Two leading women in Rhode Island’s housing sector have signaled their interest in succeeding the state’s housing czar after he steps down this week from his cabinet-level job that pays more than the governor.

After about a year and a half on the job, Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor announced June 27 he would step down from his $238,597-a-year post for an unspecified private-sector job. His last day working for the state is Wednesday when an interim housing secretary will be named, said Olivia DaRocha, press secretary for Gov. Dan McKee. 

“All options will be considered in the search for a permanent Secretary and we will certainly keep you updated on the process,” DaRocha said via email.

In the meantime, the question of who will replace Pryor raises a discussion about the experience and qualifications needed to solve Rhode Island’s housing crisis. Both Brenda Clement, who since 2016 has served as director of HousingWorks RI, and Pawtucket Planning and Redevelopment Director Bianca Policastro believe they have what it takes to do a job they can’t officially apply for yet.

Each boasts decades of experience in the field but have taken different approaches in making their interest in the job known. 

Clement confirmed her interest after being prodded by reporters. Before taking the helm at Housing Works RI at Roger Williams University, which conducts research and analyzes data to inform public policy on housing, Clement was executive director for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association in Massachusetts from 2012 through 2016. Clement’s resume states the association helped push the passage of a $1.4 billion housing bond in 2012 — the largest in the Bay State’s history at the time.

Clement was also the director of the Housing Coalition of Rhode Island and helped found the Housing Network of New England in 1994.

Rhode Island Secretary of Housing Stefan Pryor resigns

“I come from the grassroots,” Clements said in an interview with Rhode Island Current, “and that has shaped the way I like to work, which is collaborative and to not assume that I know all the answers.”

Policastro first made her intentions public during an interview with WPRO’s Tara Granahan on July 8.

“I’d like to see the momentum that Secretary Pryor built continue regarding consensus and meeting each individual municipality where they’re at,” she told Granahan. “I have that continuity and those relationships. So I was like you know what, I might as well throw my name out there and see what happens.”

“What’s the worst? That they can say no thank you?” Policastro added.

Policastro has served as Pawtucket’s planning and redevelopment director since January 2022. Before that, she was planning and redevelopment director for the city of Woonsocket from July 2021 through the start of 2022. Since 2016, Policastro has also served as vice president of the Policastro Group, her family’s consulting firm that specializes in health, education, workforce and social welfare initiatives for nonprofits and municipalities.

Policastro was also the senior grant writer and director of development and program planning for the Blackstone Valley Community Action Program from 2006 to 2016. 

“I’ve worked across the aisles — I’ve worked with the providers on all different levels,” she told Rhode Island Current.

Clement served on the General Assembly’s Special Legislative Commission to Study Housing Affordability. The panel’s leader, Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat, was not initially aware of Clement’s interest when she learned of it from a reporter but called Clement “a strong candidate.”

“Brenda is one of the leading experts on housing here in Rhode Island,” Speakman said, who also serves on the advisory board for RI Housing Works.

Speakman was less familiar with Policastro but said the Pawtucket planning director had an impressive resume.

“Those two make sense to me as people who would be interested,” Speakman said. “Others say you need to have fresh eyes from the outside, I’m not sure right now that’s quite a good idea.”

Pryor’s annual salary is over $75,000 higher than the $163,295 McKee earns as governor. The Housing Department declined to specify what his next move is, though WPRI reported Pryor accepted a position at an out-of-state investment firm that specializes in manufacturing, housing and education.

Pryor was picked by McKee to take over the Housing Department in early 2023, replacing former housing secretary Joshua Saal — who resigned amid criticism over missing deadlines to submit reports required by the 2022 law that set up the department and its cabinet-level leader. Pryor previously led the state’s commerce department after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo was elected in 2014.

In his resignation letter to McKee, Pryor touted the addition of more than 300 shelter beds last winter along with a 30% increase in new residential units permitted to start 2024.

Double standards on ambition

Women walk a fine line when seeking to climb to higher positions of power, said Susan Colantuono, who served as co-chair of Vision 2020 Rhode Island, a nationwide initiative to advance women’s equality ahead of the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“While women are encouraged to raise their hands, those who voice ambition can face a double standard of being thought of as aggressive,” said Colantuono, founder of Be Business Savvy, a career development firm that empowers women to advance in their careers.

“Would a man who goes on the radio and expresses an interest in a job be considered bold?” she said.

As excited as she was to see Policastro and Clement taking the initiative for the cabinet position, Colantuono lamented that women still have to break barriers in 2024.

“This means that they face roadblocks and barriers that aren’t necessarily dealt with by men,” she said.

