PND (7/25/2000) -- Fannie Mae Foundation Fellowship Program Honors Community-Development Leaders

The Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae Foundation has announced that it recently honored six community-development leaders with the national James A. Johnson Community Fellows Award.

Named in honor of former Fannie Mae chairman and CEO James A. Johnson, the program recognizes and rewards leading urban and rural affordable-housing and community-development professionals by providing an opportunity to pursue personal and professional development goals through a $90,000 grant, which includes a $20,000 educational travel and study stipend.

The program makes it possible for fellows to pursue a self-designed, professional development curriculum that enhances their skills and field experiences while allowing them to explore new solutions to current affordable-housing and community-development challenges. At the end of the year, the six Johnson Fellows will meet to report on their progress and will have the opportunity to share their experiences and insights with other housing and community-development professionals.

The 1999 Johnson Fellows are William Barrow of the D.C.-based H Street Development Corporation; Gloria Guerrero of the Rural Development and Finance Corporation, in San Antonio, Texas; Lynette Lee of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, in Oakland, California; Bea Stotzer of Los Angeles-based New Economics for Women; Ray Stranske of Hope Communities, in Denver, Colorado; and, Mtamanika Youngblood of the Atlanta-based Historic District Development Corporation.

FCnote: The Fannie Mae Foundation (DC) had assets of $385,379,385 and made grants totaling $32,738,878 in the year ending 12/31/98.

"Six Community-Development Leaders Honored Nationally By the Fannie Mae Foundation as James A. Johnson Fellows and Rewarded for Their Work in Housing." Fannie Mae Foundation Press Release 7/24/2000.

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