Leigh Ann Ahmad
Administrator
Woodbury,MN
Summary
- Skilled manager and administrator including contract and finance management and performance outcome management for various Ramsey County departments including: Housing Stability, Disability Services and Workforce Development
- Effective communicator and creative strategist with a passion for systems' improvement
- Accomplished finacecleader with compliance oversight of grant portfolio totaling 20+ million
- Talented policy analyst, legislative liaison, and strategist
- Qualified technical writer including development of legislative bills, board communication, request for proposals and policies
- Accomplished community engagement specialist with documented success working with diverse populations including people with lived experience, contractors and elected officials
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Manager
Ramsey County Housing Stability
07.2019 - Current
- Administer and manage operations; direct reports are responsible for policy analysis, performance management, program infrastructure development, resource coordination, legislative review, community engagement, RFP development and contract management including program budget and invoicing monitoring
- Oversee grants and contracts portfolio totaling over 20 million dollars
- Serve as department’s Performance Management, Procurement and Contracting, and Legislative Lead
Planning and Evaluation Analyst
Ramsey County
01.2012 - 01.2019
- Designed and evaluated MN DHS/Ramsey County Aging and Disability Services Waiver and Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) programs
- Reviewed demographic reports, analyzed for disparities; helped develop community engagement feedback tools such as client focus groups, telephone surveys and community outreach surveys
- Served as disabilities and employment policy lead- interpreted and made recommendations on DHS other federal policies related the Olmstead Act goals of community integration in housing and employment
- Managed 1.5 million in contracts with community vendors- ensuring legal compliance, fiscal responsibility, and achievement of program goal outcomes
- Monitored various federal, state, and county policies
Director of Ramsey County MFIP Services
Resource, Inc.
01.2006 - 01.2011
- Maintained 1+ million-dollar county welfare-to-work contract serving 1,100 Ramsey County MFIP and ARMHS recipients
- Interpreted and implemented dynamically changing federal and county rules and regulations
- Increased client participation rate by 11%
- Directed program of 30+ staff in three locations.
Director of Bridging the Gap
Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless
01.2003 - 01.2005
- Administrator of housing placement activities including marketing, program eligibility and program monitoring
- Established first ever county-wide database of Project Based Section 8 HUD properties
- Created first onsite AmeriCorps program
Lead Organizer
East Side Organizing Project
01.2000 - 01.2003
- Organized county-wide coalition involving grassroots community leaders, local businesses, lawyers, housing advocates, universities and other organizations which led to county-wide foreclosure moratorium
- Organized community leaders and City Council leaders to lobby day/ press conference at the State House
- Secured a historic five-year community reinvestment agreement with Charter One Bank which included a one-million-dollar commitment to for new City of Cleveland homeowners
- Wrote 30 local and national media pieces to highlight unfair housing loan practices
- Worked with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to collect documentation evidencing illegal lending practices which resulted in the first-ever Cuyahoga County moratorium on foreclosures.
Education
Master's Social Service Administration (M.S.S.A.) - Community Development
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH07.2000
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work -
Ohio University
Athens, OH06.1997
Skills
- Team Leadership
- Skilled Administrator
- Strategic Planning
- Verbal and written communication
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Performance Management
- Policy Implementation
- Financial Management
- Contract Management
- Process Improvement
Community Service
- Founder and president of MSA Robotics, Inc.- a non-profit that creates student access to STEM learning and workforce development
- Community Action Partnership, Ramsey- Washington, Board Member, 2019- 2022
- Member of DHS Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Board- Person with Lived Experience/ Consumer Representative 2018-2020
Timeline
Manager
Ramsey County Housing Stability
07.2019 - Current
Planning and Evaluation Analyst
Ramsey County
01.2012 - 01.2019
Director of Ramsey County MFIP Services
Resource, Inc.
01.2006 - 01.2011
Director of Bridging the Gap
Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless
01.2003 - 01.2005
Lead Organizer
East Side Organizing Project
01.2000 - 01.2003
Master's Social Service Administration (M.S.S.A.) - Community Development
Case Western Reserve University
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work -
Ohio University
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