Estelle Richman, former senior advisor to the secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, have joined the board of directors of Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).

POAH is a nonprofit developer of affordable housing that owns and operates more than 8,000 affordable apartments in nine states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.

Most recently, Richman was named Philadelphia Housing Authority board chair to oversee operations of the agency when it was under federal receivership for two years. Barrios served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate for nine years.

"Estelle’s deep experience in human services along with her work at HUD, which views housing as a platform for improving a wide range of outcomes, will help us advance our organization’s mission in this direction," Board Chairman Herbert Morse said in a statement. "Jarrett Barrios also brings affordable housing expertise and a lifetime of advocacy against discrimination and for social justice and humanitarian causes includes protecting the rights of the disabled and low income persons – two populations we serve."