NHA Board of Commissioners does not renew CEO contract for Duncan-Etsitty

By Rick Abasta
Navajo Housing Authority

FT. DEFIANCE

Navajo Housing Authority CEO Heather L. Duncan-Etsitty was not provided a contract extension by the NHA Board of Commissioners.

Duncan-Etsitty received a letter from the NHA BOC chairperson, Tammy Yazzie, Oct. 18, informing her about the non-renewal of the one-year contract. The decision raises serious concerns about the stability of the company, which has had seven CEOs since 2017.

The seven CEOs are Aneva J. Yazzie, Roberta Roberts, Craig Dougall, Dwayne Waseta, Frank Dayish, Maureen Curley, and Heather L. Duncan-Etsitty.

The NHA executive management team stood behind Duncan-Etsitty’s contract renewal and cited her leadership as the force behind recent company success.

The management team includes chief operating officer Ernest Franklin, chief administrative officer Terrilynn Cook, and chief financial officer Raymond Nopah.

During the Oct. 23 meeting with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Southwest Office of Native American Programs, SWONAP Administrator Corinna Stiles said HUD has no tolerance for chaos.

Stiles addressed her comments to NHA BOC Vice Chairman David Sloan and said HUD has a very low tolerance for instability because of the CEO turnover, which HUD knows has caused negative past performance for NHA.

The chaos Stiles referenced at the meeting is the revolving door of CEOs for NHA, which has resulted in problems with the submission of the annual Indian Housing Plan, not meeting yearly expenditure goals, and completion of construction projects.

In contrast, HUD lauded Duncan-Etsitty’s work on behalf of the company for fiscal 2024 and noted that NHA has finally met the Undisbursed Fund Factor, which helps HUD monitor and manage the flow of funds to ensure timely and efficient use.

The fiscal 2024 NHA success stories include surpassing the UDFF by spending $69 million, submission of the fiscal 2025 IHP before the HUD deadline, and timely submission of the fiscal 2023 single audit to HUD.

Other positive company highlights include completion of construction projects, addressing vacant units, modernization activities, resolution of audit findings, and carrying more than $100 million in construction projects into fiscal 2025.

In the past, under the leadership of former NHA CEOs Dayish and Curley, NHA had to revert $40 million ($20 million each term) due to NHA’s inability to meet the UDFF. Additionally, Dayish re-wrote the 2021 IHP, which led to problems meeting construction project deadlines.

Duncan-Etsitty’s term of service expired Oct. 30, and the BOC named NHA legal counsel Levon Henry as interim CEO Oct. 29, until a successor can be appointed by the board.

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