Paul Poulos
Born in Mansfield Ohio, he resided in Brockton for 22 years and moved to Fall River in 1968. Mr. Poulos was a 1954 graduate of Brockton High School and a 1962 graduate of Bridgewater State College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education. He received his master’s degree in geography from Rutgers University, New Jersey, in 1964. Mr. Poulos was an Air Force veteran who served from 1955-58.
For the last 23 years of his career, Mr. Poulos was executive director of the Fall River Community Development Agency. From 1969-75, he was executive director of the Fall River Model Cities Agency, a program in which he designed and initiated neighborhood improvements. He was the assistant planning director for the Fall River Planning Department from 1967-69, and from 1964-67 was senior planner for the Fall River Planning Department; he co-wrote the master plan, Fall River 2000.
In November 1996, Mr. Poulos was the first recipient of the Region I Community Development Achievement Award for outstanding contributions in community development. He received the Luther Roberts Achievement Award at the 1998 winter meeting of the National Community Development Association in Washington, D.C., “in recognition of outstanding leadership in furthering the objectives of the NCDA.”
He was a past president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of the National Community Development Association, and served on the board of directors, was Region I representative and past treasurer, and was on the legislative committee. He was a member of the United States Conference of Mayors, having worked on the subcommittee on community development. Mr. Poulos was on the board of directors of the Community Development Training Institute since March 1985.
An avid golfer, Mr. Poulos was a member of the Fall River Country Club for many years. He was a saxophone player and band leader for the Swansea Community Musicians. He loved jazz and was known to occasionally get on stage at local jazz clubs to sing a few songs.
He was a member of the Model Cities Directors Association, the American Institute of Planners, the American Society of Planning Officials and the Association of American Geographers.
Mr. Poulos passed away on April 26, 1998, at the age of 62 after a brief battle with cancer.
Sara (Klier) Wallace
Ms. Wallace passed away on March 22, 2005, at the age of 95.
"You always will be remembered as a trusted friend, inspiring colleague and beautiful human being. Until we meet again" -George M. Hovorka, Swansea, MA
"Sara was a wonderful lady, a colleague well worth emulation, and inspiration to all with a bent towards serving those in need of assistance, and a friend to all within the Community Development Block Grant Program. My prayers are for for Sara and with her family." -Thomas M McCloskey, Fall River, MA
"Sara will always be remembered as the Grande Dame of NCDA Region I. Her dedication to her City and the people she served was legendary. She will be missed in New England and through out the nation, having inspired us all." -Amintha Cinotti, Providence, RI
"A great loss, a very special lady." -John Sasso (Founding Executive Director of NCDA)
Edward (Ned) Handy
The following summary was written by Mr. Handy himself and provided to NCDA in March 2021:
"Shot down over Germany in April, 1944, by September 1946 I was living in an MIT barracks -- a radar research building rebuilt as a WWII "GI" barracks for us students returned from the war -- MIT apparently thinking that this authentic, very crowded barracks would make us feel "at home." My cot, one of thirty in that barracks' main room, was next to a city planning student's. I'd been taken in by MIT as a prospective major in aeronautical engineering or -- second choice -- architecture, but that student in the next cot was determined to recruit me to his field, and he did. Graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree in City and Regional Planning -- and a minor in Architecture -- I began work in urban renewal at the Providence Redevelopment Agency, run by MIT city planners. My first boss was a beautiful young woman who, the next year accepted my marriage proposal. But the Mayor of Providence, though very kind to us, said that City regulations did not allow a married couple to work together in the same office. ---- So we moved to San Jose, California, where I worked as a city planner for the Santa Clara County Planning Commission for 3 1/2 years and was then recruited to work as a planner for the Federal Urban Renewal Agency in San Juan, Puerto Rico. That five-year job (1956-1961) included a year's leave of absence to work in Bangkok, Thailand, on a thirty-year development plan for Greater Bangkok. 1962-66: worked for my father, a management consultant, in New York City. Then, 1967-69: worked in Chicago for Barton-Ashman, a transportation and city planning consultant firm. --- In March, 1970, at age 47, we moved to Cambridge, where I went to work for City Manager Jim Sullivan, as Acting Director of the City Manager's Office of Community Development. --- This began a 30-year community development career that ran until my retirement day, November 26, 2000. Those years were made wonderful and productive by my involvement with the other New England CDBG directors who were members of NCDA's Region One "Division" -- but especially after George Hovorka, who worked for Paul Poulos, personally pulled me away from my restaurant table-for-one (I was a terrible "loner" in those days) and got me to join the Mass/Rhode Island informal directors' group for the evening -- a kindness I will never forget. All this led to my becoming NCDA Region One "CEO" for a year -- ended early by a bout with pneumonia, but with the work carried forward ably by "Associate CEO" Nancy Remington of East Providence. My initial work in that job had been to copy and send to all our members the outstanding letter Paul Poulus' deputy director, Tom McClosky, wrote about Paul after he died."
