Atlanta Habitat for Humanity announced that Wesley A. Brooks joins the organization to lead its new Housing and Neighborhood Engagement department.  Brooks comes to Atlanta Habitat with a wealth of knowledge and experience in affordable housing development for working families. He has more than 10 years in the industry including serving as Manager of Housing Policy and Outreach at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. In this role, he managed policy for the state’s affordable housing programs.
 
Atlanta Habitat established a department of Housing and Neighborhood Engagement to advance its expanded mission to become a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. Brooks will develop and lead a strategic housing and neighborhood engagement plan that includes sustaining partnerships and identifying investments and funding opportunities that can be leveraged with the nonprofit homebuilder’s programs.
 
Throughout his career, Brooks has focused on the development of economically inclusive affordable housing that meets the varying needs of the working class. He is also keenly interested in sustainability, smart growth, and increasing homeownership as a means of neighborhood stabilization.
 
“We are excited to welcome Wesley to our executive team,” says Lisa Y. Gordon, Atlanta Habitat President/CEO. “As Atlanta Habitat seeks to keep affordable homeownership in Atlanta’s growing housing market and to revitalize neighborhoods through our critical repair programs and house rehabilitations, Wesley will have a vital role in advancing our mission.”
 
Brooks’ career includes managing programs for the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative in Atlanta and serving as an active duty officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  As an officer, he has more than a decade of service as a Construction Manager, a Platoon Leader and a Company Commander. A decorated officer, he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his leadership on a combat tour in Iraq. Today, Brooks is an Operations Officer for a reserve unit in Decatur, GA.
 
Brooks earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Hampton University in 2004 and a Master of City and Regional Planning from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2012. Brooks was born in Nashville, Tenn. to two Army officers and has lived in numerous U.S. cities. He settled in Atlanta in 2010.  Brooks and his wife have two daughters and live in Atlanta.