Sarasota Housing Authority CEO: Building affordability without stigma

William Russell came to town in 2005 to lead the Sarasota Housing Authority out of insolvency. What was thought to be a short-term assignment is still going strong two decades later.

By Andrew Warfield
| 5:00 a.m. March 26, 2025
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Sarasota Housing Authority CEO William Russell addresses the Sarasota City Commission.

Manatee-Sarasota

William Russell arrived in Sarasota two decades ago with a mission: Restore the embattled Sarasota Housing Authority to good standing with the federal Housing and Urban Development and return it to local control.

In 2005 Russell left his three-year position as HUD deputy assistant secretary to guide the SHA out of receivership. Control of the organization had been taken over by the federal agency because of multiple contract violations, including boarded-up vacant units and residences regularly failing HUD inspections.

“We were basically insolvent,” Russell says.