OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO
REBECCA LOUIE
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Rebecca Louie is a longtime leader in the affordable housing sector, with more than two decades of experience planning, building and operating affordable and supportive housing communities throughout Southern California. Since starting at Wakeland in 2005, she has overseen the development and operation of 44 affordable housing communities, creating over 2,400 homes for families, seniors, veterans, transition-age youth and people experiencing homelessness.
A Native Alaskan and a member of the Tlingit-Haida tribe, Ms. Louie is widely known as a strong advocate for affordable housing, social and environmental justice, and homelessness due to work at Wakeland and past employers, including the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the Center on Policy Initiatives, and United Indian Nations Community Development Corporation. She has a broad network of strong relationships with stakeholders working to build a more just and equitable world through housing, including government agencies, labor organizations, advocacy groups and decisionmakers at the state, county and city levels. Her expertise has made her a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and garnered recognition across several platforms, including an Innovations Award from the San Diego Housing Federation for her development of the Supportive Housing Learning Network, a cutting-edge training program for staff at supportive housing communities. Ms. Louie was also named one of San Diego’s Most Influential Women by the San Diego Daily Transcript for her leadership efforts to improve communities with high-quality affordable housing. She currently serves as the Board Chair for the San Diego Housing Federation; sits on the Boards of San Diego's Regional Task Force on Homelessness, the Downtown San Diego partnership and the statewide housing advocacy group Housing California; and contributes her time and expertise to the California Housing Consortium. Before taking the leadership role as President and CEO, Ms. Louie was Wakeland’s Vice President and COO. Prior to working at Wakeland, she held positions at SANDAG, where she spent six years working on housing and social equity issues; at the Center on Policy Initiatives, where she served as fundraising and development manager; and at the United Indian Nations, where she coordinated the development of housing and cultural resources for Native Americans living in the urban Bay Area. Ms. Louie holds a B.A. in Urban Studies and Planning from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. |
