User:SamSendejas/sandbox

Erika Christy Poethig (born May 3, 1971) is an American Policy consultant and housing specialist who served as Special Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy on the Domestic Policy Council during the Biden Administration from 2021 to 2023 She is currently serving as Executive Vice President at the Commercial Club of Chicago

Early life and education
Erika Christy Poethig was born May 3, 1971, in Manila, Phillippines to Eunice Blanchard Poethig and Richard Poethig who were serving as missionaries at the time. After returning to the United States, she attended the College of Wooster and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa sorority, she studied at the University of Vienna on a Fullbright Scholarship. Poethig studied at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and acquired her Master of Public Policy (MPP) in 1997.

Career
in the 1990's Poethig was assistant commissioner for policy, resource, and program development at the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing, she developed Mayor Richard M. Daley's campaign to combat predatory lending, prevent foreclosures, and stabilize communities. Poethig served as associate director for housing policy at the MacArthur Foundation where she developed grantmaking strategies focused on rental housing policy. In 2009 Poethig joined the Obama Administration where she served as deputy assistant secretary for policy development before leaving to become Vice President of the Urban Institute.

In 2021 Poethig joined the Biden Administration as a member of the Urban Policy Council, She served as Executive Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy. Poethig worked with Susan Rice to integrate the housing and community and economic development components of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. Under her leadership, the Biden Administration created results-oriented action plans and new policies to prevent evictions and foreclosures, increase the supply of rental and for-sale housing, improve housing affordability for low- and moderate-income Americans, address racial and ethnic bias in the home appraisal process, reduce unsheltered homelessness and ensure federal infrastructure investments result in more equitable development. In 2023 Poethig left the Biden Administration to become Executive Vice President of the Commercial Club of Chicago where she leads the development and execution of a comprehensive strategic framework and action plan for the organization.

Personal Life
Poethig married Ray Sendejas in 1999 whom she met while studying at the Harris School, they have 2 children Sam (Born 2002) and Ben (Born 2012). Poethig is a Presbyterian.

While studying at the University of Vienna, Poethig was roomates with Hester Peirce