For five consecutive years while Ralph was CFO the Charlotte Housing Authority received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

Prior to Charlotte Ralph was the Finance Director at the City of Statesville, NC and the Town of Garner, NC. Ralph has also held various other finance positions throughout his career.

Eboni Howard, PhD, is the Principal Early Childhood Specialist at American Institutes for Research (AIR). Howard has over 20 years of experience conducting child and family research, as well as program administration and management. She has provided research or consultation services to federal, state and local organizations. She currently is the director of two projects related to professional development of teachers in Head Start programs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. She is also as senior advisor for Massachusetts’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant Study: Validation of Educator Competency, and is the early c hildhood alliance lead for the U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences, Regional Educational Laboratories-Midwest (REL Midwest). A few of the organizations she has provided consulting services to include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and Chicago Public Schools.

In addition to her research and consultation services, she manages the development and administration of AIR’s business and marketing strategy for the early childhood practice area. Howard has presented extensively on early childhood topics, has served on a number of advisory boards, and served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children.

Howard earned her doctorate in human development and social policy from Northwestern University. She has been with AIR since September, 2009.

Paul T. Graziano, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and Housing Commissioner of the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development

Gans, Gans, & Associates (gga) is pleased to have worked closely with Executive Director Paul T. Graziano and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) in conducting more than 20 executive searches over the past 10 years. Earlier this year, gga conducted a nationwide search that resulted in Anthony Scott being named Deputy Executive Director of HABC. “We can always rely on Simone Gans Barefield and her staff at gga to help us find well-qualified, top-notch housing professionals,” said Mr. Graziano. “We are excited to work with Mr. Scott in continuing to fulfill our mission of providing high quality service and affordable housing to 25,000 low income families in Baltimore.”

Growing up in Vermont, Mr. Graziano learned at an early age about good work ethics from his father and gained a thirst for knowledge and education from his mother. He also developed a passion for making a difference in the community and in people’s lives. With an insatiable hunger to learn about the world around him and a determination to contribute to the betterment of society, he left Vermont to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During his time at MIT, Mr. Graziano earned a Bachelor of Science in Planning and a Master in City Planning. Before coming to Baltimore, he served as General Manager (Chief Executive Officer) of the New York City Housing Authority. In this executive capacity, he oversaw a portfolio of more than 250,000 units of Public Housing and Section 8, with a total annual budget of more than $2 billion.

In November 2000, Mayor Martin O’Malley appointed Mr. Graziano as Housing Commissioner. In this role, Mr. Graziano is responsible for the oversight of HABC and the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Mr. Graziano restructured HCD and HABC and successfully eliminated redundancy and ensured program accountability within the two agencies. He has also been able to more effectively target public resources.

One of Executive Director Graziano’s greatest accomplishments during his longstanding tenure at Baltimore Housing has been turning around a once troubled public housing agency. Under his methodical and persistent leadership, he has brought much-needed stability to the 5th largest public housing authority in the nation. Another major accomplishment under Mr. Graziano’s leadership was HABC’s designation as a Moving to Work (MTW) agency by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2005, a merit reserved for only 36 agencies nationwide. With this designation, HABC has been able to increase the housing choices for Baltimore’s low-income families by providing incentives to families with children whose heads of household are working, seeking work or are participating in training programs to help them become employed and financially self-sufficient.

As an MTW agency, HABC can create public housing policies and procedures outside the framework of established standards. Over the years, HABC has designed and tested innovative housing and self-sufficiency strategies for low-income families through HUD exemptions that combine operating, capital and tenant-based assistance funds into a single agency-wide funding source.

In 2009, HABC received $66 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. Included in the funds were $32.7 million awarded for capital improvements and an additional $33.4 million in grants under ARRA’s highly competitive Capital Fund Recovery Competition (CFRC). HABC is using the ARRA funds to renovate approximately 240 dilapidated scattered sites and 30 conventional public housing units throughout Baltimore. “The funds have greatly helped HABC’s endeavor to bring these units back into productive use, provide affordable housing to our residents, and reinvigorate distressed neighborhoods,” said Mr. Graziano.

This past summer, Mr. Graziano’s commitment and passion for affordable housing was once again recognized when HABC received the prestigious National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Merit Award for achieving a 99.7% occupancy rate. NAHRO also honored HABC for its innovative efforts to reduce maintenance response times, record-high rates of completion and timeliness for annual rent recertifications, and high rent collection rates.

