WASHINGTON, DC. With new Cabinet Secretaries and agency CEO's being confirmed following the inauguration of President Barak Obama, new federal agency leaders are being welcomed into the membership of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. The Council's membership is established by statute and includes most of the individuals confirmed to date by the U.S. Senate. Following are brief profiles of some of the new leadership of Council member agencies.

United State Department of Veterans Affairs. Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki is the seventh Secretary of Veterans Affairs and assumes the Chair of the Council. Key issues on the Secretary's agenda include smooth activation of an enhanced GI Bill education benefit, streamlining the disability claims system, leveraging information technology to accelerate and modernize services, and opening VA's health care system to veterans previously unable to enroll in it, while facilitating access for returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. Secretary Shinseki is a former Army Chief of Staff, West Point graduate, and Vietnam veteran.

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Former Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City Shaun Donovan is the new HUD Secretary. He was appointed Commissioner by Mayor Bloomberg in March 2004 and was responsible for HPD's $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing. He had previously worked at Prudential Mortgage Capital Company. He was a visiting scholar at New York University, where he researched the preservation of federally-assisted housing and was also a consultant to the Millennial Housing Commission. Until March of 2001, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing at HUD.

United States Department of Agriculture. Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is the new Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. Secretary Vilsack is a former mayor and served in the Iowa State Senate. He was a leader in the reorganization of Iowa's Workforce Development Department and most recently he was a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government.

United States Department of Education. Arne Duncan is the Secretary of Education. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools for seven years. Previously Secretary Duncan directed the Ariel Education Initiative, an educational opportunity program on the South Side of Chicago.

United States Department of Energy. Dr. Steven Chu is the new Secretary of the Department of Energy. He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize for physics. He was previously Chairman of the Physics Department at Stanford and head of the electronics research laboratory at Bell Labs. Since 2004, he has been director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is owned by the Energy Department and operated by the University of California.

United States Department of Homeland Security. Janet Napolitano is the third Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, home to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Secretary Napolitano, former Governor of Arizona was the first woman to chair the National Governors Association, where she was instrumental in creating the Public Safety Task Force and the Homeland Security Advisors Council. She chaired the Western Governors Association. Secretary Napolitano previously served as the Attorney General of Arizona and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona.

United States Department of the Interior. Ken Salazar, a fifth generation Coloradan, was confirmed as the 50th Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to his confirmation, Secretary Salazar served as Colorado's 35th United States Senator, serving on the Finance Committee, and the Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources, Ethics, Veterans Affairs, and Aging Committees. Secretary Salazar worked to create the Office of Rural Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Secretary Salazar previously served as Colorado's Attorney General.

United States Department of Transportation. Former Representative Ray LaHood (R-IL) is the new Department of Transportation Secretary. He was elected to the House in 1994 and served on the House Appropriations Committee. While in the House, he authored the bill creating the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, marking the 16th president's 200th birthday in 2009. A teacher by training, Secretary LaHood served in several local and state government positions in Illinois.

White House Office of Management and Budget. Peter Orszag, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, is the new OMB Director. A native of Boston, Director Orszag was an economic advisor in the Clinton Administration and a fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he directed the Hamilton Project, which enlists scholars to propose solutions for problems with big fiscal and societal costs. Xavier de Souza Briggs has been named OMB Associate Director for General Government Programs. Dr. Briggs has been Associate Professor of Sociology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a former faculty member in public policy at Harvard University. He was Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton Administration.

Additional Administration nominees who are Council members and whose confirmations are underway through the hearing process include: Senator Thomas Daschle, of South Dakota, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services; Eric H. Holder, Jr., of the District of Columbia, to be Attorney General; and Representative Hilda L. Solis, of California, to be Secretary of Labor.

WASHINGTON, DC. As Washington prepared for the inauguration of President Obama, more than 250 of the nation's Mayors convened their 77th annual winter meeting in the capital, under the leadership of United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) President and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. The Conference of Mayors, through its mayoral leadership and direction from Executive Director Tom Cochran and Assistant Director Eugene Lowe, has been key to the national partnership constellated by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, since Council Executive Director Philip Mangano first addressed the Mayors at their 2003 winter meeting and challenged 100 Mayors to commit to develop jurisdictional 10 Year Plans to End Homelessness.

The Mayors Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, chaired by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Gastonia, NC Mayor Jennifer Stultz, also convened with more than thirty Mayors present, including Mayor Diaz. Mayor Newsom, introducing Director Mangano at the session, stated, ""I want to congratulate you. You have stepped up and you have made us better and stronger and more connected." The chairs are pictured here with Director Mangano.

