Housing Opportunities Commission Chair Roy O. Priest
Named Montgomery County African American Living Legend

Kensington, Md. – Roy O. Priest, Chair of the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County (HOC), has been named a “2024 African American Living Legend.” Commissioner Priest will receive this award during ceremonies on Friday, June 14, as part of Montgomery County’s 2024 Juneteenth celebration.

“I can think of no one more deserving of this honor,” said HOC President & Executive Director Chelsea Andrews. “For five decades, Commissioner Priest has worked and advocated without pause to lift up those in the community who are in need by expanding the availability of affordable housing and enhancing their lives with supportive services.  His contributions throughout his career of public service have improved the lives of countless of our neighbors.”

Commissioner Priest’s service with HOC and to Montgomery County over the past six years followed his retirement as the Executive Director and CEO of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) in Alexandria, Virginia. Under his nine years of leadership, ARHA redeveloped more than 600 units of mixed income housing, created a pipeline of more than 500 units planned for redevelopment, planned and implemented more than 20 community-based programs for residents, and improved the overall quality and condition of ARHA properties.

Prior to joining ARHA, Commissioner Priest served as the President and CEO of the National Congress for Community Economic Development (NCCED), where he established innovative and effective strategies designed to foster growth and prosperity in America’s economically distressed communities. Commissioner Priest also spent 17 years with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in a variety of positions. His career of service to others began in 1967 as the Project Director for a large urban renewal project at the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).

“Wherever he has gone, Chairman Priest has had a long-lasting, positive impact. I am thankful for his friendship and leadership here at HOC,” added Andrews.

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About HOC

HOC serves more than 20,000 Montgomery County households through a variety of innovative housing programs. HOC owns more than 9,400 apartment, townhome and single-family home rental properties and leases or administers another 7,400 properties that provide affordable housing. We provide rental assistance to more than 8,000 low-income households through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and an additional 1,600 households through other types of subsidized housing programs. HOC also has financed more than 3,400 privately owned multi-family buildings and helped more than 2,000 households purchase a home through the homeownership and mortgage program. Visit HOC.