Pam Patenaude
Her name is Pam Patenaude, and she was floated as a candidate for Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) before the administration nominated Ben Carson.
Patenaude has a solid background in housing policy; she’s the current president of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America’s Families and was the former director of housing policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
And she also served as HUD assistant secretary for Community, Planning and Development during George W. Bush’s administration — so this will be her second stint in the department if she’s confirmed.
That’s looking pretty likely, as there seems to be widespread support for Patenaude’s nomination.
“The National Association of Realtors commends the Trump administration for its nomination of Pam Patenaude for the position of deputy secretary,” said National Association of Realtors president William E. Brown in a statement.
“Pam’s extensive and strong background in real estate and housing will be an asset, and NAR has long enjoyed a strong relationship with Pam working on and advancing regulatory and policy initiatives.”
Brown also called Patenaude an “ideal candidate for the position,” and said that NAR encourages her confirmation.
Diane Yentel, the president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, also applauded the choice of Patenaude as nominee.
“Ms. Patenaude is a strong leader with decades of experience cultivating bipartisan solutions to America’s affordable rental housing crisis,” Yentel said in a statement. “She has deep knowledge of, experience with and appreciation for the critical programs she will oversee.
“An affordable place to call home transforms lives, giving people the stability they need to achieve economic mobility, improve their health, and allow children to do better in school. Investments in affordable homes create jobs and strengthen communities. Ms. Patenaude has worked throughout her career to advance solutions based on this fundamental understanding.”
Yentel added that NLIHC urged the Senate to confirm Patenaude and that the organization looked forward to working with her.