Dr. Samuel Little will serve as PHA's Deputy Executive Director of Resident and Community Services. 

(Philadelphia-December 20, 2011) -The Philadelphia Housing Authority has hired an accomplished human services administrator and professor in social work as the Deputy Executive Director of Resident and Community Services.

Dr. Samuel Little has held positions in the field of employment, public housing, research, and human services combined with university teaching and consulting. He served as Associate Deputy Director at the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Director of Resident Services at the District of Columbia Housing Authority and President of Community Vision Incorporated respectively.  In these positions, he directed workforce development, family services, health interventions, resident empowerment, grants and resource development, interagency partnerships, and other services that enhanced the personal status of families.

"We are very lucky to have a person of Dr. Little's caliber join PHA," said Michael Kelly, PHA Administrative Receiver/Executive Director. "The delivery of quality training and support services to residents is crucial to our mission of helping them become self-sufficient and independent."

Little is also the founding President of the National Alliance of Resident Services in Affordable and Assisted Housing (NAR-SAAH), a 501 (c) (3) organization based in Maryland.

Under Dr. Little's leadership, NAR-SAAH was organized in 2002 to assist employees of resident services and members of resident councils in public housing by helping to shape national housing policy, expand partnerships with community agencies, leverage funding to support resident programs, and speak on matters impacted by shifting economic conditions and political priorities. He has advanced professional development, partnerships with businesses, and self-help programs for members.

In 2008, Dr. Little joined Alliance Network, Incorporated as Executive Vice President to expand affordable housing programs globally. In this role, he collaborates with a network of organizations that have a say in the transformation of blighted communities into neighborhoods of choice.

Professor Little also is a consultant for corporations seeking to increase market capacity by providing technology-based education, interventions for persons with special needs, integration of concepts and practices of sustainability into the management of public housing, and adoption of best green practices and services to reduce energy costs. 

Dr. Little is a frequent speaker at housing and economic development conferences. Additionally, he has conducted professional development for Resident Advisory Board members, officers of resident councils, public housing employees, and Housing Commissioners in various regions of the country. He is presently an assistant professor at Howard University's School of Social Work, with degrees from the University of Maryland, Penn, and Morgan State University.

His salary is $153,000 a year.