Director Mangano was invited to address the Task Force meeting, and indicated to the mayors: "We've been privileged to work with Mayors across the nation and have learned important facts about our mayoral partners. They are problem solvers, they work hard, they have a thirst for innovation."

"That's why our partnership works," Director Mangano stated. "Our national partnership - which now includes 850 mayors and county executives - all began here at the January 2003 meeting of the Conference where we made the challenge. Mayors responded. The partnership was constellated and for the past seven years more than 350 10 Year Plans are now in place. " Shown here are Director Mangano with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

One of the 10 Year Plan Mayors present was Mayor Terry Bellamy of Asheville, NC, which has reported reductions in chronic homelessness under its Housing First plan. Mayor Bellamy, who has committed to house every homeless veteran in Asheville, also established the Mayor's Committee for Veterans Affairs in 2007 as a volunteer committee charged with providing advice to the mayor on events and issues of interest to active duty and retired service members and military veterans. In December 2006 Asheville became the first community in North Carolina to hold a Project Homeless Connect and subsequently became the first community in the state to partner with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans groups to sponsor a joint Connect-VA Stand Down.

Nan Roman, President & CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness described for the Mayors the legislative outlook for the 111th Congress on issues of housing and homelessness, including the pending stimulus and other key legislative initiatives the Alliance is tracking.

Mayors attending the Task Force meeting included: Ashley Swearengin, Fresno, CA; Francis Slay, St. Louis, MO; Frank Cownie, Des Moines, IA; Kip Holden, Baton Rouge, LA; Bob Coble, Columbia, SC; James Humphrey, Fort Myers, FL; Terry Bellamy, Asheville, NC; Buddy Dyer, Orlando, FL; David Bieter, Boise, ID; Mark Stodola, Little Rock, AR; Tony Santos, San Leandro, CA; Marty Blum, Santa Barbara, CA; Abram Wilson, San Ramon, CA; J.W. Lown, San Angelo, TX; Bob Kiss, Burlington, VT; Morgan McPherson, Key West, FL; Jerry Abramson, Louisville, KY; Bill Bell, Durham, NC; Mike Fahey, Omaha, NE; Frank Ortiz, Pembroke Pines, FL; Susan Klutz, Salisbury, NC; Peter Lewis, Auburn, WA; Frank Hibbard, Clearwater, FL; and Thomas O'Grady, North Olmstead, OH. Also taking part in the Task Force meeting were presenters focused on childhood hunger, including Stephen J. Brady, Sodexo; Melissa Mahoney, Baltimore City Schools Chef; and Dr. Danielle Hollar, Project Director of Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (HOPS program).

Council Regional Coordinators John O'Brien and Eduardo Cabrera and Team Leader Michael German also took part.

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA. Mayor Ron Loveridge, currently First Vice President of the National League of Cities, last week convened a Summit of elected officials to build regional partnership and support for Riverside's 10 Year Plan and to add their signatures to the America's Road Home Statement of Principles and Actions. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, who visited Mayor Loveridge in 2008 following discussions begun at the National League of Cities Congress in Orlando, focused on the National Partnership constellated by the Council with jurisdictional officials and Riverside's Ten Year Plan. The Mayor agreed that the time was right to recalibrate the Plan with a focus on adopting innovations that are working around the country to end homelessness.

"Homelessness in Riverside has been a puzzle without a solution," noted Mayor Loveridge at the Summit. "A kind of key to change became a task force. They came up with a number of recommendations." Don Smith, Riverside's homeless programs manager, gave an overview of Riverside County's 10 Year Plan, including adoption of Project Homeless Connect, provision of identification to consumers, and creation of a street-to-home initiative.

"We are indebted to Mayor Loveridge for bringing together political leaders from across the county to create a broader partnership for Riverside's Ten Year Plan," indicated Director Mangano. "Riverside is leading the way in its region in moving beyond managing homelessness to solving it through innovative ideas and central to that effort is the political will of jurisdictional leaders."

Mayor Loveridge affirmed the role of the Interagency Council in his city's progress and partnership, stating about Director Mangano: "He has brought a clarity, a compelling story, the best research and something not based on what he thought up in his office in Washington. There's really no better person dealing with homelessness than Philip Mangano." Mayor Loveridge is leading the recalibration process himself, bringing his skills and experience of more than 40 years as a professor at the University of California, Riverside to the task.

New signatories to America's Road Home who committed to the statement at the Summit were: Mayor Loveridge, Riverside Council Members Chris MacArthur, Andrew Melendrez, Jr., and Nancy Hart, Mayor Richard A. Stewart, Moreno Valley, CA, and Mayor Scott Farnam, Wildomar, CA. Also signing were Riverside Councilmembers Rusty Bailey and Mike Gardner.

