphasis on the following themes:
- Program development and implementation. As a Senior Analyst for the US Senate Budget Committee (1989-93) and Staff Director for the Housing Subcommittee of the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (1993-97) Paul guided and contributed to the enactment of key US legislation, including bills affecting affordable housing preservation programs, promoting pension investments into affordable housing, leveraging funding for non-profit capacity building, creating affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and innovating in homeless assistance.
- Nonprofit sector management and network development. Paul served in senior leadership roles for the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (2009-11) and the Housing Partnership Network (HPN; 2009-2014), and as President and CEO of NeighborWorks America (NW; 2015-2017). Collectively, these three peer-to-peer networks are comprised of 300+ US housing and community development Mee’s that develop and manage affordable housing, promote homeownership, provide residential and commercial loans, and deliver a vast range of social services and economic development strategies. At HPN, Paul worked with members to craft HPN’s treatise Toward a Housing Policy Reform Agenda that tapped practitioner-based innovations and successes to articulate a transformational platform to advance and strengthen Mees’ role in the delivery system.
- Strategy and leadership for mission-focused entities. As Chief of Staff at the US Small Business Administration (SBA; 1997-98), Paul wrote SBA’s strategic plan, with a particular focus on increasing service to minority and women-owned businesses. At Fannie Mae (1998-2008), he managed the company’s affordable housing and minority lending goals consistent with market opportunities, and played a central role in developing Fannie Mae’s mission initiatives The American Dream Commitment and the Expanded American Dream Commitment. At NW, Paul spearheaded a new five-year strategic plan centered on increasing member organizations’ sustainability, scale, and impact through new capital, resources, and business models.
- Board advisory and governance. Paul has served on many boards and advisory councils such as the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, National Housing Conference, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Morgan Stanley, Capital One, and Bank of America.
- Global and cross-national perspective. Out of graduate school, Paul lived for a year in a small village in northern Cote d’Ivoire and later returned to work for AIG in the capital city. At HPN, Paul helped manage cross-border collaboration among strong housing nonprofits from the US, UK, Australia, and Canada. He has presented in Kiev, Ukraine, and York, UK; and represented the US government before the EU in Brussels; in San Jose, Costa Rica; and in Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa.
