Every day, MPHA works to provide housing to nearly 26,000 people. The work to provide quality, well-managed units to some of Minneapolis’ most vulnerable residents can be an inspiring and enriching experience for the nearly 300 MPHA team members who carry out the agency’s critical work. But for one member of the team, the work is deeply personal.

“When my parents first arrived in the U.S., they were fortunate enough to get into a stable home through the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority,” said Mary Vang, Regional Property Manager at the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “This housing was critical for my family because it provided us stability in our new country. Public housing made my family feel secure. Knowing there was always going to be a roof over our heads allowed my parents to work hard and save up enough money to buy their own home after only living in public housing for a few years.”

The daughter of Hmong immigrants whose lives were stabilized by an MPHA home, Mary Vang now serves as a regional property manager in the agency’s public housing operations team—the first Hmong American to hold this role at the agency.

Mary’s ascent at MPHA was anything but sudden. Beyond the fact Mary was literally born into MPHA, she has worked at the agency for 18 years. Starting as an eligibility tech in the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher department, Mary spent more than 10 years earning new roles and opportunities in both public housing leasing and property management before being promoted into her current position late last year.

“The mission of MPHA is deeply personal to me, and my career journey at the agency has been inspired by so many others who are living my same values,” said Mary. “The fact that I have been afforded so many opportunities to advance my career at MPHA is just a testament to agency leaders past and present investing time and resources in supporting team members in pursuit of our mission.”

One of the teammates who continues to inspire Mary is Tamika Baskin, her former supervisor and now fellow regional property manager.

“Tamika has always been there for me, both as a supervisor and mentor,” said Mary. “She has always believed in me, and that helped me tremendously to feel confident in my work and capabilities. Even after I transitioned into this new role as her contemporary, Tamika still answers the call any time I need help or just need someone to talk through challenges with.”

Mary’s MPHA story is far from over, but she hopes to provide inspiration to current and future MPHA team members through her story. With hard work and dedication to the mission, the sky’s the limit at MPHA.