Patricia Burch, a longtime Habitat for Humanity employee, will serve as the next CEO for Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, according to a news release.
Burch comes to Wake County after nearly 16 years of work for Habitat for Humanity in Birmingham, Alabama. There, she served as executive director and, before that, as operations coordinator. Burch earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of West Florida.
“[Burch] impressed upon us her deep commitment to Habitat and to our mission,” Habitat Wake’s board of directors chair Haynes Sherron said in the news release. “That commitment drives her to continue to innovate and serve her community in new ways. We know she’ll be able to do the same for ours.”
Burch’s experience with Habitat will help her hit the ground running at “a critical moment for the housing crisis in Wake and Johnston counties,” the release states.
“One in four families in our community is cost-burdened, meaning they pay too much of their income toward housing at the expense of other necessities like groceries, healthcare and education,” the release states. “The number of people in need of affordable housing is growing as the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the booming market continue to exacerbate inequity in our community.”
Burch says she looks forward to working with the Habitat team to help the organization grow and “respond to this increasingly urgent crisis.”
Burch was chosen out of more than 150 applicants considered by the Board of Directors. She starts as CEO on October 10.
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