Dignity Housing’s executive team, Executive Director Alicia Christian, and Deputy Director Beverly Roberts, have been working side by side to empower women and end homelessness since the agency’s inception nearly 20 years ago. Ms. Christian, co-founder of Dignity Housing, has an impressive background that includes three decades of experience in social program planning, public policy analysis, community organizing and advocacy, and grantsmanship on behalf of low-income, homeless and minority constituencies. Formerly homeless herself, Ms. Christian symbolizes the essence of the strength and potential that exist for women even in the face of adversity.
Alicia Christian, Executive Director --
Ms. Christian is the lead administrator of the agency. She advised homeless activists in the founding of Dignity Housing and is the primary architect of the Life Skills Development Component (Social Services Design). She has three decades of experience in social progam planning, public policy analysis, community organizing and advocacy, and grantsmanship. She has diverse experience in social service planning and promoting affordable housing. Ms. Christian developed proposals and plans that have garnered more than $100 million for grassroots organizations, social service agencies, and local government service agencies throughout the nation. She previously served as Senior Public Policy Analyst and Grants Writer for the Mental Healthe Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania; Project Director with the Center for Community Change; and Director of Research for the Congressional Black Caucus. She has a Bachelor's degree with dual majors in Urban Planning and Economics from Antioch College. She has completed numerous fellowships, including a study of social service delivery systems in Finland (American Council on International Leadership Fellow).
Ms. Christian is also active in a range of committees and collaborations impacting both housing policy and resources for housing in our city. These include: The Implementation Committee for The Blueprint to End HOmelessness in Philadelphia; the Strategic Planning Committee for the Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) McKinney Submissions; the Board of Directors at PADC (Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations; and the Philadelphia Foundation's Program and Distribution Committee. Alicia is also active in civic affairs of the West Oak Lane and Mt. Airy communities.
Beverly Roberts, Deputy Director --Mrs. Roberts oversees management, public relations, core administrative and human resource functions, and all resource development activities. She designed and implemented Dignity's donor solicitation and special events strategies, and played a premier role in expanding and diversifying the agency's funding base. Mrs. Roberts also devised the operational design for Dignity's highly accliamed Life Skills-Educational Scholarship Fund, which has awarded more than $140,000 in scholarships to over 80 low-income tenants. Other invaluable contributions recently made to the agency include spearheading the design of a more comprehensive and effective workshop module curricuclum and creation of a new program evaluation strategy, as well as developing new program initiatives for more effective social service delivery.
Executive Staff Profiles
