photo by: Contributed

Monique Wahba

After a few months of searching, Family Promise of Lawrence has selected a new leader.

On Thursday, the organization announced in a press release that Monique Wahba will begin her role as executive director on Monday, May 20. Wahba will replace longtime director Dana Ortiz, who announced in February she’d be retiring this August after more than a decade leading the nonprofit. The release notes that Ortiz plans to support Wahba during the leadership transition between now and then.

“I am honored to assume a leadership position at Family Promise of Lawrence,” Wahba said in the release. “This role represents an incredible opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of families facing housing instability. I admire (Family Promise’s) holistic approach to preventing family homelessness and its responsiveness to the escalating need in our community.”

Wahba joins Family Promise after more than two decades in Albany, New York, where she worked in various municipal planning and consulting roles, according to her LinkedIn page. For four years, she was the executive director of the South End Improvement Corporation, a not-for-profit organization helping to maintain affordable housing, stabilizing the community and providing education and job training to community members.

Wahba will take charge as Family Promise completes the purchase and renovation of 200 Mount Hope Court, the site of a former day care center that the organization plans to convert into a homeless shelter for families. The new facility will be able to provide temporary shelter for six families and up to 24 people, adding to the organization’s existing inventory of two housing units. The nonprofit also has access to eight other housing units in Lawrence, per the release.

As the Journal-World has reported, Family Promise has functioned without a traditional shelter building since it began operating in Lawrence about 15 years ago. Instead, the organization has worked with area churches and religious congregations to provide temporary shelter and meals for families in need, with families staying at one church or house of worship for a week at a time before moving to another church.