More than 20 years ago, Rashid Issack heard about MPHA through two Somali community members who were longtime MPHA employees. They encouraged him to apply to join the team. After doing some internet research, Rashid decided to pursue a role as an eligibility technician processing applications for Housing Choice Vouchers. Being hired for this role kicked off a decades-long career at MPHA.

A year and a half later, Rashid was promoted to property manager – a role he held for nearly a decade. In this role, Rashid directed staff, managed building operations, and addressed resident concerns at several different buildings through the decade, include the Elliot Twins, Park Center, The Atrium, and Hiawatha Towers.

“I really enjoy listening to resident’s stories,” said Rashid Issack, Director of Affordable Property Operations for the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “When you show interest in people, they open up to you. You can gain so much from just listening.”

In 2014, Rashid decided to leave MPHA to start a small family business. But it didn’t take long, and within a year, he was ready to get back to helping people receive stable, affordable housing. So, he took the first MPHA job he could find, returning to the agency as a quality control specialist in MPHA’s leasing department. He was in the role for less than six months before becoming the property manager for the Horn Towers and The Pentagon buildings.

Not long thereafter, Rashid was promoted to regional property manager. He spent the next six years leading a team of property managers and overseeing the operations of eight high-rise buildings in South Minneapolis.

In 2022, MPHA created a new role to oversee the newly RAD-converted high-rises (Elliot Twins) and the more than 700 scattered site family homes the agency had recently converted from public housing to the housing choice voucher program via the agency’s Community Housing Resources (CHR) nonprofit. With a long history of property management and the ability to tackle new strategic challenges, Rashid was promoted into this position.

In his current role as the Director of Affordable Property Operations, Rashid oversees more than 40 employees managing a growing portfolio of family housing and RAD-renovated high-rises. Since starting this role, MPHA has added the Family Housing Expansion Project to his portfolio, bringing the number of scattered site family homes to nearly 800, now serving almost 3,300 residents. The agency also announced the $65 million RAD renovation of Spring Manor, which will be managed by the affordable property operations team once construction is complete.

“I have a great career at MPHA,” said Rashid. “I was able to land promotions with the help of incredible leaders who advised and believed in me throughout my career. And I’m excited to continue to fine tune the department in the coming years.”

Rashid knows his career success is not attributable to him alone; he has had a team of advocates helping him along the way. He credits Director of Operations Mary Boler for being his biggest cheerleader, believing in his abilities and trusting him with new responsibilities with each promotion. He has Regional Property Manager Laurie Aylward to thank for helping shape his technical understanding of managing properties. And sees MPHA Executive Director/CEO Abdi Warsame as an inspiration for his community for being the first Somali-American to both to win a municipal election and lead a government agency in Minnesota.

For Rashid, this work is deeply fulfilling. MPHA is a housing safety net for very low-income individuals and families who might be facing homelessness without it. Working at MPHA, Rashid gets to be part of improving the lives of those in MPHA housing.

As part of his responsibility overseeing MPHA’s family housing, Rashid gets to witness families transformed once they have a solid foundation of stable housing. Many families increase their social economic status and reach milestones that wouldn’t be possible for them without reliable, affordable housing.

Nowhere is this truer than the scattered site family housing portfolio. Of the current scattered site heads of household, 24 percent were employed when entering their new home. On average, these residents earned $26,039 a year in income. Today, 55 percent of these residents are employed, earning an average of $43,594 a year, with more than 56 percent of these residents’ earned income increasing while in these homes.

And these homes are often only a temporary stop in a family’s journey to economic independence, with families living in CHR homes for an average of six years before moving to new housing. Better yet, since 2020, nearly 14 percent of all families leaving scattered site homes have gone on to purchase their own homes – a number that jumped to 29 percent for the first quarter of 2025.

With a wealth of agency knowledge from 20 years working across five different roles, Rashid is excited to encourage and mentor his team members looking to grow their own careers at the agency. And together, Rashid is looking forward to serving more families with life-altering force of stable housing at MPHA.