Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award
Robert Pohlman is honored for his foundational advocacy as the Executive Director of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development. His influential support of the Housing Production Trust Fund and leadership has provided critical construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of affordable housing units in Washington, D.C. during the past 10 years.
As Executive Director of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) for the past 12years, Robert Pohlman has helped 130 member organizations improve the quality of life in the District of Columbia’s neighborhoods through CNHED’s advocacy, training, capacity building, research, and communications. During the last decade, his determination and drive led the organization toplay a central role in organizing citywide housing advocacy to gain dedicated funding for the District ’s Housing Production Trust Fund. In the last decade, the Fund has leveraged $400 million of District funding with $1 billion more from private sources to finance the production or preservation of 9,000 affordable homes in the city.
Growing up as a farm boy in Nebraska and attending a one-room country school from kindergarten through 8th grade, Pohlman never imagined he would end up as a leading voice for affordable housing in Washington, D.C. After earning a degree in accounting at the University of Nebraska, Pohlman worked for Arthur Young & Co. in Chicago, Illinois. There his focus changed from business to social action, and he left public accounting to join VISTA ( Volunteers in Service to America) from 1969 to 1971. Serving in a poor minority community in Jacksonville, Texas, Pohlman worked with residents to form a co-op grocery business, develop a youth center, create a new neighborhood park, and give voice to community concerns.
In 1972 Pohlman moved to Washington, D.C. where he earned an MBA from The George Washington University, and for the next 23 years he held a variety of housing and finance positions in D.C. Government including Controller, Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, Deputy Mayor for Finance, and Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia. After retiring from D.C. Government, Pohlman put his community organizing, government, and housing experience to good use with CNHED. He helped create a $50 million fast-track acquisition program for affordable housing that combines funds from the city and private lenders, and provides structuring and advocacy for the city’s first rent supplement program.
While at CNHED, Pohlman also chaired the Housing and Community Development Reform Commission that recommended improvements in the process for financing affordable housing in the District of Columbia, and he served as a member of the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force in 2006. In 2010, he launched CNHED’s Continuum of Housing Campaign that aims to provide affordable housing for every resident who lacks it in the Distric of Columbia. His untiring dedication to creating affordable housing for all has built a solid foundation for livable neighborhoods in our nation’s capital.