One of Massachusetts’ leading affordable housing developers has named a new CEO.

Brookline resident Dara Kovel joined Beacon in 2015 as the president of Beacon Communities Development after a stint in the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and succeeds Pam Goodman, who led the company for over 20 years and grew it into a large developer with a national presence.

“Obviously, we have worked exceptionally hard to create a great company and I am confident that Dara will continue to focus and expand on what has made us successful,” Goodman said in a statement.

“Beacon has created an exceptional track record for improving the lives of residents through creation of quality housing and exceptional property management. I am thrilled to be leading the company into its next era,” Kovel said in a statement.

Kovel, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, started her career in California with the nonprofit Mercy Housing, led by Sisters of Mercy.

“At Mercy I developed my belief that housing is a human right, like food, health care and education,” she said in a statement. “This is where the policy and resource conversation should start.”

As president of Beacon’s development company, Kovel has been overseeing the management of major development projects including the recent phases of the redevelopment of Old Colony with the Boston Housing Authority, under way in South Boston, now known as Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony; the rehabilitation of Quincy Tower in Boston; North Square, new construction on an old mill site in Amherst, Massachusetts; and Montgomery Mill, a historic rehabilitation in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Beacon Communities owns a total of 65 properties in Massachusetts with 8,767 units, and seven properties with 814 units in Connecticut.