NEW LEADERSHIP POSITIONS ANNOUNCED IN HUD ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION

DENVER, CO - New leadership positions have been filled at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rocky Mountain Regional Office in light of recent retirements, Regional Administrator Rick Garcia announced today. The regional leadership positions will provide oversight of programs in HUD Region VIII, which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Aaron B. Gagné as named Director of Community Planning and Development (CPD). Gagné served as the Director of Neighborhood Services and the Manager of Community Development for the city of Aurora, Colorado. He has also held positions in economic development, capital project management, corporate real estate, land development consulting, and municipal planning in locations from the Northeast to Colorado.

Janice L. Rodriquez was named Director of the Denver Office of Public Housing (OPH). Rodriquez has worked with HUD for over thirteen years, most recently as Division Director in the Office of Public Housing and Attorney-Advisor with the Office of General Counsel in the Denver Regional Office. Prior to her experience in the Denver Regional Office, she worked in HUD's Boston Field Office and on the Virgin Islands Housing Authority Receivership Team. She brings program knowledge, management, corporate and administrative law, and process improvement experience to her position.

Scott E. Bice was named Director of the Denver Single Family Homeownership Center (DHOC). Bice brings 33 years of senior executive mortgage lending/regulatory experience in federal and state government as well as the private sector, including previous HUD experience from California and Georgia. Unlike the rest of the region, the Denver Homeownership Center covers a 17 state geographical area including; Wisconsin, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Wyoming, and Colorado.

"I am pleased to welcome the experience, talent, and expertise that all of these individuals have to offer to our region," said Garcia, "I look forward to working with them to continue to fulfill our mission of providing safe, affordable housing to individuals and families in the Rocky Mountain Region."

The regional office has approximately 48 housing-related programs and over $67 billion in Regional HUD investments in programs covering Community Planning and Development, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Federal Housing Administration, Single Family and Multifamily Housing, Public and Indian Housing Programs.

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