Leadership
Jeannie Chaffin serves as the Director of the Office of Community Services, within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Ms. Chaffin brings local, state and national level experience in anti-poverty efforts to her appointment at ACF. Prior to joining ACF, Ms. Chaffin served as the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Senior Program and Policy Specialist at the National Association for State Community Services Programs where her responsibilities included policy development and technical assistance to State CSBG Administrators. Ms. Chaffin also coordinated with existing partners and created new relationships with key national organizations, members of Congress, and the Administration that furthered the purposes of CSBG at the state and local levels.
Ms. Chaffin has worked in the CSBG Network for over twenty years, at both a State CSBG office and a local Community Action Agency. As Missouri’s State CSBG and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program manager, Ms. Chaffin was responsible for contract management, monitoring, Federal and State reporting, including Results Oriented Management and Accountability, budget development, training, and creating new initiatives and approaches to reduce poverty.
Ms. Chaffin is a graduate of Drury University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology and a Certified Community Action Professional.
Dr. Yolanda J. Butler has served as Deputy Director of the Office of Community Services since April 2006. She served as both Acting Director and Deputy Director of OCS from 2008 to 2011. In her dual role, Dr. Butler has been an executive manager and advisor for nine block grant and discretionary community and social services grant programs (including one Presidential initiative program) that totaled about $8 billion. Prior to her positions in OCS, Dr. Butler served as a senior advisor on legislative, regulatory and budget policy in the Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget where she worked on key social services and community programs. Butler received the doctorate in Political Science (concentrating in American Government and Public Administration) from Howard University in 2006.
Division of Energy Assistance
Nick St. Angelo is the Director of the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a $5.1 billion program in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that helps low-income households with their home energy costs. He plans, directs, and coordinates activities in developing guidelines and policies that provide direction to states, territories and Indian Tribes in the administration of the LIHEAP program. St. Angelo has spent the bulk of his 30-year federal career with HHS, having served as LIHEAP Director since 2001.
Lauren Christopher is the Energy Program Operations branch chief in the Division of Energy Assistance. The Operations Branch administers the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program at the federal level, which includes reviewing grantees’ annual LIHEAP Plans for funding, investigating complaints, providing training and technical assistance to grantees, and conducting compliance reviews of grantees. The Operations Branch also determines grantee funding for the optional Leveraging Incentive and the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Program.
Christopher has a public service career spanning more than 10 years with positions at both the federal and local government levels. Previously, Christopher served as a LIHEAP program analyst on performance measurement and policy activities. Christopher also has prior work experience with several other federal programs, including the Child Support Enforcement Program and the U.S.-Mexico Border Program, which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Christopher is an attorney, licensed in Maryland. She received her Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and her Master of Public Policy and Bachelor of Arts in political science from American University in Washington, D.C.
Division of State Assistance
Seth Hassett is the Director of the Division of State Assistance (DSA) within the Office of Community Services (OCS). Major programs within the division include the Community Services Block Grant and the Social Services Block Grant. In addition to coordinating large block grant programs, DSA supports specialized technical assistance and exemplary practice programs focused on areas such as benefits enrollment coordination, performance management, and leadership development for community services providers. Hassett is a social worker with experience in health and human service program administration, policy and budget, as well as community planning and services delivery.
Marianna RayNor-Hill is the Program Operations team lead in the Division of State Assistance in the Office of Community Services. RayNor-Hill assists in the provision of day-to-day program administration and oversight for DSA’s $700 million Community Services Block Grants, $1.7 billion Social Services Block Grants, and the most recently added $1 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs. RayNor-Hill is a former Community Services program analyst, with a background in program operations, administration and financial accountability of the CSBG working with states, tribal governments, community-based organizations and national organizations that support Community Services programs. She has worked with other OCS programs having served as an analyst with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and has had prior responsibilities with the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities program. RayNor-Hill’s experience extends to other components of the Department of Health and Human Services, where she served as a special assistant to the Deputy Director of Civil Rights and a program analyst evaluating the effectiveness of Medicare service agencies in the Bureau of Program Operations in the Center for Medicare Services. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland College Park and a certificate from the Key Executive Leadership Program in Public Administration from the American University School of Public Affairs.
Frances Harley is the Financial Operations team lead in the Division of State Assistance in the Office of Community Services. Harley assists in the day-to-day financial administration and oversight for DSA. Harley is an auditor with a background in forensic auditing, program compliance reviews, contract auditing and financial administration. She has worked in and with the Office of Inspector General for several federal agencies. Harley previously served as an auditor with the Department of Treasury in the Office of Program Integrity.
Division of Community Discretionary Programs
Lynda Perez was appointed director of the Division of Community Discretionary Programs in December 2006 and has been the acting director of the Division of Community Demonstration Programs since May 2010. The two divisions run five programs: the Community Economic Development program, the Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individual program, the Rural Community Development program, the Assets for Independence program, and the Strengthening Communities Fund program, totaling about $48.6 million in appropriations for FY 2011. She has extensive experience in grants management, procurement and operations. Perez has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago and has earned a reputation for being a compassionate advocate for low-income people and services.
Rafael J. Elizalde, serves as the Program Manager of both the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) and the Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF). Prior to coming to HHS, in addition to his private sector and business experience, Elizalde served as executive director of a faith-based community development non-profit organization serving multi-cultural and socioeconomically diverse populations in the mid-Atlantic Region. Rafael was also a division manager for a Northern Virginia Public Library System, in charge of operations, fleet and facilities and a program manager, policy analyst, budget officer and ethics compliance official for the U.S. EPA. He is a graduate of the American University’s Key Executive Leadership Program and holds a bachelor’s from the University of the State of New York, and a master’s of public administration from the University of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Public Administration.
Al Fleming currently serves as a Program Manager of the Assets for Independence (AFI) program in the Office of Community Services (OCS). He manages a national demonstration supporting innovative asset-building projects, Individual Development Accounts, financial education, policy development and related services that enable low-income people to improve their economic status and become self-sufficient. He engages in collaboration with other federal and private entities to enhance the visibility of AFI and OCS. Prior to joining OCS, Al served as a senior program specialist in the Office of Family Assistance where he focused on training and technical assistance to TANF stakeholders and social service programs.
Al holds a bachelor’s in information science systems from Morgan State University, a master’s in social work from Howard University and is currently working on PhD in human service administration.
J. Janelle George currently serves as a Program Manager of the Assets for Independence (AFI) program in the Office of Community Services.
George joined ACF in 2005 through the Department’s Emerging Leaders Program. In six years with OCS, her portfolio has included the Social Services Block Grant, Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), and most recently, the restructuring of CSBG Training and Technical Assistance programs.
Janelle has completed master’s degrees in public policy and social work at the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy in 2005 and Saint Louis University (SLU), School of Social Service in 1995, respectively.
