Former St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will be the new president and CEO of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, succeeding the nonprofit’s longtime leader, Susan Haigh.
Coleman will start in his new role on June 2. Habitat’s board of directors tapped Coleman as Haigh’s successor this week. Haigh announced her resignation in January.
Coleman comes to Habitat after finishing out his third term as St. Paul’s mayor. The organization described him in a Thursday press release as having “prioritized significant expansion of housing” in St. Paul, while also pressing to make sure that 20 percent of all new housing built in the city using public funds would be affordable to low-income residents.
Twin Cities Habitat has built homes for more than 1,200 families in the Twin Cities since it got its start in 1985. The nonprofit built 68 homes last year and is on track to build about 100 this year, said Kaitlyn Dormer, the organization’s communications manager.
Coleman starts his new role as Habitat enters the second half of its four-year strategic plan, Impact 2020. The plan’s top priority is to more than double the impact of the Homeownership Program. Coleman will guide fundraising and strategic planning efforts, expand public, private, and community partnerships, and advance the organization’s commitment to equity and inclusion, according to the release.
“Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity plays a critical role in addressing our region’s affordable housing crisis and in closing Minnesota’s dismal racial gap in homeownership,” Coleman said in a statement.
He is taking the position with Habitat three months after suspending a campaign to run for the Minnesota governor’s office.
Coleman will replace Haigh, who is retiring after leading Twin Cities Habitat for more than 13 years. Haigh is a former Ramsey County commissioner and has previously served as the chair of the Metropolitan Council.
Under Haigh’s leadership, Habitat formed a $98 million mortgage financing partnership with Bremer Bank and opened two ReStore Home Improvement outlets. The nonprofit also built a new, 27,000-square-foot headquarters building at 1954 University Ave. in St. Paul for $9.5 million during her tenure, according to Finance & Commerce archives.
Haigh said Coleman’s experience as St. Paul’s mayor will translate to his new role with Habitat.
“After years of investing in low-income communities as mayor, Coleman is now turning his career toward directly impacting families through Habitat’s mission,” she said in a statement.
Coleman’s selection for the top executive position at Twin Cities Habitat came after the organization’s board formed a search committee and hired an executive search firm. The national search attracted “significant interest” in the position, according to the release.
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