U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has named C. Donald Babers to serve as HUD’s Acting Southwest Regional Director for a five-state region that includes Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Babers is currently HUD’s Deputy Regional Director where he directs operations of the HUD Regional Office in Fort Worth, Texas, and the 11 HUD Field Offices within the five states that comprise the region.
“We are extremely fortunate to have such an experienced hand to address the challenges in one of our busiest regions,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “With nearly four decades of housing experience, Don knows the Agency inside and out and he is well known and respected among HUD’s partners throughout the region.”
In his new position, Babers will serve as HUD’s liaison to state and local elected officials, congressional delegations, and other stakeholders. He will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of HUD programs and services to communities and evaluating their effectiveness.
“I am deeply honored by this privilege to serve and I am truly excited about being able to help this Administration revolutionize the delivery of HUD’s services to our clients,” said Babers. “HUD plays a critical role in the lives of families throughout this region. I want to be a part of the visionary team that is transforming the way we do business and raising the bar.”
Babers began his federal career in June 1970 as an intern in HUD’s Fort Worth office, later serving as an Equal Opportunity Specialist and fair housing director in HUD’s Little Rock, Arkansas field office. For 15 years, the Fort Worth native held a number of managerial positions in HUD’s Dallas field office including leading the effort to resolve a housing discrimination challenge brought against the Department. Babers’ role in helping to settle that case is credited for significantly expanding affordable housing opportunities for lower income public housing residents in 36 East Texas counties.
In 2002, he was appointed Deputy Regional Director of HUD’s Fort Worth Regional Office and in 2006, the Secretary appointed him as Recovery Advisor/Chairman of the Board of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO). Babers was given the difficult task of overseeing the City’s public housing recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. During his two years in New Orleans, he oversaw every facet of HANO’s redevelopment efforts designed to provide rental and homeownership housing units to displaced families. In a highly charged environment, Babers formed important partnerships among groups with disparate viewpoints and agendas by working effectively with Federal, State and City agencies, officials and legislators, private and non-profit organizations, residents and the national media.
In 2006, Baber’s efforts in New Orleans and his distinguished track record earned him the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, the highest award a career federal civil servant can receive.
He received a bachelor of arts degree in history and sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and currently resides in Fort Worth with his wife, Sheila.
For more information, visit www.hud.gov.
