Michelle Whetten directs Enterprise Community Partners’ Gulf Coast office, based in New Orleans. Her responsibilities include working with state and local officials to create effective systems for affordable housing production, implementing innovative training and technical assistance programs with local nonprofit organizations and supporting Enterprise’s investment of more than $20 million to develop more than 10,000 homes for low- and moderate-income families in the Gulf Coast region over the next five years.
Prior to her assignment in the Gulf Coast, Whetten was deputy director for Enterprise’s New York City office, where she led Enterprise New York’s neighborhood initiatives and public policy efforts. In that role, Whetten managed organizational development, resident services technical assistance and grant making programs, and directed advocacy and outreach to local, state and federal officials on housing and community development issues. She was also charged with guiding and implementing strategic planning for Enterprise New York.
Before joining Enterprise, Whetten managed the Prince George’s County, Md., office of the Neighborhood Design Center, a Baltimore-based nonprofit organization, where she recruited and coordinated pro bono services of architects, engineers and planners to assist with community-sponsored projects.
Whetten graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental policy analysis and planning and from the University of Illinois with a master’s degree in urban and regional planning.