Susan M. Ifill, NeighborWorks® America’s executive vice president and chief operating officer for the last five years, retires this month, leaving behind a legacy of tackling affordable housing and community development challenges. Her career has included banking – she was at both Carver Federal Savings Bank and Bank of America. It has included nonprofit leadership – she served as CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services in New York. And it has included community – her volunteer work has included serving on the boards of Cambridge College and Purple Heart Homes.

Donald R. Phoenix worked at NeighborWorks® America for more than 26 years. He was regional vice president of the Southern Region at the time of Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and was part of the NeighborWorks support team as the region began to rebuild. Isaac Igbonagwam, a relationship manager in the Southern Region, asked Phoenix for some of his reflections from that time.

NeighborWorks: How did the impact of Hurricane Katrina affect you personally?

On Season 2, Episode 1 of The Community Effect, NeighborWorks® America's podcast, we revisit Hurricane Katrina two decades later, and the communities and leaders who rose from the disaster to rebuild stronger than ever. Host Marietta Rodriguez, NeighborWorks® America's president & CEO, sits down with: 

In the days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, communities began to think about rebuilding, even while still responding to the devastation. In South Mississippi, community and business leaders organized a business council to try to understand the region’s recovery. From that council came the Renaissance Community Loan Fund, now known as RCLF. The nonprofit was supposed to be temporary.

As homeowners surveyed what remained and assessed how to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, some of those homeowners became mired in even more challenges: They learned that title to their home wasn’t officially theirs.

It’s easy for me to remember both the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and my own anniversary working with NeighborWorks America: They happen at nearly the same time. One anniversary marks a storm 20 years ago that still seems like yesterday. The other marks the continuance of a career in affordable housing and community development helping people – including myself – recover. 

It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, bringing with it high winds, heavy flooding and devastation of land, homes, businesses and life. In New Orleans, where the levees failed, more than130,000 homes were damaged. Just weeks later, before people could even begin to clean up and rebuild, Hurricane Rita hit.

Greenville Housing Fund (GHF), a nonprofit committed to affordable housing and community development in Greenville, South Carolina, held a chartering ceremony this week celebrating its recognition as an official part of NeighborWorks® America’s network. Formed in 2018 with a commitment to creating opportunity, GHF supports development, preservation and financing solutions to meet the community’s growing housing needs.