Mr. Handy's autobiography above did not include the amazing true story of what happened between April 1944 and September 1946, as follows:
Ned Handy was one of 4,300 American fliers who were shot down over Germany to become prisoners of war at Stalag 17, one of Germany’s most notorious prison camps. He was held there for 13 months, a time he poetically describes as “the year of five seasons” in “The Flame Keepers: The True Story of an American Soldier’s Survival Inside Stalag 17,” the book he co-wrote with author Kemp Battle.
During that time of imprisonment, Handy and the men in his barracks hatched an escape plan and managed to secretly dig a tunnel they dreamed would lead them to freedom. Instead, that tunnel became a beacon of hope, camaraderie and, in a riveting turn of events, actually saved the lives of others.
Mr. Handy passed away on February 27, 2023 at the age of 100.
The NCDA Region 1 Spring 2023 conference was dedicated to Ned. Patrick Sullivan (Poulos 2007) and Mark Tigan (Poulos 2011) gave tributes in memory of Ned.
Tom McColgan
Tom McColgan is a vice president for commercial real estate at TD Bank, where his work is almost exclusively focused on low-income housing and new market tax credits.
Formerly the director of housing and economic development for the City of Springfield, Tom has more than 35 years of real estate development and lending experience.
Thomas McCloskey
Thomas M. McCloskey, retired Executive Director of the Fall River Community Development Agency, died December 5, 2018 at the age of 87. He was the husband of the late Janina (Pietraszek) McCloskey, who preceded him in death in 2014 after 58 years of marriage.
A lifelong Fall River resident and a son of the late Charles A. and Margaret (Manning) McCloskey, he was a graduate of Coyle High School and Bradford Durfee Technological Institute (now UMass-Dartmouth).
His professional career began at the Fall River Herald News as a reporter in the sports and suburban departments. In 1960, he transferred to the Providence Journal in its Fall River Bureau office, working alongside the late Jud Sullivan. In 1965 he became manager of the Fall River Bureau.
Tom was appointed by Mayor Nicholas W. Mitchell as Assistant Director of the Fall River Model Cities Agency in 1969. That later became the Community Development Agency, where he again served as Assistant Director before becoming Executive Director in 1998 upon the death of Paul Poulos. Tom retired in 2002 after 32 years of municipal service and having served under six mayors.
He was particularly proud of his participation at the 1975 National Municipal Association competition in San Diego, CA that led to the City of Fall River being selected as an All American City.
During that municipal career Tom held membership in the National Community Development Association and served on its Board of Directors at both the regional and national levels. In 2001, he was presented with the Paul Poulos Achievement Award by the New England association.
Upon retirement, Tom served as chairman of the Fall River Disability Commission and was a former member of the Board of Directors of St. Vincent's Home. He was also a Eucharistic Minister and Men's Club member at Holy Name Church.
A long-time golfer, he was active in the Cathedral, City Hall, and Notre Dame Golf Leagues both as a player and league official. In his retirement years, Tom volunteered as a starter/ranger at Swansea Country Club for 13 years. He and Janina enjoyed many pleasurable years on various golf venues and particularly enjoyed annual visits to Myrtle Beach, SC courses.
He was a member of the Over The Hill Gang and the former Clover Club, as well as the Massachusetts Track and Field Officials Association, officiating winter and spring track meets for several years at Durfee High School.
Stephen D. Gartrell
Stephen D. Gartrell has over 38 years of experience in community development. He served for 25 years as the director of housing and community development for the City of Newton, Massachusetts. He also was the founder and administrator for the 12 member WestMetro HOME Consortium, based in Newton. He has been very active with NCDA, serving as president in 2008-2009. He developed the three-day HOME Basics training course for NCDA. He has also served as a trainer for NCDA’s CDBG Basics and Advanced courses for many years. He has also served as a trainer with the Community Development Training Institute and for HUD, with Abt Associates, on CDBG Financial Management, subrecipient, and cross-cutting CDBG Procedures training courses. He holds a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University. Mr. Gartrell formally retired as NCDA’s training manager and conference planner in 2021 and was recognized for his efforts through an award presentation at the annual meeting that year.
