People:
Robin Hughes
When Robin Hughes engages with members, funders, and partners across the country to share her insights and perspectives, she doesn’t just draw on her deep professional expertise in affordable housing and community development; she echoes her lived experience as well.
From an early childhood living in public housing to her years studying at the University of Southern California (USC) to decades of work on the ground in communities, Robin has developed a keen understanding of the need for equity and opportunity throughout the country—one that has motivated her lifelong work to improve housing conditions for tens of thousands of people.
“I have fond memories of growing up in a close-knit community of friends and families,” she recalls of her days in South Los Angeles “But I also remember deplorable housing and economic conditions, how nothing seemed to ever change, how no one seemed to be listening. When I got to USC, I knew that I wanted to build a career that brought opportunities and investment for people like me in the communities where I grew up. That’s how I ended up in the housing and community development field.”
Since 2022, Robin has served as president and CEO of the Housing Partnership Network (HPN), a national collaborative of the nation’s top mission-driven, nonprofit housing developers, community lenders, and advocates. She helps fuel the work of more than 100 urban and rural housing and community development organizations, nine HPN-supported social enterprises, practitioner-led learning and data-sharing strategies, and critical advocacy on state and federal policy priorities to drive systems change.
Prior to taking the helm at HPN, Robin spent 26 years as president and CEO of Abode Communities, growing the organization into one of the top nonprofit developers in the country and premier provider of environmentally sustainable affordable housing in California. Earlier, she worked in the housing finance sector at The Richman Group and Citi, deploying capital to high-value housing development efforts and in local government for the County of Los Angeles Community Development Commission and the City of Los Angeles Mayor Office of Economic Development.
Over the years, Robin has shared her expertise on a variety of boards, task forces and advisory bodies, including six years as HPN board chair before taking over as CEO. She currently serves on the boards of the Justice Climate Fund, Community Development Trust (CDT), and the California Community Reinvestment Corporation – all significant investors in affordable housing and other community-focused assets and programs – and on the advisory bodies for Morgan Stanley, National Housing Conference, and UCLA Ziman Center.
Robin earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in public administration from the University of Southern California and certification from the executive program in Achieving Excellence in Community Development at the Harvard Kennedy School
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