Celebrating the Trailblazing Women Who Have Led Settlement Housing Fund

Celebrating the Trailblazing Women Who Have Led Settlement Housing Fund

This Women’s History Month, we celebrate the trailblazing women who have steered Settlement Housing Fund since its inception 55 years ago, including Judy Herbstman who was appointed to lead the organization last month. Judy follows in the footsteps of visionary women leaders who have been essential to our mission of creating and sustaining high quality affordable housing and programs that support strong and economically diverse neighborhoods throughout New York City.

With a grant from the Fund for the City of New York to United Neighborhood Houses in 1969, Settlement Housing Fund was launched by its founder and first Executive Director, Clara Fox. Clara brought together housing experts from 35 settlement houses, the neighborhood-based service providers first created at the turn of the 20th century to aid newly arriving immigrant families. Through 1983, Clara led Settlement Housing’s work as a housing advocate, combining social programs and low-income housing to improve communities and helping former renters become coop owners. She went on to lead the New York Housing Conference for the remainder of her career after turning over the reins at Settlement Housing Fund to Carol Lamberg, whose work as an innovative community developer and champion of affordable housing would have a lasting impact on New York City’s neighborhoods. Carol served as Executive Director from 1983 to 2014, establishing Settlement Housing as one of the first nonprofit affordable housing developers and owners with the acquisition of 893 Bronx apartments in 14 devastated buildings rehabilitated by the City. Preserving and expanding this housing with community-based programming and services was the model at New Settlement in the Mt. Eden section of the Bronx, Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and the Two Bridges neighborhood of lower Manhattan. During Carol’s tenure, the organization worked as a consultant and an owner to develop 7,300 apartments and space for programs through 60 projects, including the New Settlement Community Campus, a hub for education, fitness, and wellness in the Bronx.

Alexa Sewell took on the role of President in 2014, following her work in the public and private sectors to advance affordable housing preservation and development in New York City and advocate for policies to end homelessness. Alexa also served as Co-Chair of the New York Housing Conference and at Settlement Housing Fund, executed a five-year strategic plan to grow our capacity to build a robust housing development pipeline, expand our footprint throughout the city, ensure the rehabilitation and long-term affordability of our existing portfolio, establish resident engagement and asset management departments, and streamline organizational systems. With the hire of Judy Herbstman as VP of Real Estate seven years ago, Settlement Housing Fund embarked on a rapid housing development expansion to realize these goals, nearly doubling our portfolio of properties to more than 3,100 affordable apartments that we own and operate in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, and growing our current pipeline to more than 1,500 units in development, with more on the horizon.

We salute these women leaders of Settlement Housing Fund for the determination and grit it takes to create, preserve, and advocate for affordable housing with programs and services that make New York City a more vibrant and equitable place for all New Yorkers to call home.