Board of Commissioners

  • The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority is governed by a nine-member Board of Commissioners, two of whom are public housing residents (one from family and one from highrise). The board members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council members.
  • The commissioners are responsible for approving the agency’s annual budget and for setting policy. MPHA’s Executive Director/CEO, Abdi Warsame, serves the Board.
  • Regular Board meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month except in November and December when meetings are held on the third Wednesday due to the holidays. Agendas, Packets, and monthly Performance Reports are normally published on this page the prior week. Meetings are sometimes cancelled and notices of cancellations will be posted on the meeting and agenda packet page.

Tamir Mohamud is a long-time resident of 1515 Park Avenue South and has held many leadership positions at the building, area and citywide level.  He is currently MHRC Vice-President, a member of the MHRC Active Living Advisory Committee, the Project Lookout Coordinator for his building and president of his building resident council.  He also co-chairs his building’s community vegetable gardening committee.

Mr. Mohamud is active in the Elliot Park Neighborhood Organization and frequently presents public housing resident concerns and recommendations at town hall meetings and other public forums.  Tamir also advocates for public housing resident concerns regarding safe walking and other pedestrian issues as a member of the City’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

Gloria is a serial entrepreneur with several businesses. She is the founder, owner, and CEO of Olu’s Home, Inc – a licensed care organization that provides residential and in-home services to persons with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and the elderly. Olu’s Home currently operates with 11 different sites across the Twin Cities. In partnership with her daughter, Jessica, Gloria also founded Olu’s Beginnings – a holistic childcare development center. She also is the owner of House of Beauté Atout – a series of incubator spaces for professionals in the health and beauty industry – and is part owner of land currently being developed into a dedicated assisted living space for seniors with commercial spaces. Lastly, she owns several commercial properties around the Minneapolis area. Gloria also sits on the board of members for YMCA of the North, Northside Economic Opportunity Network, and the Minnesota 100 club.

Elfric, a dedicated public servant, has been employed with the City of Minneapolis for nearly 20 years. He currently serves as the Director of Housing Policy and Development. His team uses an equity lens in designing housing programs/policies and fosters an avenue that allows individuals/households access to resources and programs that have historically been out of their reach. Through his leadership, his team has increased the rate of service to BIPOC households and developers participating in City housing programs. He’s known for his unconventional and creative approach to problem solving, adaptability, strong customer service focus, collaborative approach, honesty and attention to detail.

Tom Hoch is a seasoned executive with nearly thirty years overseeing public, non-profit and for profit organizations. He previously served as MPHA’s Deputy Executive Director where he led a team that transformed the organization into one designated by the federal government as a top performer. He is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing through the metro area and actively supports organizations involved in this work.

Mr. Hoch led the founding and growth of Hennepin Theatre Trust into the seventh largest arts organization in the State of Minnesota. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards including as Minneapolis Downtown Council Chair, Chair of Animal Humane Society and its Capital Campaign and as a Board member of numerous local nonprofits. He serves as a leader of The Minneapolis Good Chair Project, which designs, constructs, delivers and maintains handcrafted seating on parkland throughout Minneapolis. Mr. Hoch is a Minneapolis native and continues to reside in our community.

Tom Nordyke has spent his professional career within the affordable housing industry. He is a co-funder of the Artspace, the nation’s leading non-profit developer of workforce and affordable housing for artists, creators, and entrepreneurs. In addition, he was COO of AEON, a Twin Cities-based non-profit developer whose mission is to create and sustain quality affordable homes that strengthen lives and communities. For the past decade, Nordyke has been a Principal with TGR Development (formerly W-Noordijk, inc.), a development and consulting organization. Nordyke has consulted nationally with public, non-profit, and for-profit affordable housing organizations on financing, marketing, and historic preservation.

Nordyke has also Chaired the Minneapolis Arts Commission, sat on the Minneapolis Planning Commission, and was elected to and served as President of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board. Tom has been a resident of Minneapolis since first moving to the city to attend the University of Minnesota.

Commissioner Isse is a resident of Minneapolis Public Housing Authority.  He works for Target Corporation and part-time for Marsden.  He would like to help the community by serving on this board.  Commissioner Isse is married and has two children.

Danielle Werder brings over a decade of experience in social services to her current position as Area Manager of the Office to End Homelessness at Hennepin County Health and Human Services. Leading a large team of direct service workers, supervisors, and planners, she manages the County’s homeless response system with outstanding outcomes, including over 1,677 housing successes in 2023 (18% increase from 2022). Danielle played a pivotal role in supporting and building out the County’s Coordinated Entry System, and spearheading a new street outreach team and case management team that is hyper housing-focused and person-centered which has received national attention.

Danielle’s impactful contributions have been recognized with multiple awards for excellence and innovation in Local Government and currently serves on the Health Care for the Homeless Community Board. In her role as the grant manager for over $30 million in ARPA funds she has shaped the County’s strategy and response to homelessness and the team is on the path to ending both chronic and veterans homelessness in the near future.

A visionary public affairs, consultant, and community leader known as a trusted voice who bridges differences with courage and optimism. An innovative strategic thinker focused on creating quality relationships across a variety of stakeholders. A systems-and culture-change agent who aligns goals and values for people to accomplish their work. Recognized nationally for ethical leadership through public crisis and building strong community and organization alliances. Manages uncomfortable situations with active listening and authentic speaking and messaging. Data-driven executive, providing strong leadership and mentoring to teams and staff functions in finance, media relations, diversity, and inclusion.

Alyssa Erickson is a values-driven leader who has developed a specialty in using data to improve services to people in public sector programs. She currently works for Hennepin County Human Services as the Manager of Analytics and Continuous Quality Improvement Strategy. Alyssa’s career has spanned fields from youth organizing to higher education to health care. Alyssa worked for MPHA from 2013 to 2020 in several different roles, ending as the Director of Research and Analytics.