Summit partners included Moreno Valley Mayor Richard Stewart, Wildomar Mayor Scott Farnam, Riverside Council Members Mike Gardner, Andy Melendrez, Chris MacArthur, and Rusty Bailey, San Jacinto Councilmember Jim Potts, Temecula Councilmember Chuck Washington, Temecula Deputy City Manager Grant Yates, and other regional jurisdictional representatives took part, including Eva Yakutis, City of Riverside Housing & Neighborhoods Manager, Nancy Diggers, City of Murrieta, Jaime Hurtado, Legislative Aide to Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, and Amanda Keil, Management Analyst, Coachella Valley Association of Governments.

Pictured here at the signing are (left to right): Moreno Valley Mayor Stewart, Riverside Councilors Melendrez, Hart, and Mac Arthur, Mayor Loveridge, and Wildomar Mayor Farnam.

DANBURY, CONNECTICUT. Danbury, Connecticut Mayor Mark Boughton, who briefed the October 2008 Full Council meeting of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness on his city's progress in reducing chronic homelessness by 49% under its Ten Year Plan, last week announced a new employment initiative targeted to homeless shelter residents in Danbury. In announcing the new initiative, Mayor Boughton expressed the hope that "this program can lead participants into permanent employment and eventually permanent housing."

Danbury's welfare agency and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board have now partnered in a three-part program of skills assessment, training, internships, and incentives. Shelter residents will be assessed for math and English skills at the eight grade level at Danbury's local Department of Labor One Stop, and then receive tutoring to bring their skills to a higher level if needed, so that employment applications will be more accessible. Program participants will then be trained for a ServSafe Qualified Food Operator Certificate which is needed to work in meal preparation and restaurant kitchens. Following training, individuals will be placed in job-readiness programs or internships that lead to employment.

"Our local Department of Labor One Stop offers so much in the way of job training and career services. This program will really open up the doors to those in our shelter who have difficulty in following through with their employment goals," said Caitlin Reese, Danbury's Director of Welfare.

Mayor Boughton has also especially focused Ten Year Plan housing initiatives on homeless veterans. Recently at the White House to brief a full United States Interagency Council on Homelessness meeting, the Mayor expressed his appreciation for the collaboration and support of the Interagency Council and the federal resources being invested in his community under its Ten Year Plan. In addition to a 49 percent drop in chronic homelessness, Danbury achieved an overall decrease of 60 percent in the number of homeless individuals since implementing its Plan two years ago.

Further evidence of the important planning partnerships in Connecticut through its 13 10 Year Plans was last week's Connecticut 10 Year Plan Summit. Partners present for the statewide event included 12 of the 13 10 Year Plan jurisdictions. Despite a major snow storm, over 50 partners gathered, including including the Mayor of Torrington and the First Selectwoman from Windham, United Way presidents from Middletown and Meriden and representatives from the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County; Southeastern CT; and Greater Waterbury. Ten Year Plan coordinators from Hartford and New Haven were present, and 5 Community Champions, including from Hartford, Danbury, New Britain, Middlesex County, and Windham, as well as the President of the Torrington Community Foundation. Other attendees were community and faith based representatives, many of whom sit on 10 Year Plan Leadership Councils in their communities.

Partners were welcomed by Carol Walter, Executive Director, CT Coalition to End Homelessness. Interagency Council Regional Coordinator John O'Brien participated in a panel focused on sustainability strategies. Mr. O'Brien noted the importance of political will and the engagement of the business community to help develop and implement plans, and the importance of the Leadership Council, appointed by the jurisdictional CEO having the authority to direct the public and private resources to meeting the outcomes of the Plan. Three Community Champions - from Danbury, Hartford, and New Britain - were asked to describe one of three key elements of sustainable structure and indicated the following. Hartford: Political will of Mayor and COG have been essential. New Britain: The business community commitment to create jobs to meet plan outcomes is creating results. Danbury: the revitalization of the Danbury Housing Partnership to oversee plan implementation is replicable and has brought new resources. Springfield, MA Point Person Gerry McCafferty focused on engagement of local Mayors and the credibility and resources business community involvement has created.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA. From the formation of a working group for a Ten Year Plan to engagement of local feeding programs, from partnering with United Way in hosting United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano to a new RFP for scattered site housing, from Project Homeless Connect to the opening of the Gilbert Hotel permanent supportive housing site, from a commitment to research the "Million Dollar Murray" of Hollywood with USC as partner, and with final preparations underway to reach full participation in the upcoming point-in-time count, the Hollywood 4 Walls a Roof and a Door (4WRD) initiative of the Hollywood BID has had an eventful year.

