21/08/2026
Portland, OR – The ROSE Community Development Corporation Board of Directors and staff are pleased to welcome Helmi Hisserich as our new Executive Director effective August 31, 2026. Long-term founder and Co-Executive Director Nick Sauvie will retire after 34 years of growing and guiding the organization, advancing ROSE’s mission: building affordable homes and community to make outer southeast neighborhoods strong and equitable. Co-Executive Director Ana Meza will continue on at the organization in an asset manager position, prioritizing the health and stability of ROSE’s affordable housing portfolio.
As ROSE’s incoming Executive Director, Hisserich will lead ROSE’s housing and community development projects, portfolio management, fundraising, budget management, and supporting the staff team. Hisserich has a long commitment to equitable housing, anti-displacement strategies, and neighborhood stability, including serving 20 years in the City of Los Angeles where she served as Deputy Mayor of Housing and Director of Housing Development and Finance where she oversaw a $900M loan portfolio and 43,000 affordable housing units. More recently, as Director of the Portland Housing Bureau, she guided housing strategy, public investment, program delivery, and cross-sector collaboration during a period of urgent affordability and displacement pressures.
“We at ROSE are thrilled to welcome Helmi as the next Executive Director of ROSE,” said Mac Cunningham, ROSE’s Board President, adding, “She brings deep experience in affordable housing and is a nationally recognized leader in the growing social housing movement. Helmi’s belief in asset based community development emphasizing resident empowerment aligned neatly with ROSE’s organizational values to support residents of Outer Southeast and East Portland. We look forward to her leadership for the next chapter of ROSE.”
ROSE was founded in 1992 by Sauvie along with other neighborhood leaders, after a period of severe economic and social decline in southeast Portland in the 1980s. Today, in addition to developing more than 500 units of affordable housing in outer southeast neighborhoods, ROSE offers a Resident Assets Program, in which residents of all ages can engage in activities that support positive relationships, personal growth, and community resiliency. A signature program, the Lents Youth Initiative, engages up to 40 teens every year for leadership training, building soft skills, environmental stewardship, and career development.
"ROSE is an organization that understands the transformative power of community," said Hisserich. "I am honored to join a team that sees housing as more than shelter. Housing creates the foundation for connection, stability, and opportunity. ROSE's work recognizes that strong communities are built when people have both a place to live and a meaningful voice in shaping their neighborhood."
ROSE CDC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information contact Carver Akiteru Oblander, Office Manager, at [email protected]
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