Homeownership Preservation Foundation Adds to Board of Directors

Dr. Christopher Herbert, research director at the ""Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University"":http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/, has been named to the board of directors of the ""Homeownership Preservation Foundation"":http://www.995hope.org (HPF).
[IMAGE] HPF administers the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline (1-888-995-HOPE), providing free, financial education and confidential foreclosure prevention counseling to distressed homeowners.

""Chris Herbert's research and analysis focus in creating sustainable homeownership is a valued contribution to the HPF as an organization and to our board of directors,"" said Colleen Hernandez, CEO of HPF. ""We are extremely pleased to have his perspective and experience in guiding the organization.""

Herbert spent the last two decades conducting research related to housing policy, housing markets, housing

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finance, and urban development. He also promotes and maintains homeownership for low-income and minority families, including evaluations of federal and state homeownership programs, detailed literature reviews, and analysis of disparities in mortgage lending and residential foreclosures by income and race/ethnicity.

""HPF plays an important role in ensuring that high quality counseling is available to all homeowners who seek this help from all walks of life and all parts of the country,"" Herbert said. ""The advice and support provided by independent counseling agencies to financially strapped homeowners has been vitally important during the foreclosure crisis and will continue to be important in the future, even when the market returns to more normal conditions.""

Prior to joining the Joint Center, Herbert was a senior associate in the Housing and Community Development practice of Abt Associates Inc., which researches and implements programs in the fields of health, social, and economic policy, and international development. Herbert holds a PhD in public policy from Harvard University and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.

""HPF is fortunate to have Chris join our board, which is comprised of members who represent a broad range of professional backgrounds, including the nonprofit sector, where they are or have been serving in housing finance and community development, are former elected officials, or are working or have worked in corporate life and academia,"" Hernandez said.