Memphis Mayor A C Wharton appointed an interim director of the office of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to replace former director Robert Lipscomb, who resigned Monday on a sex crime allegation. Wharton also recommended an interim executive director for Lipscomb’s the position at the Memphis Housing Authority (MHA).
Wharton appointed HCD deputy director Debbie Singleton to lead up that organization. He has recommended Maura Black Sullivan, the city’s deputy Chief Administrative Officer, to temporarily lead MHA.
“Recognizing the significant role HCD and MHA play in the growth and development of our City, a smooth transition is imperative,” Wharton said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “For this reason, I am appointing deputy director Singleton to be interim lead of HCD, and I have asked the MHA board to appoint Mrs. Sullivan interim executive director until new directors are appointed to lead each organization.”
Singleton has been at HCD for 20 years. She’s worked on projects ranging from Peabody Place, Sears Crosstown, the redevelopment of the Pyramid, the Fairgrounds redevelopment, the Overton Square parking garage, and AutoZone Park.
Sullivan is a longtime member of Wharton’s executive team. Before that she was deputy director of Planning and Development for Memphis and Shelby County, an assistant superintendent of Planning and Student Services for Shelby County Schools, a special assistant for the Congressman Harold E. Ford Jr, and as a family court mediator for the Shelby County Juvenile Court.
Sullivan’s position will be voted on by the MHA during their meeting tomorrow morning.
