Farewell Emily and Laura!
While we are saddened to say goodbye to two incredible members of the HRHA team this month, we are excited for their next steps as they leave our agency. Emily and Laura have both been recognized in our community for their work on affordable housing and homelessness. We wish them both the best as they move on from HRHA. They will be missed!
Emily McCarty has served as the Community Development and Grants Coordinator for HRHA for the past four years. She has ensured funding is appropriately requested and distributed for multiple HRHA and community initiatives. She even served informally as the executive editor for the HRHA newsletter and team lead on a variety of HRHA projects.
“I’ve worked with Emily for a number of years with the goal of using federal funding to make affordable housing more accessible in Harrisonburg. Emily has always been a pleasure to work with. She is thorough in her work, and has a genuine interest in helping those she works with and for. I’ll miss getting to work with her and I wish her all the best as she moves on from the HRHA.“
-Kristin McCombe, Community Development Block Grant Coordinator, City of Harrisonburg
Laura Black has served as the Homeless Management Information Systems Administrator since 2014. She has been behind the collection, training, compliance and reporting of homeless data for the region and coordinated the yearly homeless census for HUD. She is a self-described “data fairy” and has helped many of us understand how data can change the world.
“When the Winchester Rescue Mission first got involved with the CoC, Laura Black was there every step of the way with guidance and understanding with all my questions; and I had a lot. Her heart for assisting others is evident to all of those who interact with her. I have come to know Laura as a friend and know that she is going to bless the lives of those she will be helping in her next adventure.”
– Vicki Culbreth, Winchester Rescue Mission
