Orange County has appointed Blake Rosser as permanent Orange County Housing Director, Orange County Manager Bonnie Hammersley announced. Rosser has served as Interim Housing Director since January.
“Blake’s experience with the Orange County Housing Department and his familiarity with the issues facing Orange County make him the ideal choice,” said Hammersley. “In the current fiscal year, the Orange County Housing Authority recorded its highest utilization rate ever for Housing Choice Vouchers, a testament to his dedication to serving Orange County residents.”
The Housing Department manages more than $11 million annually in state, federal and local funding. In addition to managing the Housing Choice Voucher Program, the department provides many other services to connect people and partners with housing resources. Emergency Housing Assistance helps low-income households that have suffered a major life-changing event with rental assistance, the Longtime Homeowners Assistance Program helps qualifying residents pay their property tax bills, and the county’s Eviction Diversion Program helps residents avoid eviction and stay in their homes.
Rosser joined the Orange County Housing Department in 2020 as Housing Choice Voucher Program Manager, where he managed a staff of four and an operating budget of $6 million and 687 vouchers.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “Orange County has been my home for over half my life. A main reason I’ve settled here is because it’s at the forefront of our state with respect to social policy, including housing. I’m excited to be in a position where I can collaborate with our Board of County Commissioners to shape these policies. It’s very special to be able to work in this capacity for a community that truly cares about important issues like housing and with an exceptional team of dedicated housing professionals.”
Prior to coming to Orange County, Rosser was a Project Coordinator and Social Research Assistant at the University of North Carolina’s Center for Health Equity Research and also served as a special education teacher for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Chatham County Schools.
He earned a B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004 and a Teaching Certificate in Special Education (K-12) in May 2009, also from UNC. He received a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Terry Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in 2019.