The Housing Center welcomed new staff and improved services to meet the increased demand for fair housing services over the last year. In 2013, the Housing Center conducted over 400 audits for housing discrimination; hosted 52 fair housing training sessions (attended by 1,434 people); tabled 23 community outreach events; and released six research reports.
The Housing Center welcomed Michael Lepley, Research Associate, to the staff in February. Michael conducts research, writes reports and press releases, and coordinates fair housing testing. Michael earned his Bachelor of Art degree, majoring in history and minoring in political science and Spanish, from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 2009. He earned his Master of Public Administration, concentrating in public and nonprofit management and urban and regional affairs, from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 2012. During graduate school, Michael interned at Northwest Dane Senior Services where he performed research to support the agency’s strategic planning efforts. Prior to joining the Housing Center, Michael provided mental health services to children with behavioral disorders and autism in Western Pennsylvania.
Mandy Mehlman has been promoted to Senior Research Associate. In her newly created position, Mandy will oversee research projects and supervise the Research Team. Mandy previously served as the Housing Center’s Fair Housing Community Educator, providing community education and outreach services throughout Northeast Ohio. Mandy also authored the popular guide, Obtaining and Maintaining: Housing for People with Mental Health Disabilities, and the recently published fair housing consumer manual, Fair Housing: Know Your Rights!
Darlene English has been named Director of Education & Outreach. Darlene manages the Education Team and the education and outreach programming for consumers and housing professionals. In addition to planning the Housing Center’s fair housing marketing campaigns, Darlene provides trainings for housing professionals and writes articles for the newsletter, e-news, and website. All of these efforts have increased the number of people in Northeast Ohio who are aware of their fair housing rights and how the Housing Center can advocate for them.
Kris Keniray has been named Director of Enforcement. Kris manages the Enforcement Team, which is responsible for complaint investigations, enforcement activities, and advocacy initiatives. During the past year, the number of people who have had complaints serviced by the Enforcement Team has increased from 80 to 201, which represents a 151% increase in intakes.