News Release

June 1, 2011

Contact: Contact: Doug Robinson, drobinson@nw.org, 202-220-2360
Erin Collins, ecollins@nw.org, 202-220-6317

NeighborWorks America Board of Directors Names Eileen M. Fitzgerald CEO

Washington, D.C. – The Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, doing business as NeighborWorks America, today announced that it has appointed Eileen M. Fitzgerald as the new CEO effective June 1, 2011.

Fitzgerald has 25 years of experience in nonprofit and government leadership. She has served as the Acting CEO since January 2011, and was chief operating officer at NeighborWorks America starting in 2005.

“Eileen’s extensive background in community development, government, and the nonprofit sector makes her the ideal person to lead NeighborWorks America,” said Thomas Curry, chair of the NeighborWorks America Board of Directors and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Director. “With her deep experience, proven track record, and commitment to communities, Eileen will effectively take NeighborWorks into the future.”

“I am honored to lead NeighborWorks America and will build on NeighborWorks America’s mission to create opportunities for people across the country to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America. “The need to assist families and individuals with one of life’s basic building blocks – a healthy, safe and affordable home in a vibrant and safe community – has never been greater, making NeighborWorks America’s mission more critical than ever. NeighborWorks supports a network of 242 local and regional nonprofit organizations that deliver sustainable homes on the ground and create strong communities every day. We are proud of our preeminent training courses that last year served professionals in 3,000 nonprofits and municipalities working in communities across the nation. We are committed to working with our many partners, including more than 1,300 local and national foreclosure-intervention counseling agencies, to assist families and communities recover from the foreclosure crisis.”

Fitzgerald succeeds Kenneth Wade, who was CEO from 2004 through 2010.

Before coming to NeighborWorks America Fitzgerald served as Senior Director, National Initiatives at the Fannie Mae Foundation, where she was responsible for program development, strategic management, and alliance and relationship management with key partners. Prior to Fannie Mae, Fitzgerald served as Acting Executive Director and Vice President of Program Operations at the McAuley Institute, a national nonprofit intermediary committed to improving the housing conditions of women and families through community-based efforts. She also served as the Chief Investment Officer for Single Family Finance at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust where she launched the HIT HOME program.

Previously, Fitzgerald served as the Associate Administrator and Acting Administrator of the USDA Rural Housing Service where she led the conversion of mortgage servicing to a centralized system. She also served in both Virginia and Maryland State governments.

A native of Queens, NY, Fitzgerald holds a Bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and a Master’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She is married and has two children.

About NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated $20 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.