Building Power, Securing Public Housing
As the executive director of the Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, Sarah Byrnes, MTS '05, builds power and voice for low-income residents of public housing in Massachusetts.
Sarah Byrnes, MTS '05
Executive Director, Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants (Dorchester, MA)
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Describe the work you do today:
- With Mass Union’s all-tenant board, execute the organization’s mission to build power and voice for low-income residents of public housing in Massachusetts
- Oversee all the programmatic and administrative functions of Mass Union
- Work directly with tenants and Local Tenant Organizations across the state, providing moral and practical support through training, technical assistance and other programming
- Supervise staff, graduate fellows, and subcontractors, including tenant leaders
- Ensure financial health for the organization through fundraising, budgeting and fiscal management
- Serve as the face of Mass Union and advance its policy agenda to improve public housing communities in Massachusetts
How has your HDS degree influenced your career journey?
I am involved in grassroots social change; i.e. empowering low-income people through organizing and popular education. The ethical systems I studied at HDS provided an interesting foundation for this work and have definitely informed my bottom-up theory of change.
What career advice would you offer to current HDS students?
Take it one day at a time and follow your gut.