The BID's new Board of Directors convened last week to welcome Director Mangano at the invitation of BID Executive Director Kerry Morrison. During the meeting, Director Mangano stressed the innovative quality of "Hollywood 4WRD." On January 1, the boundaries of the Hollywood Entertainment District expanded, picking up more than 60 property owners and more than 75 property parcels. The new BID is now a ten- year, $3.4 million-per-year BID.

The BID actively adopted the idea of "pilgrimage" to see innovations and partnerships that are working and has visited Santa Monica's Step up on Second program for people with mental illness and has planned pilgrimages to Santa Ana and San Jose to visit problem-solving courts. 4WRD also hosted A Community of Friends to learn about opportunities to use surplus church property for permanent supportive housing. Data has also been key, with initiatives to organize a snapshot count, research housing needs of youth through the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership, and securing a commitment from United Way to support cost analysis focused on a high utilizer in the community ("Trillion Dollar Torrey"). Pictured here are (left to right): President of the Board Christopher Bonbright, Kerry Morrison, and Director Mangano.

Following the BID meeting, Director Mangano met with Aileen Getty of GettLove and her colleague John Ladner. GettLove, historically a street-based response to homelessness, has leased a number of hotels rooms for temporary housing for homeless people. The partners also toured a building that was formerly a sound and dance studio that Ms. Getty bought and plans to use for Hollywood's homeless population. Her new focus on housing and partnership with the BID has been expanding since the events of early 2008, including Director Mangano's prior visit. Pictured here are Ms. Getty with Project Director Sonny Duron, Director Mangano and John Ladner at the studio.

The Hollywood Entertainment District is a 10-year Business Improvement District that stretches along the world-famous Walk of Fame and spans historic Hollywood Boulevard, from the LaBrea Gateway on the west to the Hollywood (101) Freeway on the east. Many of Hollywood's famous landmarks are located in the HED - the epicenter of the entertainment capital of the world and birthplace of the movie industry.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. New Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Don Knabe last week welcomed United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs, and Whittier City Councilor Owen Newcomer, Commissioner of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, for a discussion focused on 10 Year Planning in the region. Nick Ippolito, Deputy to Supervisor Don Knabe, also participated. Chair Knabe is a signatory to America's Road Home and recently assumed the County Chair position.

During the meeting, Director Mangano commended the county for its consistent commitment to seeing a Plan in place, noting the important strategic leadership of former Chairs Zev Yaroslavsky and Yvonne Burke. Director Mangano encouraged the county to look at new "inductive models" such as Hollywood's initiative to plan, as new means of moving forward with an overarching strategy. Nick Ippolito affirmed the Chair's intent to move forward this year and complete a plan and stressed the importance of regional partnership. All agreed that the communities of Santa Monica, Whittier, and Long Beach could help set the standard for such partnership through a Plan, and the importance of LAHSA in the planning effort.

Director Mangano further emphasized the importance role of cost analysis in planning, pointing to the example of Denver, where cost studies were followed by cost benefit analyses and the ultimate reinvestment of resources. He also underscored the importance of the new HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program resources coming to the state, county, and city, and requiring a 25% investment in housing for people below 50% AMI.

Pictured here are (left to right): Council Coordinator Eduardo Cabrera, Owen Newcomer, Director Mangano, Chair Knabe, and Ms. Isaacs.

WASHINGTON, DC. Awardees from the twelve sites in eleven cites and counties coast to coast continue to share results and insights from the innovative 2-year $10 million demonstration program funded to identify effective housing strategies for people who are chronically homeless and addicted to alcohol, joining last week in the latest national audio conference convened by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. The initiative, developed at the direction of Congress and with the specific interest of Representative Allen Mollohan of West Virginia, was the result of collaboration between the Council and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development which was represented on the audio conference by Cynthia High.

Recent discussion topics included the important role of partnership with law enforcement, which has acted as a key source of referrals and support with award sites, as well as veterans services and financial services/money management. Among the topics previously discussed by the partners were housing results, housing market issues in partnering to create opportunity for a complex population, and unexpected insights and outcomes for clients. Watch future e- news issues for more details.

Early insights identified during the initial discussion included rates of housing retention consistent with other Housing First initiatives, ranging from 85% upward, and the role of the 6-month opportunity for treatment or stabilization in achieving higher retention. Most sites reported a few deaths among their residents, due to serious physical health issues, and most also reported affirmation by new residents of the housing opportunity. There were few reports of difficulties in accessing units for the initiative.

