Executive search for her replacement is underway

Dear Members and Fellow Housers,

Six years ago, a small group of dedicated advocates made the decision to move forward and create a new South Bay housing policy and advocacy organization following an 18-month process of focus groups, exploratory committees, benchmarking, and countless meetings at local coffee shops. The interest from the community was incredible, and we quickly raised enough money to launch an organization and assemble an enthusiastic 18-member Board of Directors. A member of the founding group, Leslye Corsiglia, who had recently stepped down after years working for the San Jose Housing Department, agreed to lead the fledgling organization, which we named SV@Home, or Silicon Valley at Home.

After growing the organization from one employee to twelve and making a name for SV@Home in the housing space, Leslye has decided that now is the time to pursue other adventures and to give a new housing leader the opportunity to run SV@Home.

 You may know that SV@Home fills a unique role in the housing space, dedicated to improving housing conditions and increasing housing opportunities for everyone from those living on our streets to those who work for our leading employers. Our tent is bigger than many, we work more closely with local government partners than other groups, and we base our policy and advocacy on evidence and research. It is most definitely a challenge to manage a big tent organization, where people all are committed to housing Santa Clara County’s residents, but have different ideas about how to achieve the goals.

As she prepares to leave, we reflect on the many accomplishments of the organization during her tenure. From working on the successful Measure A team that raised $950 million for affordable housing and homelessness in Santa Clara County in SV@Home’s early days, to creating the new SV@Home Action Fund that ran the successful Measure E campaign in San Jose (which is expected to raise $30-70 million annually for affordable homes), to co-chairing CASA- the Committee to House the Bay Area (which has seen great legislative success), to overseeing a policy effort to bring thousands more affordable homes to Santa Clara County, create opportunities for more land for housing, and remove barriers to development. Truly a lot has been achieved in a short period of time.

Our Board of Directors, comprised of nonprofit and for-profit developers, nonprofit executives, development consultants, and community leaders, has selected a search firm and created a selection committee to find our new Executive Director. Please keep an eye out for the job announcement and help us distribute it far and wide. Thankfully, Leslye will stay with the organization as we go through the search process to find a new leader. We estimate that the process for recruitment and selection will take several months, so please still connect with Leslye during this transition period.

Additionally, we are working with Leslye to stay on in a part-time consulting role to help grow the SV@Home Action Fund, so she is not entirely abandoning ship. While we will miss her leadership, we believe the organization is in a great place and that whoever steps into her shoes will be positioned for success.

Sincerely,

Kevin Zwick, Board Chair, SV@Home

Candice Gonzalez, SV@Home Action Fund