WILLIAMS BECOMES HUD'S TOP POLICY DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH OFFICIAL
New Assistant Secretary brings more than two decades of private sector experience to HUD

WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today introduced Dr. Darlene F. Williams as HUD's Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.  With 23-years of management and policy experience in the private sector, Dr. Williams will now lead a staff of social scientists, economists, engineers, planners and policy experts charged with researching housing trends and developing national housing policy for the Department.

"I'm thrilled to take on this job with the trust and support of this President and this Secretary," said Williams.  "I'm looking forward to working with some of the of the smartest people I've ever met to help even more families experience their American Dream.

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is responsible for maintaining current information on housing needs, market conditions, and existing programs.  In addition, PD&R conducts research on priority housing and community development issues, providing reliable and objective data and analysis to help inform policy decisions.  Dr. Williams is a principal advisor to the Secretary on policy development, applied social science, housing technology and economic research on housing policy as well as for evaluation and monitoring of the Department's programs.

Dr. Williams came to HUD in June of 2003 as General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, later serving as the Department's Chief Information Officer.   Most recently, she served as the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for HUD's Office of Administration.

Prior to joining the Department, Dr. Williams was Corporate Policy Manager at TXU Corporation, a Texas energy company headquartered in Dallas.  In addition to working on energy policy issues, she assisted with Texas federal, state and local tax policy management. 

Dr. Williams also worked on the management teams for two of the country's top Fortune 500 companies, Eastman Kodak and Ryder Systems, Inc., where she designed and implemented strategic research and counseled senior management on a variety of issues.  Earlier in her career she obtained operations experience at Pacific Bell.  Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University, an M.B.A from the University of Chicago and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.

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