Courtesy photos.
SANTA BARBARA — The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is pleased to announce that Dave Gustafson and Patricia “Pat” Wheatley have been appointed to its Board of Commissioners.
As retired Housing and Redevelopment Manager and Assistant Community Development Director for the City of Santa Barbara, Dave Gustafson holds extensive experience in affordable housing financing, development and management. Gustafson brings expertise in the local housing market, property acquisition and land use opportunities, as well as a background in large-scale Section 8 Program management.
Gustafson is also the current Board Chair of Peoples’ Self-Help Housing and The Duncan Group, and has served on the boards of the Coastal Housing Coalition and Sarah House.
“I have devoted my career and retirement time to affordable housing because I believe it is fundamental to individual, family and community health,” said Gustafson. “The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara has always been a stellar contributor to affordable housing done right, and I look forward to this new role in helping keep it that way, especially in the current climate of regulatory and fiscal uncertainty.”
For 50 years, Pat Wheatley served in providing social services primarily in Santa Barbara County, directing programs in public and nonprofit sectors impacting policy and community members of every generation. In 2013, Wheatley retired as 14-year Executive Director of First Five of Santa Barbara County. With prior roles as Manager of Senior Services for Goleta Valley and Cottage hospitals for the 12 years prior and one of the original volunteers establishing Transition House, Wheatley has had a hand in impacting policy and quality of life for local residents of every generation.
As president of the Grace Lutheran Church Council, Wheatley helped the 113-year-old congregation redefine their ministry by donating the church’s property to the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara as the site of Grace Village, apartments for low-income seniors with expected completion in early 2018. Wheatley is President of the Board of Grace Housing Inc. and serves on the Transition House Board of Directors. She and her husband Joe are active in many community organizations.
“Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to develop programs and policy to empower families and our most vulnerable residents through access to health, education and housing,” said Wheatley. “It is an honor to now directly serve an organization that has been a vital partner to virtually every organization with which I have been involved.”
“Pat and Dave have each made extraordinary contributions to the community throughout their careers and community service,” said Rob Fredericks, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara. “The vision of our dedicated board of commissioners drives our staff to excellence, and we look forward to the unique wisdom, energy and leadership of our newest commissioners.”
For more information, visit hacsb.org.
About the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara: The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is a local public agency created for the purpose of providing safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes, through a variety of federal, state, local and private resources. Since 1969, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara has developed and/or secured over 3,400 units of affordable rental housing for Santa Barbara through a variety of federal, state, local and private funding sources. Please visit the website at www.hacsb.org