BOSTON – Rochelle Beeks, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of POAH Communities, the property management company that oversees nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing’s 11,000-unit national portfolio, has been promoted to the position of President.
Beeks has served as the Chief Operating Officer for the company with 465 employees since 2010. In this role, she has overseen its significant growth from managing 50 properties and 6,000 affordable housing units to 115 properties with 11,000 affordable units.
Beeks began her career as an assistant manager for an affordable housing property on Chicago’s South Side and has been promoted through the ranks of property management since joining POAH Communities (formerly Preservation Housing Management). In her first years as regional property supervisor at PHM, Beeks cultivated the company’s partnership with the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation (WPIC) which paved the way for POAH’s acquisition of the distressed Grove Parc Apartments on Chicago’s South Side and the construction of the redevelopment called Woodlawn Park.
“In addition to her property-related contributions, Rochelle has established new organizational structures and procedures at POAH Communities and recruited and retained a high caliber team, encouraged collaboration across departments and enhanced data collection systems,” said POAH President/CEO Aaron Gornstein. “Rochelle has focused equally on the staffing side of the business, including launching a new mentoring program and increasing staff training. I am looking forward to working closely with Rochelle to continue to advance POAH’s mission to create and preserve affordable homes for low- and moderate-income residents for years to come.”
Prior to joining POAH Communities in 2006, Beeks worked as a regional property supervisor for AIMCO (Apartment Investment & Management Company), managing a diverse portfolio with multiple funding sources, including both affordable and market-rate communities.
Beeks was instrumental in raising POAH Communities’ national reputation; in 2019 the company was recognized as an Institute of Real Estate Management “Industry Leader” and in 2016, received a “MassHousing Million Dollar MBE and WBE Achievement Award” – given to property management companies that make a concerted effort to do business with Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.
Rochelle holds an MBA from Boston University and various certifications from HUD and is a licensed managing broker in the State of Illinois.
Beeks succeeds Patricia Belden who served as president of POAH Communities for six years and in various roles at POAH since its beginnings in 2001 including as project manager, development director and chief operating officer. As one of POAH’s first employees, she helped grow the nonprofit into a high-capacity organization with a national reputation for providing quality affordable homes to more than 20,000 residents.
“Whether it was helping to create innovative tools to preserve at-risk housing, starting POAH’s development work in Chicago, launching the Community Impact Department, or playing a leadership role on many national boards, Patricia has had a lasting impact on POAH and the affordable housing community across the country,” said Gornstein.
POAH is a national nonprofit organization based in Boston whose mission is to preserve, create and sustain affordable, healthy homes that support economic security and access to opportunity for all.