“Paul brought to that job a sort of professional, methodical persistence to turning around the housing authority, to laying the groundwork for Baltimore’s redevelopment,” said Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. “He’s not a show horse, but a workhorse.”

Executive Director Graziano has over 30 years of academic and professional experience in Housing & Community Development.

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The Importance of Goal Alignment

Jack Welch says: “That’s the best business management system I’ve ever seen.”

By Liz Corey

Implementing effective goal alignment throughout your organization in support of a well-defined strategy is one of the most important things you can do as a leader. There are many reasons to implement goal alignment, but let’s focus on those with the greatest business impact:

_ Improves and accelerates operational execution

_ Increases employee morale and improves retention

_ Creates ownership in the organization’s success

_ Increases organizational productivity

Goal alignment allows for a quicker execution of company strategy. Without good alignment to strategy, every bit of forward motion is a struggle. With everyone working together towards the same objectives, your company can execute strategy faster and with more flexibility. Essentially, goal alignment strengthens your leadership, creates organizational agility and improved results.

Goal alignment is used to communicate expectations, document progress, and identify employee development needs. By ensuring that your employees understand what your organization is trying to achieve, and how his or her role – and performance – contributes to the organization’s core mission, you can focus their efforts on your company’s mission critical goals and make strategic decisions rapidly.

gga is pleased to announce that, in partnership with Eccentric Leadership, LLC, we are now one of only a handful of Consultants certified to implement and deliver Evaluate to Win – an innovate, cost effective, cloud-based business management system that can make an immediate impact on your companies’ performance. In addition, we are now offering training programs in Coaching, Leadership Development and Sales Skills – that have been proven to deliver results.

Evaluate to Win was developed by a CEO who has attended the Jack Welch Management Institute for over 5 years.  He developed ETW to make his business more successful – it has had 5 consecutive years of 20%+ CAGR.

When Jack saw ETW he said it was the best business management system he’d ever seen.  ETW follows the Welch Way and has proven successful in public, private and non-profit organizations.

Evaluate to Win drives winning behaviors & performance in order to make the organization more successful and to teach employees that when the organization wins, They win! This is the most powerful thing you can do to ensure organizational success.

Benefits:

Affordable. Up-Front, No Hassle Pricing.
No Contract or Restrictive Termination Clause.
No IT Investment.
Supported by Professional Consultants.

Learn More:

(Click Image to Watch a Demonstration Video)

Please contact Liz Corey, liz@gansgans.com or 813-476-3586 to schedule your complimentary webinar or discuss options for training managers to be better coaches.

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Most of the candidates gga presents for executive searches have many years of management experience and have conducted countless interviews searching for talent. However, it is sometimes difficult for them when they are searching for new career opportunities to know how to present themselves during an interview.

Make a positive first impression
Prior to your interview, research common interview questions and prepare some responses in advance.  Your responses will then flow more easily when asked during an interview.  Make a list of five accomplishments you are most proud of during your career.

Research the organization that is interviewing you.  Go to their website, read their strategic plan, search the Internet for recent news articles, and look up the names of key management.  Knowledge of the organization will convey your interest.

Dress appropriately. An interview is not the time to wear the latest fashions.  In fact, you do not want your clothes to be a topic of post-interview conversation. Dress conservatively in business attire.

Be sure to shake hands with your interviewer(s) and ask for their name. Try to write down everyone’s name so you can respond to them directly when they ask questions.

Winning them Over
During the interview, stay positive and maintain eye contact. Try not to dwell on negative experiences or bad mouth past employers. An interview is not a therapy session to vent your past frustrations.

Answer with succinct responses and always provide clear examples to highlight your knowledge and/or experience.  Seek clarification or paraphrase the question to be sure you understand what is being asked.

Don’t control the flow of the conversation.  There are usually many questions to be answered and limited time.  Look for cues that it is time to wrap up your response.

Show some enthusiasm. Smile. You want to be someone they want to work with.

When the interview is over, be sure to have a couple questions to ask.  Again, this shows you are interested in them too.  Find out about their short and long term goals for the position and what they consider to be the key attributes to be successful in the position.

Leave the interview on a positive note, summarizing your interest and what you will bring to their organization.  Be courteous and thank the interviewer(s) for their consideration.

Next month: How to conduct an effective interview from the employer’s perspective.

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