Santa Fe Affordable Housing Director Alexandra Ladd leaving city to work for county

Carina Julig, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Jun. 21—After almost 18 years with the city, Affordable Housing Director Alexandra Ladd is leaving next month for a new role at Santa Fe County.

Ladd's last day with the city is July 12, after which she will begin serving as director of the county's Growth Management Department.

"I am excited to learn and grow in this new position and to continue the important work of serving the residents of Santa Fe," Ladd wrote in a Friday email to city councilors and community development commissioners announcing her departure.

Ladd wrote that her career at the city has been "extremely fulfilling."

"As a result of your support, the City has allocated millions of public dollars to affordable housing programming and projects and hundreds of homes have been created and priced affordably," she wrote. "Many Santa Feans now have a livable and safe home to call their own because of this work. This has provided inspiration to me every step of the way."

Ladd's departure follows news that Planning and Land Use Director Jason Kluck has also announced his resignation this week and will leave the city in early July.

Affordable Housing Project Manager Cody Minnich will also be leaving the department at the end of the month to work for Boulder, Colo.-based Thistle Community Housing, an affordable housing nonprofit that is a subsidiary of ROC USA, a national organization that helps people who live in mobile home communities become owners of their communities.

Minnich will continue to be based in Santa Fe.

Ed Romero, executive director of the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority, described Ladd as "one of my favorite city employees ever."

The new job sounds like a good career opportunity, he said, "but her leadership will be missed over at City Hall."

City Manager John Blair said in a Friday afternoon interview staff turnover is a reality of public-sector employment.

"It is a fact of life in government that people leave, people retire, people get promotions, they go to other government agencies," he said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.