A. Fulton Meachem Jr.
A. Fulton Meachem Jr. joined the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh as the agency’s 12th executive director on Aug. 21, 2006. Prior to his arrival at HACP, Mr. Meachem provided diligent service to the low-income residents of the Winston-Salem Housing Authority throughout a distinguished career that began in 1994.
Since his arrival at HACP, Mr. Meachem has provided renewed energy and leadership in all areas of HACP activities including development, operational efficiency, modernization and the creation of accessible units, and resident services.
Mr. Meachem has instituted a repositioning strategy to guide the Authority in its efforts to revitalize an aging housing inventory. Major development initiatives under this strategy include: opening two new senior citizen communities, the Fairmont Apartments and the Legacy; the continued development of mixed-income family housing communities, including Bedford Hill and Oak Hill in the Hill District; and, the redevelopment of Garfield Heights. Mr. Meachem has led the HACP toward fulfilling its commitments to make its programs and facilities fully accessible to persons with disabilities and in full compliance with the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS). This includes completing the renovation or construction of 155 UFAS approved housing units, with a total of over 300 UFAS units on schedule to be completed by June 30, 2010. Mr. Meachem has also worked to dispose of properties that are obsolete and no longer economically viable.
HACP has instituted a number of new policies under Mr. Meachem’s leadership in order to encourage self-sufficiency among residents, improve operational efficiencies, and to increase accountability throughout the ranks of the Authority. These measures include the implementation of a mandatory work requirement for all able-bodied residents, an aggressive Section 3 Resident Employment Program with stronger requirements on the housing authority’s contractors to hire residents, and continued improvement in Family Self-Sufficiency and youth programs to help prepare residents to meet these new requirements. Mr. Meachem has emphasized self-sufficiency and encouraged residents to pursue employment, education and homeownership opportunities, while providing the HACP staff with the tools needed to realize these outcomes.
In 2008, HACP hosted its first Charity Golf Outing and netted more than $40,000 to use toward youth outreach programs such as the HACP Scholarship Program. In 2009, HACP netted more than $45,000 during its second Golf Outing and issued 4-year college scholarships to eight college bound HACP residents.
Mr. Meachem has also led the HACP to further develop its system of site-based property management, reducing costs without sacrificing services. This includes initiatives to establish performance based evaluations for staff to increase productivity and execution of an Energy Performance Contract to reduce costs, reduce energy usage, and improve residents’ quality of life. HACP also established a landlord responsibility program and consumer complaint hotline for its (Section 8) Housing Choice Voucher Program. Securing a ten-year extension of HACP’s Moving To Work Demonstration Program agreement with HUD ensures Mr. Meachem and the HACP will have opportunities for continued innovations for years to come.
Mr. Meachem was born and raised in Greensboro, NC. He resides with his wife Jeanette and two sons, Brannen and Bryce. He is a graduate of North Carolina Central University, with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Business Administration. He sits on a variety of public boards including the PPND (Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development) and the Affordable Housing Reinvestment Coalition, and is a member of the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association, and the Institute of Real Estate Management.
