KANSAS CITY, KANSAS - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that Macie L. Houston, from Overland Park, Kan., has been named as Regional Director for the four states in HUD's Great Plains Region, based in Kansas City, Kansas.

In this position, Houston will serve as HUD's liaison to mayors, city managers, elected representatives, state and local officials, Congressional delegations, stakeholders and customers in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. She will oversee the delivery of HUD programs and services to communities, and evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness. Houston is one of 10 regional directors in the United States.

Since 1996, Houston has been a Regional Director for Kansas Senator Sam Brownback. In this role, she represented the Senator throughout a 22-county area. Her responsibilities included oversight of office operations and supervision of staff; public speaking engagements on legislative and public policy issues; and working with city and county elected officials, state legislators, party leaders, business leaders, faith-based community organizations, community development leaders, federal agencies and the media on a variety of local issues. In addition, she organized and managed special projects such as the historic Underground Railroad movement in Kansas and the Kansas-U.S. Ambassador's Tour.

Houston is a member of the Board of Trustees, Saint Mary's College; a member of the State Executive Board, Kansas Republican Party; a member of the Board of Directors, Outreach Ministries Education Foundation; Board Member, Territorial Kansas Heritage Alliance; Volunteer Executive Trainer, Junior Achievement; and, Volunteer Speaker, Reality 101 Program (school to work educational training); and former Chairwoman of the Kansas Black Republican Council. She is the former Commissioner and Chair of the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women; Past Chair of the American Business Women's Association; Past Vice-Chair of the Black Women's Network; and, former Board Member, Topeka Youth Project. Houston received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Saint Mary's College in Leavenworth, Kansas.

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