James Arthur Jemison

As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Arthur Jemison is the leader of the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), the policy lead and HUD partner for American Cities, Counties, States and other local units of government. To advance this partnership, CPD administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and CDBG - Disaster Recovery Funds, as well as the HOME Partnership program, Homelessness Assistance Grants (HAG) and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), among other funds. Mr. Jemison joined HUD from the City of Detroit, where he was Group Executive for Planning, Housing & Development, leading the City’s efforts toward equitable growth, working in partnership with Directors of the Housing & Revitalization Department, the Planning & Development Department, the Detroit Land Bank Authority, Detroit Housing Commission, and the Bridging Neighborhoods program. In early 2014, he was recruited by Mayor Duggan to be the Director of the Housing & Revitalization Department for the City of Detroit to assist as the City recovered from bankruptcy. In that capacity, Mr. Jemison led strategy, deployment and management of the City’s housing policy and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) entitlement funding. Before coming to Detroit, Mr. Jemison served as Deputy Undersecretary and Deputy Director for the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor Deval Patrick. Prior to that, Mr. Jemison held a variety of public- and private-sector positions, all related to city planning and urban development, primarily in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Locally, this includes his role in the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development in the District of Columbia, as the City recovered from Control Board management during the first term of Mayor Anthony Williams.