La Shelle Dozier began her role as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) in November 2025. Prior to her appointment as CLPHA’s CEO, La Shelle was vice president of CLPHA’s board of directors and served on the board’s nominating and personnel committee. She is a co-chair of the 10 Year Roadmap for Public Housing Sustainability, a broad coalition of stakeholders engaged to advance and preserve public housing.
Before joining CLPHA, La Shelle worked for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) for 23 years and served as its executive director from 2009-2025. La Shelle was responsible for administering the agency’s over $300 million budget that serves more than 50,000 low-income individuals with a workforce of over 300 employees. At SHRA she was the legislative committee chair of the Statewide California Association of Housing Authorities Board. In addition, she was a board member of the Community Action Board of the local workforce investment agency. She was also the president and board member of Norwood Housing and Shasta Housing nonprofit housing entities. La Shelle also previously served on the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank Community Action Council.
La Shelle received her undergraduate degree in industrial psychology from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.
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Janelle returns to CLPHA as Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs, bringing deep expertise in housing policy, legislative advocacy, and HUD relations. Most recently serving as Director of Policy at Compass Working Capital, Janelle led initiatives supporting economic mobility for families with low incomes, with particular focus on the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program, while analyzing federal housing policies to identify opportunities for program enhancement. She has held leadership roles with public housing agencies like Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and the Detroit Housing Commission, as well as with Enterprise Community Partners and other national housing organizations, focusing on program management, policy analysis, and strategic development.
Previously serving as Director of Policy & Research at CLPHA, Janelle spearheaded policy initiatives addressing critical issues in the public housing sector while serving as a key liaison between housing agencies and government stakeholders. Her educational background includes a Master of Public Administration and Master of Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Throughout her career, she has maintained a steadfast commitment to improving housing policies and programs, with particular focus on Housing Choice Voucher administration, public housing operations, and federal housing policy development.
Trena joined CLPHA in August 2006. Prior to CLPHA, she was the Membership Operations Manager for AcademyHealth, managing all aspects of retention and recruitment for 4500 members. Trena has over 20 years of experience in membership and operations. Her primary responsibilities at CLPHA include operations, membership recruitment and retention and meeting logistics. Trena holds an MBA, concentration Project Management from Strayer University, Alexandria VA, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Psychology from William Smith College.
David has more than 20 years of experience in senior communications and public affairs. Over the course of his career, he has worked for Fortune 250 corporations, the federal government, a 1.4-million-member trade association and a non-profit foundation. For the past 13 years, David has worked in the real estate arena serving as Director of Communications for the Appraisal Foundation, and as Vice President, Media and Consumer Communications for the National Association of Realtors. David holds a B.A. in English from the University of Nebraska.
Jim has over 15 years of experience in housing policy. He started his policy career at the Chicago Housing Authority in a resident-focused position created through flexibility granted by the Moving to Work program. Since then, Jim has contributed to nationwide research at the Urban Institute that identified patterns of housing discrimination against people with disabilities and individuals with housing vouchers. At the DC Department of Human Services, Jim awarded and administered grants in DC’s Continuum of Care program, an initiative to end homelessness in the District. Prior to joining CLPHA, Jim served in several roles at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including special assistant to the Deputy Secretary and policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Economics from North Central College, as well as an M.P.P. from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
Isaac Dozier comes to Housing Is from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), where he led more than $100 million in public-private partnership initiatives connecting public housing authorities, developers, and community organizations to HUD’s redevelopment priorities as the Senior Project Manager, Neighborhood and Community Investment for the Jobs Plus Program. Before HUD, Isaac was the Director of Community Development for the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers, Florida, Regional Vice President of Urban Strategies, Inc., and Director of Client Services for the Housing Authority of New Orleans. Isaac also previously served in the U.S. Army and holds an MBA from American Inter-Continental University and a BA from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Kirsten joined CLPHA in January 2016 as the organization's administrative assistant, then served as administrative and communications associate, then as communications and membership services associate, and moved to her current role in January 2023. She implements communications strategies, messaging, marketing, and membership recruitment and retention for CLPHA and Housing Is across the organizations' digital platforms. She has an MA in art history from George Washington University and a BA in English and art history from the University of Alabama.
Cynthia has over five years of experience working with various communities through direct services, community outreach, and advocacy. Cynthia recently worked as a homeless outreach specialist in Montgomery County, Maryland, where she engaged with people experiencing homelessness to help them move into housing. Cynthia also previously worked for the U.S. House of Representatives and was responsible for housing and homelessness legislative priorities for her office. She earned her bachelor’s in philosophy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Cynthia holds a master's in urban planning from Georgetown University.
Lesley is a senior policy analyst at CLPHA with expertise in federal housing policy, community-based services, and asset-building. She has led research and technical assistance for HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program for over a decade. Prior to coming to CLPHA, Lesley was an associate at Abt Global, where she directed research, evaluation, and technical assistance initiatives for federal and nonprofit clients. Ms. Freiman holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan's Ford School and a Bachelors from Brown University.
Chandler is a housing policy researcher with experience studying the intersection of federal housing policy, disaster recovery, and community resilience. His research has examined the experiences of public housing residents and Housing Choice Voucher recipients navigating disasters and housing instability, including work on unmet needs during Hurricane Harvey, Winter Storm Uri, and COVID-19, neighborhood quality outcomes for voucher recipients, and flooding and flood-related mold in subsidized housing developments. He has also conducted research on community and economic development organizations’ engagement with climate resilience, equitable resilience planning practices in local government, and the evaluation of capacity-building programs embedding technical assistance in disaster-exposed communities across the Southeast and Gulf Coast. He previously served as a research associate at the Urban Institute, where he led and contributed to federally and philanthropically funded research on housing resilience, disaster preparedness, flood mitigation in subsidized housing, and equitable community resilience planning. Chandler holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Science and a Master of Urban Planning from Texas A&M University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University.
Teniola focuses on health and housing policy under Housing Is. Teniola joins CLPHA with experience in health policy research and analysis. Teniola had a previous internship experience at the NYS Department of Health, where she researched the importance of cross-collaboration with state and local government agencies to address the social determinants of health. Teniola previously worked at the Medicare Rights Center, where she spoke to Medicare beneficiaries and professionals across the country to help problem solve their Medicare concerns, refer them to other organizations to assist with housing and food assistance and enroll them in Medicare cost-saving assistance programs. In addition, Teniola worked as a policy consultant researching Medicaid long-term care policies at Aurrera Health Group. Teniola holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and Political Science and a Master of Public Health from the University at Albany (SUNY). Teniola strives to advocate for underrepresented communities to have equitable access to healthcare, housing, and food.
Senait joined CLPHA in January 2024 as the Administrative Assistant, where she works closely with the Director of Operations. Senait has a background legislative affairs and policy and external affairs. As an experienced and highly adaptable executive assistant, she's dedicated to optimizing operations, empowering executives to excel, and contributing to the success of organizations globally. Senait earned her BS in public administration and graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina Central University. Senait believes in vision and having a vision in every aspect of life; therefore, being a part of positive changes and improving communities is a passion of hers.
Anneliese is a Policy and Program Associate under Housing Is, where she works on cross-sector initiatives connecting housing with healthcare and education. She earned her B.A. in Human Services, with a concentration in Social Justice and a minor in Political Science, from the University of Minnesota Morris. With firsthand experience navigating housing assistance and shaped by her intersecting identities, she brings both personal insight and a strong commitment to housing access to her policy work. She previously worked as an APAICS Fellow on the House Financial Services Committee, focusing on housing, community development, and financial services.