The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania today named Phyllis Chamberlain, Director of the Delaware Homeless Planning Council, as its new Executive Director.

The Housing Alliance is Pennsylvania’s leading advocate to ensure Pennsylvanian have access to safe, decent, and affordable homes. It was the driving force behind the statewide expansion of Pennsylvania’s Housing Trust Fund in 2015. “We are bringing someone with passion and a unique depth and breadth of experience to Pennsylvania,” said board president Gail Hoffmann. “Phyllis has been an advocate for housing and homelessness issues for more than decade. She is a coalition-builder, and is skilled in bringing together people from diverse communities and perspectives.”

Ms. Chamberlain has extensive policy advocacy experience on the state and federal level. She served as the Director of Field Mobilization for the National Alliance to End Homelessness for over five years, directing federal policy initiatives to secure additional funding and policy changes for affordable housing and homeless assistance programs..

She played a key role in the building of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness (now called -Virgina Housing Alliance), in Richmond, Va., between 2008 and 2014. Under her leadership, the coalition became an influential presence across Virginia. She played a role in the development of Virginia’s Housing Trust Fund, and in the state’s nationally-recognized effort to reduce veterans’ homelessness.

In Delaware, Ms. Chamberlain has been leading the state’s effort to respond to homelessness, including the creation of the Continuum of Care Board and bringing state and local funders together to develop a plan to leverage private funds to fill in gaps in services to people experiencing homelessness.

She begins work on June 6.