Press Release
Project for Pride In Living announces Karla Henderson as new Chief Executive Officer
Leadership change goes into effect in January 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rick Fuentes
Phone: (612) 505- 8109
Email: Rick.Fuentes@ppl-inc.com
MINNEAPOLIS — (Dec. 2, 2024) – Project for Pride in Living is excited to announce the appointment of Karla Henderson as its new chief executive officer, effective January 6, 2025. Henderson brings more than 20 years of experience working with communities to create equity through community development, urban planning, and capital improvement. Henderson is poised to lead Project for Pride in Living into its next chapter of success.
Henderson joined Project for Pride in Living as senior vice president of Housing Stability in March 2024. She oversees
housing operations, including real estate development, resident services, and property and asset management.
She has been leading PPL’s multidisciplinary equitable development approach to financing and services for
new and existing affordable housing development projects.
Previously, Henderson was the director of Community Development at the City of Bloomington, Minnesota, and was responsible for creating Hatch Bloomington, a private-public partnership bolstering new investments through a competition supporting the local small business community.
"We are thrilled to appoint Karla to lead PPL as our next CEO," said Tanya Bell, chairperson of the Board. "Her dedication to community development and broad leadership skills have been an asset to the PPL leadership team.
Her extensive experience and passion for driving results align perfectly with our mission to provide transformative, affordable housing and career-readiness services. We are confident that under her leadership, PPL will continue to innovate and thrive."
Henderson holds a bachelor’s in public resource management from Michigan State and has been involved in various initiatives aimed at community development, building strength and capacity for neighborhoods. The PPL board leadership team also cited Henderson’s commitment to empowering communities as key to matching PPL’s core values and instrumental for guiding the organization’s future direction.
"I am honored to take on the role of CEO at PPL," said Henderson. "It’s both exciting and comforting to lead an incredible team and leverage our collective strengths to deliver stable housing, grow career skills to drive personal and collective wealth as we build stronger communities. We’re blessed to be able to build on the strong foundation of success by Paul Williams and our board, who have established decades of stability and growth for participants, residents, and students at PPL.
The PPL team will move boldly and courageously into new opportunities for innovation and success." Henderson succeeds Williams, who has served as president and CEO for more than 10 years, and will assist in the transition process over the coming months.
About Project for Pride in Living
PPL builds the hope, assets, and self-reliance of individuals and families who have lower incomes by providing transformative affordable housing and career readiness services. PPL provides high-quality affordable housing, on-site resident services, and life-changing career readiness programs to over 8,000 people annually throughout the seven-county metro area. https://www.ppl-inc.org/
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