Not interested in the job

While McKee’s office remains mum on the search process to replace Pryor, others who are considered highly qualified for the job have made it clear they have no interest in throwing their hat in the ring.

Among them: Jennifer Hawkins, president and CEO of ONE Neighborhood Builders, a nonprofit housing developer that has led or partnered on development of affordable housing projects in and around Providence.

“It’s flattering that folks have inquired about my interest, but honestly, that’s not a job I’m looking at right now,” Hawkins, who is stepping down from the nonprofit at the end of September, said Monday. “I hope that Governor McKee acts quickly to appoint a permanent Secretary who has a proven track record and is fully committed to resolving Rhode Island’s housing crisis. 

“The Department of Housing is a vital agency and it needs dedicated and stable leadership,” she continued.

Richard Godfrey, the executive director of the Roger Williams University Cummings Institute for Real Estate who led RIHousing for 21 years, also said he had no interest in joining McKee’s administration.

“At this point in my career, I am happy at Roger Williams University seeking to educate and inspire a new generation of professionals who deeply care about creating just, sustainable, and resilient communities, which include housing that is affordable to the extreme variety of household needs and abilities to pay,” he said Tuesday.

A RIHousing spokesperson declined to comment on whether Executive Director Carol Ventura wants to take on the cabinet-level position.

And McKee’s office declined to say if Deputy Housing Secretary Deborah Flannery expressed any interest in a promotion.

What makes a good housing secretary?

As McKee’s office starts the search for Pryor’s successor, Speakman said she would prefer someone familiar with Rhode Island’s housing sector to be the next secretary.

“Others say you need to have fresh eyes from the outside, I’m not sure right now that’s quite a good idea,” she said.

Advocates such as Housing Network of Rhode Island Executive Director Melina Lodge said it is critical that the new housing secretary be someone with pre-existing relationships with local housing and homeless service organizations.

“Rhode Island’s really lucky in that regard,” she said. “We’re able to really work together because of our small size — in other larger states, people don’t have those same opportunities.”

But even with organizational support, a new housing secretary will need to make sure Rhode Island’s municipal leaders are on board with meeting the state’s goal to construct additional housing.

“You have 39 cities and towns, all with different needs,” Speakman said. “One size doesn’t fit all.”

Such has been the case with the town of Narragansett, which has pushed back against pro-density housing changes passed by the General Assembly. In May, town leaders approved an ordinance banning multi-family units in high-density areas. 

Policastro said she understands the hesitancy coming from rural municipalities, but would seek to find some sort of compromise to spur new housing development. To achieve that, she said there needs to be a perception shift among local leaders  — something the state is working to achieve in Bristol and Washington counties via investments from a $3.8 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

State awarded $3.8 million federal grant to promote affordable housing development

“We need to be able to educate and translate it down to a very digestible level,” Policastro said.

Clement said she would like to sit down with municipal leaders to find out where growth makes sense in their communities. But she also had a message for towns who continue to push back against change.

“In a state where one out of three Rhode Islanders are cost-burden, that means there are people in every single community who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads.,” she said.

Balancing short-term fixes to the state’s rising unhoused population and long-term housing projects will also be key.

“You can’t just do one or the other,” Lodge said. “If we’re just focusing on the short-term, then there aren’t resources to build more units. But if we just focus on the long-term, we’re really creating a lot of harm for people that need help today.”

But that balance can’t be achieved unless the Housing Department gets fully staffed. The department is currently positioned short of filling the 38 that are budgeted, said spokesperson Emily Marshall.

“Without out that being a well-oiled machine, we’re going to continue to struggle with this housing crisis,” Lodge said.

Godfrey said the next housing secretary should have at least 15 years experience in high level and broad-based housing finance experience.

“The person must be able to negotiate a highly fraught political environment and be able to make the toughest decisions when there is only enough money to fund about 20% of our housing needs,” he said. “Each income segment of Rhode Island’s population requires distinct and complex housing finance strategies and, in many cases, additional services and home economics education.”

Whoever the governor ends up picking, that person has the power to greatly shape how the department administers the state’s housing policies, Lodge and Speakman both agreed.

“We all have an interest in this working out right,” Speakman said.

The governor’s choice would require approval from the Rhode Island Senate.

“The Senate will conduct its diligence through its advice and consent process,” said chamber spokesperson Greg Paré.

A final choice also likely hinges on the support from House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who has made housing his top priority as legislative leader. Shekarchi downplayed his influence in a statement to Rhode Island Current.

“It is not my selection to make, however I hope that a full and wide-ranging search is thoroughly conducted because Rhode Island is in the midst of a housing crisis,” he said. “The General Assembly has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in housing initiatives, and this is a critical position that needs to be filled with a highly qualified individual.”