Board Director

Fred Swan

Fred Swan, MSW, LICSW, is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience in the social service field as a clinician, consultant, trainer, administrator, and manager.  He has extensive experience and expertise in the areas of housing, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, program development, and program administration.  Mr. Swan has spent the past 20 years working in local government in the District of Columbia and Maryland as an administrator developing, administering, and monitoring social service programs for underserved populations.  He is a District resident who resides in Ward 5.  Mr. Swan currently serves as the Director of Resident Services for the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County where he administers social service programs for residents receiving housing assistance. Mr. Swan possesses a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work.  

Treasurer

Katrina Jones

Katrina Jones, a native Washingtonian, married over 27 years with two adult sons, is a product of the district’s public school system. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting (Cum Laude) from Southeastern University. Katrina spent her younger years in the Bellevue, Trinidad, and Congress Heights areas of Washington, DC. She purchased her first home in the Historic Anacostia neighborhood at the age of 24 through the District’s Home Purchase Assistance Program. For 19 years, she and her family called the Penn Branch area their home, but now she and her husband reside in Penn Quarter. Katrina has provided over $17,500 in scholarship funds to support College Bound, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring and tutoring to 8th  through 12th grade students in the Washington DC area. Recipients of her scholarship must be residents of Wards 7 or 8, and/or attend a high school in either Ward.   Katrina is rooted in supporting low-­‐income residents of DC by giving of her finance, time, and talents to support causes to uplift and promote options for those who do not have the financial wherewithal to do so.

Katrina has a broad body of work experience spanning more than 36 years between a large federal agency, and two government corporations, and now as Chief Operating Officer with a small federal agency. Katrina is a Facilities Management Professional who manages over 350,000 square feet of LEED Gold Class A office space within the waterfront area of DC. She manages a $300M annual operating budget, and has over 14 years of experience as a Contracting Officer with an unlimited warrant and Level III certification.  She negotiated a lease agreement valued at over $324M for 15 years.

She has been a member of the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. CAC for almost 28 years and has served on the Board of Delta Housing Corporation of the District of Columbia for more than 15 years and The Minerva Vision Group for the last seven years. She has held several leadership positions in all three organizations. In addition, Katrina serves as Board Director and Treasurer for the Wheeler Creek Community Development Corporation (WCCDC). The mission of WCCDC is to facilitate the renewal of the physical, social and economic structure of DC’s Ward 8 by combining affordable housing with education, career training, and other resources. Katrina’s connection to DHCDC and WCCDC demonstrates her commitment to the underserved population of the District of Columbia.

Secretary

Candace Nelson

Candace Tiana Nelson is a conflict resolution and change agent, a collective and collaborative leader, and community activism and advocacy are at the center of her heart. She currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the District of Columbia’s Ward 4 Councilmember, The Honorable Janeese Lewis George. She manages the day-to-day operations of the office, the staff, and Stakeholder Relations. Ms. Nelson has been a public servant for many years, serving in leadership roles pertaining to community outreach, legislation, operations, policy, and performance management responsibilities at the Department of Small and Local Business Development, the Executive Office of the Mayor, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Employment Services, and the Department of Health Care Finance. Her performance and project management expertise led to details at both the Workforce Investment Council and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity. Additionally, she was appointed and served as the Transition Director and Chief of Staff for the District of Columbia’s 2022 Attorney General Transition, shepherding out the Racine Administration while ushering in the Schwalb Administration and submitting a 233-page Transition Memo with an 88-page appendix. Ms. Nelson has served Ward 4 as Chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4A, representing the residents of Single Member District 4A06 for six years (2019 - 2024), and is the longest standing member of the Ward 4 Democrats’ leadership serving 16 consecutive years (2007 - 2024), the organization’s President for the last eight. She has served Ward 8 as Secretary of the Wheeler Creek Community Development Corporation since 2017. She became President of the DC Democratic Black Caucus in 2023. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a graduate of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School’s Peace and Conflict Resolution – Policy of Decision-Making Fellowship at George Mason University.

Member

Nikol Nabors-Jackson

Nikol Nabors-Jackson is a human services and affordable housing professional with over 25 years of government and non-profit experience.  

Currently, Nikol is the Chief of Staff at the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency.  Prior to joining DCHFA, Nikol was the Deputy Director for Administration with the DC Child and Family Services Agency. She served in this capacity until the agency successfully exited a lawsuit in June 2021 that spanned three decades. Nikol also served as a Presidential appointee with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) until the end of Obama administration in 2017. Nikol was designated as Senior Executive Service and worked as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Public and Indian Housing which monitors and subsidizes over 4,500 public housing agencies and 567 Tribally Designated Housing Entities. Nikol has also served in leadership positions with the DC Department of Human Services and Baltimore Housing, a combined agency which included the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and the City's Department of Housing and Community Development.

Nikol came to the D.C. metropolitan area as a social work intern. After graduate school she began working at the DC Housing Authority implementing youth violence prevention programs. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Nabors-Jackson accepted the opportunity to serve as the Director of Resident Services. Nikol’s office was instrumental in leading the self-sufficiency and supportive services component of several of the authority’s multi-million-dollar redevelopment projects.  Nikol was a member of the senior team that successfully led the housing authority out of court-ordered receivership.

Nikol obtained a Master of Social Work from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and she received her undergraduate degree in Law and Society from the University of California at Santa Barbara.  After completing graduate school, she also received a certificate in non-profit management from Georgetown University.

Nikol is a proud resident of Ward 5.

Member

Karena Smith

Karena Smith is a district resident currently residing in Ward 7. She is a Human Resource Specialist focusing on Employee Relations and Engagement programs for the district government. Ms. Smith has nine years of HR experience working in the private sector, federal and district government. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community, Environment and Development and a Master of Professional Studies in Human Resources and Employee Relations; both from Penn State University.

Ms. Smith also brings five years of experience in healthcare as an Office Manager for a mental health outpatient facility in Southeast DC. Karena also is a lifelong Girl Scout and a Troop Cookie manger helping to teach girls about money management and entrepreneurship.