Introducing Director of Risk and Performance Management for Technical Assistance Jie Dong

Jie Dong, Director, Risk and Performance Management Division, Office of Technical Assistance.

Greetings! I am Jie "Jay" Dong, the new risk and performance management director for technical assistance, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to introduce myself in this edition of PD&R Edge! I joined the Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) in mid-June 2024 and have thoroughly enjoyed working at HUD thus far.

Before joining HUD, I served for more than 8 years as the director of community and social innovation at BCT Partners, a minority-owned federal contractor and consulting firm based in New Jersey, where I led its housing and community economic development practices. In that role, I managed a team of consultants and subject-matter experts to provide training and technical assistance (TA) to federal and private-sector grantees nationwide, including public housing agencies and homeless service providers under HUD's Community Compass initiative and local governments under the Distressed Cities program. I also served as a program monitor for the Office of Community Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct fiscal and programmatic evaluation of community development corporations and community development financial institutions that receive federal funding to create jobs in disadvantaged communities. Besides working on federal initiatives, I also led signature consulting engagements with philanthropic and nonprofit organizations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, just to name a few. And finally, as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategist and speaker, I provided assessment, analysis, strategic planning, educational development, coaching, and evaluation services to help organizations of all sizes advance their racial equity and DEI initiatives.

Before working at BCT, I spent 12 years in service-enriched housing at A.F. Evans, a housing developer and property management firm based in Northern California. I provided direct support to affordable housing residents, first as a regional service coordinator and later as a director of resident services. In the director role, I oversaw social services program design and delivery at 21 affordable housing communities throughout the state of California.

I am excited to bring to HUD my more than 20 years of experience to lead OTA's new risk and performance management division. Our division is responsible for maintaining the integrity and efficiency of HUD's TA program through annual risk assessment and tracking and regular evaluation of performance measurement and management systems and processes. We will lead compliance oversight efforts, including developing and updating the TA risk assessment framework and risk mitigation efforts as well as maintaining and launching both remote and onsite monitoring protocols. Internally, the division weighs in on the budget justification process and manages program efficacy through performing internal audits and evaluations of internal controls, facilitating regular training for existing and new HUD TA staff, developing and maintaining business process standards, and overseeing the operations and development of TA award management systems, including the Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting System.

Since arriving in June, I have initiated a strategic planning process for our division to identify near-term and long-term priorities and objectives. For the next 6 to 8 months, we will focus on completing high-impact tasks that require low- to moderate-level effort, such as updating and drafting various guides, notices, plans, assessment frameworks, checklists, outcome reports, and standard operating procedures. We will publish these new documents and facilitate the necessary training to help socialize the changes and updates with TA providers and HUD program partners. Capturing these "low-hanging fruits" will generate immediate momentum in our division and fully prepare us to execute the monitoring events planned for 2025. At the same time, our division will also begin identifying and leveraging existing HUD resources (such as PowerApps) and innovations to streamline select OTA business processes. We will build and pilot test applications with the goal to reduce manual data entry and maximize the use of data analytics for program enhancement and decision-making.

I am optimistic about the future of the risk and performance management division and our ability to help OTA integrate resources, innovate holistic technical assistance design, and provide unmatched customer service to meet the cross-cutting and unique needs of HUD communities. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues from the Office of Policy Development and Research who have warmly welcomed me and made me feel right at home. I look forward to connecting soon with those in the TA community whom I have not yet met so we can take TA to the next level!