Mark Adelson
During his career, Mark administered housing and community development programs for more than 40 years at all levels of government within the State of Maine. After graduating from the University of Maine at Farmington with a BA in Geography and Land Use Planning, his career began as a Community Development Planner with the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. He was Community Development Director the town of Farmington from 1978 to 1982. He joined the Maine State Planning Office as a Community Development Specialist and Program Manager from 1982 to 1986. Prior to the Portland Housing Authority, Mark was the Director of Housing and Neighborhood Services for the City of Portland for 17 years, where he was responsible for affordable housing policy development, implementation of HUD Housing and Community Development programs, affordable housing finance programs and code enforcement. Mark and his family have lived in Portland since 1986.
Linda Bayer
Linda Ann Bayer was a graduate of the University of Florida and the University of Texas. She devoted much of her life serving the City of Hartford and its residents in many different roles. Hired by the city in 1978, she held numerous positions including Assistant City Manager and most recently as Legislative Assistant to the Mayor. During her time as Assistant City Manager, she helped to develop and implement Neighborhood Revitalization Zone (NRZ) policies for the City of Hartford. This state initiated, neighborhood focused program led to the formation of neighborhood NRZ's and ultimately Hartford 2000, a grassroots coordinating body. These efforts contributed to Linda's longtime devotion and commitment to the residents of Hartford. She was instrumental in the Peoples Budget, Hartford Decides, Behind the Gavel, the Citizen's Agenda, Hartford Votes, and many more committees, associations, and programs for Hartford and its residents. Linda had the personality, toughness, attitude, and skill to nurture a spirit of cooperation and trust between the NRZ's and City Staff. She also was active in implementing area Community Development Block Grants, receiving many awards for her work. Linda was an active member of the National Community Development Association for many years, including being President and receiving the Paul Poulis Achievement Award. In addition to her work with Hartford, she was an active supporter of NOW and NARAL.Linda was someone who came to work every day with a spirit of service and selflessness, and who brought grace and optimism to everything she did. She was a constant in Hartford city hall for decades, and she won the respect, friendship, and the love of everyone she worked with.
Ms. Bayer passed away on November 13, 2018.
The Spring 2019 NCDA Region 1 conference was dedicated in Linda's memory, with a tribute provided by Patrick Sullivan (Poulos 2007). The regionan also made a donation to the John Sasso NCDA Scholarship fund in honor and memory of Linda.
Patrick Sullivan
Patrick Sullivan was the Director of Housing and Community Development for the City of New Bedford, MA, for 30 years prior to his retirement in 2022. He has over 28 years. During that time, he supervised the day-to-day operation of a city department with 12 employees, and coordinated and administered planning, housing, community, economic development, and homeless programs and initiatives funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Patrick is a long-time member of the NCDA board of directors on both the National and Regional levels; has served as co-chair of several NCDA committees; and has previously served as the organization’s president.
Barney S. Heath
Barney Heath is the Director of Planning and Development for the City of Newton, MA - a position he has held since June 2016. Prior to that, Barney was the Director of Planning and Redevelopment for the City of Pawtucket, RI for nearly 22 years, from October 1994 - May 2016. Barney holds a BA in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire and a Master's Degree in Community Planning from the University of Rhode Island.
Robert Gehret
As Deputy Director of Policy Development and Research at the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), Bob Gehret was a major force in providing critical services to the City’s most vulnerable residents. Bob was responsible for his team’s creation of extensive databases that provide the critical underpinning for much of the housing and community development policies undertaken by DND. Contributing to Bob’s success is his ability to make everyone feel empowered through the credence he gives to their opinions and knowledge. For more than 30 years Bob was a key leader on the neighborhood development policy team in Boston. As head of DND’s Policy and Research Division, Bob provided the primary interface with HUD. In this role, DND’s data-driven approach to resource management developed by Bob and his team has enabled DND to make stronger cases for federal funding. Bob succeeded in securing and protecting federal resources for the City of Boston because he understands that working with HUD requires one to be methodical and to understand the minutiae of federal program guidelines. His research has gained funds for innumerable community development and lead abatement project, and has led to federal funding for millions of dollars on housing projects that otherwise would not have been possible. Bob retired from DND in January 2020.