Secretary Carson Swears in Four New HUD Leaders

HUD Secretary Ben Carson recently administered the oath of office to the following individuals recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate: J. Paul Compton, Jr. to become HUD’s General Counsel; Suzanne Israel Tufts to be Assistant Secretary for the Office of Administration; Leonard Wolfson as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations; and Irving Dennis to serve as Chief Financial Officer.

J. Paul Compton, Jr. will lead HUD’s Office of General Counsel, which provides advice and services to all HUD programs and activities. OGC represents the department in litigation and enforcement actions; provides legal services in the development, preparation, and presentation of the department’s legislative initiatives; has primary responsibility for the development of HUD program regulations; represents the department in multifamily finance transactions; and assists in the development of HUD programs and policies. General Counsel Compton is an Alabama native with legal expertise in the areas of multifamily affordable housing finance, tax credit transactions, and mortgage securitization. He has served as a legal advisor to the Alabama Affordable Housing Association, a trade organization for developers, property managers, lenders, investors, and service providers for affordable housing.

Assistant Secretary Suzanne Israel Tufts will lead HUD’s Office of Administration. She’s tasked with delivering administrative support and customer service to HUD employees nationwide. As HUD’s chief administrative officer, Ms. Tufts will oversee the department’s human resources, contract procurement, and training needs. Assistant Secretary Tufts served in operational roles in the public and not-for-profit sectors, including public housing authorities in New York State. Ms. Tufts is a nationally recognized expert in the field of social programming in inner cities including microenterprises, education, and women’s issues.

As HUD’s Assistant Secretary of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Len Wolfson will serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and senior staff on legislative affairs, Congressional relations, and policy matters affecting federal, state, and local governments, as well as public and private stakeholders. Prior to his service at HUD, Assistant Secretary Wolfson served as Associate Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he helped the real estate finance industry recover from the financial crisis by advocating for a return to safe and sustainable lending. He previously served as HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations during the George W. Bush administration. During that time, he led HUD’s successful legislative efforts to modernize the Federal Housing Administration as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Irv Dennis is HUD’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for employing sound financial management practices across all of the agency’s program areas. Dennis will oversee the accounting, budget, and financial management for the agency’s budget and appropriations, including processing millions of transactions each year to support HUD’s mission. Prior to his public service, Mr. Dennis was a Global Client Service Partner with Ernst & Young, LLP, where he worked with several large multinational public companies in various industries. He serves on several not-for-profit boards and has been a member of various accounting-related organizations.