Karen B. Shawcross, an executive with experience in workforce development, real estate management and development and social services, has been named executive director of Housing Development Corp. of Northwest Oregon.

Gary Dodge, chairman of HDC's board, said "I am so pleased that we found Karen, whose experience in the public and private sectors is a perfect match to Housing Development Corp.'s mission of providing affordable housing and services to
those families in Washington and Columbia counties who are facing the greatest barriers to stability and prosperity. Her passion to help people is visible and contagious and, as board president, I'm truly excited about the future of HDC in
the near and long term under Karen's leadership. Together, we will make a difference."

Shawcross said "I am honored to have been selected by HDC. It's an exciting time in the life of the organization, and it's wonderful to have a board of dedicated, talented and committed volunteers. I have big shoes to fill, following in
the footsteps of Linda Netherton and Doug Longhurst, but I hope to make them proud with the help of an incredibly talented and dedicated staff here." Netherton and Longhurst served as co-executive directors of the 26-year-old agency for 7
years.

Shawcross's corporate experience spans sectors from real estate to banking to workforce development, while she holds a master's degree in social work and spent nine years volunteering in her spare time as a mental health counselor at a
Massachusetts non-profit serving low-income adults. That varied experience will come into play as she embarks on the work of HDC, which provides not only affordable housing but also training and education to the 2,200 residents of its nine
developments.

Shawcross comes to HDC from three years as director of business and industry initiatives at Worksystems Inc., the non-profit workforce investment agency in the Portland metropolitan area. She worked with several industry sectors to develop
programs to meet their workforce needs.

Before that, Shawcross worked for six years as a senior vice president in charge of national initiatives for Bank of America. She developed and directed America/Works, a workforce development program that brought 8,000 people, many of
them women who had been on welfare � into career-path jobs at the bank. She also developed and directed America/Banks, a national financial literacy program for low-income populations in the bank's 22-state franchise. Collaboration with
national non-profits and community-based organizations across the U.S. was integral to both initiatives. Before taking the job as head of national initiatives for Bank of America, Shawcross worked briefly as national marketing director for
the bank's manufacturing housing lending division.

From 1981 to 1997, Shawcross worked in real estate development and property management in Boston as national marketing director for two private real estate development/management firms with mixed, multi-family portfolios of subsidized and
conventional properties. She also developed and marketed a multi-family rental property and a condominium development while managing human resources and insurance for 250 employees.

Shawcross has also served on the boards of directors of several national non-profits, including Women in Community Service as chair, and Women Work!, the Oakland (Calif.) Family Independence Initiative, as well as workforce investment
boards in San Francisco, Oakland and Portland.

Since moving to Hillsboro in 2001, Shawcross has also been active with Hillsboro 2020, a municipal planning initiative, and volunteered at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (Wilsonville, OR) and Western Farmworkers Association (Hillsboro,
OR).

Housing Development Corp. of Northwest Oregon is a private non-profit agency that provides 456 affordable rental housing units in nine developments to 2,200 farmworkers and low-income residents of Washington and Columbia counties. HDC also
provides supportive programs to residents to build leadership, educate on health and other issues, and provide basic work skills to youth and help them complete their secondary education.

Founded in 1981, Housing Development Corp.'s mission is to empower those working families who have the greatest barriers to stability and prosperity by ensuring they have quality housing and services.