BARBARA SARD APPOINTED SENIOR ADVISOR FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has named Barbara Sard his Senior Advisor for Rental Assistance A leading expert on tenant-based rental assistance and welfare policy, Sard brings more than 30 years experience to HUD.

Prior to joining HUD, Sard was the Director of Housing Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). The housing work of the Center is focused primarily on improving the effectiveness of federal low-income housing programs. While at the Center, Sard was a key player in the enactment of changes to HUD's project-based voucher program and was actively involved in the development of the policies and rules to implement the merger of tenant-based certificate and voucher programs. Sard also served as one of five elected members of the Board of Commissioners of the Brookline Housing Authority from May 2004 to May 2009.

"Barbara's extensive work with housing issues, especially low-income rental housing, makes her an integral part of the team as we strive to preserve affordable housing," said Donovan. "The wealth of knowledge she brings to the Department is critical in making our programs more effective and helping close the gap between incomes and housing costs for all Americans. We’re thrilled to have her on board."

In 2001, HUD invited Sard to present a paper on the role of housing vouchers at a conference on Housing Policy in the New Millennium. The paper was later published in HUD's Journal Cityscape (www.huduser.org/Periodicals/CITYSCPE/VOL5NUM2/sard.pdf). Sard is also responsible for organizing the June 1998 research roundtable on Managing Affordable Housing Under Welfare Reform: Reconciling Competing Demands. She was co-editor of the volume of conference papers, A Place to Live, A Means to Work: How Housing Assistance Can Strengthen Welfare Policy which was published by the Fannie Mae Foundation in 2003. In addition, Sard has authored significant policy papers on other HUD programs, such as public housing, HOPE VI, the Family Self-Sufficiency Program and Section 3.

In 2004, Sard received an award from the National Housing Law Project and the Housing Justice Network for "lifelong dedication and exceptional success in improving housing conditions for people in need."

Sard also served as the Senior Managing Attorney of the Housing Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services where she directed the work of income maintenance, homelessness, and housing units. Sard holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from Radcliffe College and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.

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