Awardees were: Pathways to Housing DC, Housing for Serial Inebriates, Washington DC; Contra Costa, CA Health Services - Project Coming Home AAA; Colorado Coalition for the Homeless - Denver Homeless Alcoholic Recovery Program; Project Renewal, Inc. - Bowery Project, New York, NY; San Francisco Department of Public Health - Direct Access to Housing for Chronic Alcoholics; City of Santa Monica, CA - Serial Inebriate Program; Santa Cruz County, CA Health Services Agency - Meaningful Answers to Chronic Homelessness; Common Ground Community, Inc. -Street to Home Initiative for Chronically Homeless, New York, NY; ECH Lifebuilders - Off the Streets for Alcohol Addicts, San Jose, CA; Community Mental Health Council, Inc. - Project Wraparound, Chicago, IL; Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville -Home Safe, Jacksonville, FL; and South East Tennessee Human Resource Agency - Regional Partnership to End Chronic Homelessness, Chattanooga, TN.

The 2009 Martin Luther King Holiday this year fell on the day before Inauguration Day, and, as then President- elect Barak Obama visited a youth shelter in the nation's capital to volunteer and called on citizens to observe the day by performing acts of service, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano continued the Council's tradition of presenting the President's Volunteer Service Award, created to recognize outstanding volunteers, to recognize outstanding service contributions of volunteers.

IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, Director Mangano presented three volunteer service awards to three recipients with records of service to the community that draw from the non-profit, faith-based, and private sector. During the Sunday services at St. Paul AME Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Director Mangano recognized three awardees from the region. First organized in 1870, St. Paul AME is the oldest African-American religious congregation in Cambridge. Pictured here are (left to right): Director Mangano, Mr. Loughlin, Dr. O'Connell, and Reverend Attles.

"Through the President's Volunteer Service Award we thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service," indicated Director Mangano. "Through the Call to Service Award which we are presenting today, we honor those who merit recognition of their lifetime achievement of volunteerism in the community. Today we honor one individual, one private sector business, and one faith community."

Dr. James J. O'Connell, President of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program since 1996 (pictured here), was recognized for his "broad and unwavering commitment and contributions to the health and welfare of our poorest and most vulnerable neighbors," including through his volunteer service on the Boards of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance and the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, to which he has given more than 15 years' service. Additionally Dr. O'Connell has volunteered a combined 30 years of services on five boards focused on new generations of Harvard-trained physicians to serve our poorest neighbors. He has also contributed his time to both the Commonwealth's and Boston's initiatives to end homelessness.

In addition to professional work as President of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and a practicing doctor and medical director at Boston detox facilities, attending physician at Boston Medical Center, and an instructor at both Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School where he received his training, Dr. O'Connell practices medicine from an outreach van on the streets of Boston. His leadership at Healthcare for the Homeless has led to the development of a medical respite program for homeless people and the establishment of a clinic at Boston Medical Center.

Rick Loughlin, Chief Operating Officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage New England (pictured here), accepted the volunteer award for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares, for the "commitment and contributions of the staff and sales associates to the housing and other needs of our poorest and most vulnerable neighbors." Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares is the New England Chapter of the NRT Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization operating as the charitable arm of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares' provides financial assistance to housing related causes in the communities where Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage New England has a presence. Among the contributions of Coldwell's partners from more than 90 sales offices in New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) are more than 6,000 hours of service that were performed per month by sales associates and employees.

Sales and associates employees also raise funds for local housing related causes by donating a portion of their sales commissions and paychecks to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New England then matches those funds. Presently, more than 3,000 sales associates and employees contribute funds to the Cares program. From 2007 to 2008, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares donated approximately $400,000 to more than 200 non-profit organizations throughout New England.

The members of St. Paul AME Church were recognized for their example of service at home and across the world. St. Paul volunteers on the home front can be found meeting daily needs in the food bank and at the coat drive, ministering to those in prison, youth, and seniors, through Sons of Allen and the Rosa Parks Missionary Circle, offering their time and talent in the church and at the Hildebrand Center and its programs for homeless families, and across the world as St. Paul's overseas missioner in various parts of Africa with the Mercy Ships Program, all offering their example of service to their neighbors and following the example set by Rev. and Mrs. Attles.

"The work of St. Paul in its extraordinary ministries is recognized with this award," said Director Mangano. " This faithful congregation has made this city and our nation a better place to live and welcomed their poorest neighbors into a community of love."

St. Paul AME Pastor Reverend Dr. LeRoy Attles (pictured here) accepted the award and a special recognition from the President for his thirty years' of services as St. Paul's longest serving pastor.

email: usich@usich.gov

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