Phone: (857) 928-3658
Email: harigblaine@vcu.edu
Elisha Harig-Blaine, M.S.
Adjunct Faculty
Urban and Regional Studies and Planning
EXPERTISE
- Public Policy
- Public Administration
- NonProfit Management
- Affordable Housing & Housing Affordability
- Government & Budgeting
BIOGRAPHY
Professor Elisha Ananda Harig-Blaine has worked at the local, state, and federal levels on homelessness and housing for more than 25 years as a part of nonprofits and within state and local government.
In the early 2000s, Professor Harig-Blaine worked in Massachusetts supporting community-based nonprofits in their efforts to engage with people experiencing homelessness and building support for local and statewide efforts to end homelessness.
Beginning in 2007, he joined the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) where he helped lead the national organizing efforts that resulted in the enactment of the National Housing Trust Fund. As Director of Outreach, he grew NLIHC’s political network to include members and supporters in all 435 congressional districts.
In 2012, he joined the National League of Cities (NLC), where he conceptualized and launched, in coordination with the White House and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness. Through the Mayors Challenge, more than 880 state and local elected officials in all 50 states committed to ending Veteran homelessness. As a result of this unprecedented level of local political support, the federal government defined, for the first time ever, what is meant to functionally end any type of homelessness. Having defined what it means to functionally end homelessness, Professor Harig-Blaine worked closely with representatives from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the Virginia Department of Veteran Services to meet this definition and become the first state in the history of the United States to functionally end any form of homelessness in November 2015.
During this time, Professor Harig-Blaine was appointed to serve on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. He testified before the U.S. Senate on homeless veteran issues and spoke across the country on the issues of homelessness and housing with organizations including the National Association of Regional Councils, Urban Land Institute, National Housing Conference, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In 2018, he won awards from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, American Society of Public Administration, and PR Daily for his efforts in coordinating local elected officials and national media, including The Washington Post, Politico, and CNN, which prevented more than $625 million from being redirected from the HUD-VASH voucher program.
In 2019, Professor Harig-Blaine began his work in state government working with Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development, overseeing state and federal homeless programs for the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, Harford County, and two Continuums of Care on the Eastern Shore.
During that time he co-chaired the City of Annapolis’ Housing Affordability Task and was President of the Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together of Anne Arundel County.
In 2020, Professor Harig-Blaine joined the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, as Manager for the Rent Relief Program. In this role, he oversaw the development and execution of a more than $1 billion program, the largest in the Commonwealth’s history, as well as staff, data systems, policies and procedures to ensure residents are not evicted and property owners receive necessary financial support. His innovative use of program flexibilities and a novel statistical methodology received national recognition from the National Low Income Housing Coalition and other national organizations. In addition, it was favorably studied and reviewed by the General Services Administration’s Office of Evaluation Sciences for its potential use in other federal programs.
In 2023, Professor Harig-Blaine was asked to join Arundel Community Development Services, the effective Department of Housing and Community Development for Anne Arundel County. As Assistant Planning Director, his team of six oversees the grants and contracts associated with more than a dozen federal, state, and local funding sources for housing, affordable housing, and community development.
He currently sits on the City of Annapolis’ Housing and Community Equity Development Commission and is a Board member of Camp St. Charles. He is a proud father of two and has been married for more than 20 years.
A Veteran of the United States Marine Corps Reserve, Professor Harig-Blaine earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from St. Mary's College of Maryland and has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from George Mason University.