The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance has named Symone Crawford its next executive director.
Crawford is currently MAHA’s director of STASH and homeownership operations. She will replace longtime executive director Thomas Callahan, who announced in June that he would retire from MAHA at the end of the year.
“We are excited that Symone will be leading us into the future and building on the success that MAHA has had over the years,” MAHA Board President Esther Dupie said in a statement.
Crawford will be one of the first women of color to lead a statewide nonprofit housing organization in Massachusetts, MAHA said in the statement. She grew up in Jamaica and moved to Boston in 1999. Crawford was on MAHA’s board of directors before joining the nonprofit’s staff in 2018. Her new role begins on Jan. 1.
“I’m humbled by the chance to continue to break down the barriers facing lower income homebuyers, especially homebuyers of color,” Crawford said in the statement. “MAHA has always worked to narrow the racial homeownership gap and now is the time for everyone to redouble our efforts to make serious progress in Boston and throughout the state.”
In addition to her role at MAHA, Crawford is a member of MassHousing’s Racial Equity Advisory Council for Homeownership, a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, board secretary of Midas Collaborative and a board member of the Hyde Park Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Crawford in the statement noted the importance of MAHA’s work in challenging banks and elected officials to close the racial wealth and homeownership gaps.
“We are at an inflection point right now with unprecedented resources coming to our city and state,” Crawford said. “How we decide to deploy those funds and who they benefit are critical questions facing us right now. The voices of the thousands of homebuyers graduating from our classes need to be heard.”
MAHA was established in 1985, and its work has led to the creation of ONE Mortgage, the nation’s longest running Community Reinvestment Act mortgage program; HomeSafe, an education-based property insurance discount plan for homeowners; STASH, a first-in-the-nation matched savings program for first-generation homebuyers; and state-level CRA coverage for independent mortgage companies.
Callahan will leave MAHA at the end of the year after leading the organization for 30 years. He will become executive director of the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council.
