Dallas-based DHA, Housing Solutions for North Texas has made appointments to its executive leadership team including two chief administrative officers and a new chief financial officer.
DHA said Sonya Barnette formerly with Fort Worth Housing Solutions, and David Storms, formerly the regional environmental officer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are DHA’s new chief administrative officers.
DHA’s new chief financial officer is Debra Roling, who has served as its finance director since 2024.
“I am very excited to welcome these executives to our leadership team,” Troy Broussard, president and CEO for DHA, said in a statement. “We strive to deliver excellence in every facet of our organization, and I believe these experienced leaders will enable us to continue making our agency stronger and continue to serve our communities with great care and diligence.”
The chief administrative officers will be responsible for housing operations, client services, the Housing Choice Voucher program, capital programs, IT, and the agency’s education foundation, DHA said.
Roling replaces Chetana Chaphekar, who retired earlier this year. Chaphekar joined the DHA executive team in 2010 and served as DHA’s CFO for the past 15 years.
She and Roling have partnered closely during the past year to properly transition the critical fiscal responsibilities of the CFO role, DHA said.
Expertise in housing agencies
Barnette brings more than 30 years of public housing experience to the agency.
Most recently she was the deputy director and senior vice president of Housing & Client Services for Fort Worth Housing Solutions, which she joined in 1993 as a resident liaison coordinator.
Barnette grew her career there and was responsible for the oversight of public housing, housing choice voucher program, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) site conversions, relocations, and multiple grant-funded programs, including Continuum of Care, Directions Home, Health Community Collaborative, Single Room Occupancy (SRO), Family Self-Sufficiency/Homeownership Program, Choice Neighborhood Implementation, and Resident Services.
Storms held various roles at HUD for 23 years, including facilities management specialist/HOPE VI grant manager, division director, and regional environmental officer.
In his last role there, Storms was responsible for HUD Region VI (TX, LA, OK, AR, NM) and worked with HUD program areas to ensure compliance with the department’s responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Storms also promoted and helped develop collaborative partnerships with federal, state, and local partners to streamline the environmental review process for HUD-funded projects throughout Region VI, DHA said.
Roling is responsible for managing and leading the finance and accounting functions of the organization, including the management of processes and systems, reporting, budgeting, and audits. She also is responsible for the development and management of the finance and accounting team, ensuring that DHA has top talent in these critical areas.
She joined DHA in 2024. Roling previously was the chief financial and administrative officer for Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas for 20 years. She has also held roles in accounting and finance at Yum! Brands and LG&E Power Inc.
The 10th largest public housing agency in the nation, DHA manages the fourth largest Housing Choice Voucher program. It supports housing for 55,700 people each day including 40,000 people in the Housing Choice Voucher program and 6,131 public housing households..
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