Dallas, Texas, December 5, 2023 – Housing Forward, the evidence-based nonprofit leading a coalition of over 140 organizations to house people in Dallas and Collin Counties, today announced that Sarah Kahn has been named Interim President and Chief Executive Officer effective December 21, 2023. This follows the announcement that Joli Angel Robinson, who served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization since August of 2021, has accepted the role of Chief Executive Officer with Center on Halsted of Chicago, Illinois.
Kahn has served as Housing Forward Chief Program Officer since September 2021, and has 21 years of experience in evidence-based homelessness solution and policy implementation. Prior to Housing Forward, she led the Homeless Assistance and Housing Practice at The Cloudburst Group, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kahn catalyzed progress on ending homelessness, helping communities optimize public and private resources and accelerate rehousing efforts. She has worked alongside communities to improve homeless response systems in the U.S. and internationally with KPMG’s Government Advisory Services in Sydney Australia and Singapore; the Council to Homeless Persons in Melbourne Australia; and the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington D.C.
Board Chair Peter Brodsky said, “Sarah is exceedingly qualified to step in on an interim basis as CEO. She has the Board’s full support and we are confident that, under her leadership, Housing Forward will not miss a beat. Together with the deep bench of talent across the organization, including Housing Forward Vice President of Finance and Operations Mackeshia Brown, we will ensure Housing Forward will continue its record-setting work to house our most vulnerable neighbors, specifically those living unsheltered. Under Joli and Sarah’s leadership, we’ve reduced unsheltered homelessness by 14% and reduced chronic homelessness by 32%. And we are housing people faster than ever before, growing from housing 80 people per month to 207 people per month.”
Brodsky added, “I also must take this opportunity to thank Joli for her visionary leadership over the past two years. She is leaving Housing Forward with an incredible record of accomplishment and having set up both the organization and our entire continuum of care for success in the future. Dallas’s loss is Chicago’s gain and I know she will accomplish great things. The Board joins me in wishing Joli all the best.”
Kahn said, “Dallas and Collin Counties have made incredible strides over the past three years, increasing the pace of rehousing neighbors from 80 to 207 individuals per month. We’re standing on the shoulders of an incredible advocate and leader in Joli Angel Robinson and we’re strongly positioned to sustain that pace. I am committed to working alongside our incredible service providers and partners to build on that progress together..”
Robinson commented, “Having worked closely with Sarah as chief program officer, I have every confidence in her ability to take on the additional role of interim CEO. Housing Forward has an incredibly dedicated team who, together with Sarah, the rest of the management team, and our Board, will continue to drive Housing Forward’s success.”
About Sarah Kahn
Sarah Kahn has served as Chief Program Officer of Housing Forward since 2021 where she played a critical role in building a robust and collaborative system, transformed by greater funding alignment, enhanced public-private partnerships, and a focus on racial equity. Today’s system is housing more people than ever before. Prior to joining Housing Forward in 2021, Kahn pioneered solution-focused interventions, informing public policy, and mobilizing systems to solve homelessness. Kahn holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas’ School of Social Welfare and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Northern Arizona University. She will be relocating to Dallas from Atlanta, GA.
