HousingPlus, a New York City nonprofit known for its pioneering work with women and families impacted by homelessness, incarceration and poverty, has named Karen Ford as its new Chief Executive Officer.
The announcement, made on May 6 by HousingPlus Board Chair Katie Brown, comes as the organization prepares for a new chapter following the retirement of its founding CEO, Rita Zimmer.
Ford, a Brooklyn native with deep ties to New York City’s social services landscape, brings more than three decades of experience to her new leadership role. Her career began in Queens at Samaritan Daytop Village in Briarwood and at HELP USA—both key organizations in the city’s shelter and supportive housing networks—where she gained front-line and operational experience managing transitional housing facilities in the Bronx and Queens.
Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President for Homeless and Support Services at CAMBA, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit with offices across Flatbush, East New York and Brownsville, overseeing one of the city’s largest portfolios of supportive housing and shelter programs.
Her appointment follows a nationwide executive search led by the HousingPlus Board and its Succession Planning Committee.
Zimmer is retiring after 23 years at HousingPlus and a decades-long career dedicated to supporting women experiencing homelessness—particularly those impacted by incarceration and the criminal justice system. She has shared plans to begin work on a book and will continue her tireless advocacy for the closure of Rosie’s, the women’s facility at Rikers Island.
Founded in 2003, HousingPlus is headquartered in Lower Manhattan and operates transitional and permanent supportive housing sites in neighborhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, East New York, and the South Bronx. The organization serves over 600 women and children annually, many of whom are reentering society after incarceration or facing domestic violence, substance abuse, or systemic poverty.
“It is an incredible honor to step into this role and work with an incredible staff dedicated to building a safe and supportive space for women and families facing poverty, homelessness, trauma, and the lasting impacts of incarceration,” Ford said in a statement. “I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of government and nonprofit services, and I’m excited to build upon the foundation HousingPlus has laid.”
Ford’s public sector experience includes launching the Mayor’s Office for Nonprofit Services at City Hall during the de Blasio administration, where she advocated for equitable contract payments and pushed through a long-overdue cost-of-living adjustment for nonprofit workers. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership roles at the NYC Department of Homeless Services, including Deputy Commissioner for Family Services, where she oversaw efforts to reduce shelter length-of-stay for families and implement family reunification programs.
Board Chair Katie Brown praised Ford’s “deep commitment to our mission” and called her “the right leader at a critical time of growth and advocacy for HousingPlus.”
Under Zimmer’s leadership, HousingPlus helped pioneer the use of the Housing First model for justice-impacted women—prioritizing access to permanent housing without preconditions. The organization is especially known for its gender-responsive, trauma-informed approach, which blends safe housing with clinical support, workforce development, and reentry services. HousingPlus earned the highest ranking in New York City’s 2023 and 2024 Continuum of Care Evaluation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), outperforming more than 150 peer providers.
Ford’s selection also marks a significant moment for nonprofit leadership in the city, with growing calls to diversify executive ranks and embed leaders with lived and local experience. A graduate of Adelphi and Fordham University’s Schools of Social Work, Ford is a HUD Community Builder Fellow, a 2023 Nonprofit Power Player and a Real Estate Associates Program alum focused on expanding diversity in commercial real estate leadership.
Zimmer, who founded HousingPlus in 2002 and launched its first housing program in Bed-Stuy shortly after, said she is confident the organization is in good hands.
“This is a significant moment,” Zimmer said. “Karen is an excellent choice to lead the next phase of HousingPlus, and I look forward to seeing how the organization continues to grow under her leadership.”
