Anna Maria Farias and Neal Rackleff will serve as Assistant Secretaries at HUD. The two Texas lawyers were both confirmed on August 3. NH&RA congratulates Assistant Secretaries Farias and Rackleff – we look forward to working with you!
Farias will now serves as HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. She has served previously at HUD in various capacities, including senior counsel to HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. She also has extensive experience working in other government roles, including the Department of Labor and Department of Education. Farias is a native of Texas where she grew up living in public housing in Crystal City; she later returned to serve as executive director of the Crystal City Public Housing Agency.
Rackleff will now serve as HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. He was previously partner at Locke Lord law firm and also served as Director of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department. Notably, Houston has been touted as the first major city to effectively end veteran homelessness, an accomplishment during Rackleff’s tenure as Director.
