Passing The Baton Cropped 2

Tom Bledsoe passing the baton to Robin Hughes at the 58th Member Meeting in Pittsburgh PA held June 2022

Today is my last day at HPN. But it's not about me. 

It’s about over 100 member organizations that are part of our outstanding Network.

So much has changed over the 25 to 30 years that we've been doing this. I know HPN has contributed a bit, but I think our members are the ones that have made the big impact.

I’ve probably been around for three cycles of leadership at most of our member organizations. I've seen them grow from where we started, to where we are today. The evolution in leadership and impact takes my breath away.

Housing. Our members started the case for why housing was important. Now everybody understands housing is important. And, why organizations -- our members -- are real drivers of change.

I talked to a lot of CEOs over the last year. I’m just so proud and impressed with how this Network has grown and how each member works within their communities and continue to meet the moment.

Earlier this month members reconvened in-person for the first time in 30 months at our 58th Member Meeting in Pittsburgh. It was thrilling to be back together again. You really appreciate how much you miss when you’re able to be back together.

I always love getting together with our members. The last few years has been hard for all of us. It's been wonderful to connect virtually. But virtual is not real. This is real. 

Today, I feel very excited about where HPN is as a Network and an organization.

The board unanimously decided to appoint Robin Hughes as the next CEO of HPN. She is going to be an exceptional leader for HPN. With her ability for leadership and integrity, the fact that Robin saw this as the next step in her career affirms what we've built here.

So much of the way that Robin and I think about social enterprise, about members, about policy, and about the core principles of HPN – we are 100 percent aligned. But while we think similarly in many ways, Robin has different life experiences than me, and is going to bring so much to this job.

What a privilege, honor and joy it has for me to lead and steward HPN over the last 25 years.

Tom

Hpn Bio Tom Bledsoe

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Inaugural CEO Tom Bledsoe retired in June 2022 after 25 years at the helm of the Housing Partnership Network. Under his leadership, HPN grew from an all-volunteer coalition to become a strong network and leading voice for partnership-based nonprofits in the affordable housing industry – collaboratively launching over a dozen innovative, high-impact products, programs, and business enterprises.