Leah Bruns is executive director of the Portland Housing Authority.

In Portland, the Portland Housing Authority serves roughly 1 in 10 residents and nearly 1 in 3 public school students. That means a significant share of our community depends on the housing and services we provide. Our responsibility is to ensure that residents have safe and stable homes — and that housing is not a barrier to full participation in community life.

The quality and availability of that housing is therefore foundational to the health and strength of our city, our schools and our workforce.

I recently stepped into the role of executive director of PHA. I have been part of the Housing Authority since 2020 and have spent much of my career working in housing here in Maine and in the Portland community. This is an important moment for the agency, and I am mindful of the responsibility that comes with it.

The work ahead will require focus and a shared effort — from residents, staff, our board, community partners and local leadership. My role is to help bring those voices together as we continue strengthening the housing infrastructure our community needs and our residents deserve.

Many PHA properties — like public housing developments across the country — reflect the effects of decades of federal underinvestment. Sagamore Village, for example, one of our 20 properties, was built in the early 1940s and has been home to generations of residents for more than 80 years. Preserving historic neighborhoods like Sagamore Village while also providing much-needed improvements requires thoughtful renovation, careful use of existing space and ongoing engagement with the community that lives there.

Addressing these realities across our portfolio has required both significant physical change to our properties and structural change within the agency itself. A drive by Riverton or Kennedy Park today makes the scale of the physical work clear — active demolition and construction are reshaping the landscape.

At the same time, the agency has been modernizing internal systems to better manage housing and support residents. Much of this work has been underway for years. The responsibility now is to carry it forward — stewarding these historic resources while strengthening the partnerships that allow us to better serve our residents and the broader Portland community.

At locations such as Front Street and the “COMB” block — named for its boundaries along Cumberland, Oxford, Mayo and Boyd streets — the most responsible course has been to remove aging structures, remediate underlying soil conditions and rebuild from the ground up. These new developments create modern, efficient housing designed to serve Portland residents for decades to come while also helping address the city’s urgent need for additional housing and increased density.

This is not new work for PHA. In recent years, the agency has already converted, renovated or rebuilt nearly 1,000 homes across our roughly 1,300-unit portfolio, preserving their affordability while creating safer, healthier and more energy-efficient places to live. These improvements are not theoretical — they are real homes where Portland families live today.

I recognize that I stand on the foundation laid by those who came before me — leaders and staff who carried this mission forward and built the groundwork for what exists today, and a Board of Commissioners whose long-term vision helped create the conditions for this new chapter.

Concepts that once seemed ambitious — resident services, community partnerships and energy-efficient housing — are now foundational to how we support residents and strengthen our neighborhoods.

Housing at this scale is never achieved by one institution alone. PHA works closely with the city of Portland, community organizations, residents and partners across the city and state to ensure that our work reflects the needs of our community. Delivering a single development requires the coordinated efforts of architects, engineers, contractors, lenders, tax credit investors, legal counsel, property managers, resident service providers and public officials. Their collaboration and shared commitment make this work possible.

Affordable housing does more than provide shelter. It allows children to learn in stable environments, supports adults pursuing education and employment and helps older residents live independently and with dignity. Stable housing also helps prevent the kinds of medical, economic and social crises that place strain on families and on the broader systems our communities rely on.

Residents in PHA housing are not separate from Portland. They are Portland. I am honored to take on this responsibility and mindful of the long tradition of leadership, dedicated staff and community partnership that has shaped the Housing Authority over the years. Together, I believe we are ready to carry that responsibility forward.