M. DeLois (Dee) Strum,
CEO
Dee Strum owns and manages an international consulting firm specializing in capacity-building and program management services to the housing and community development industry across the U.S.A. and Caribbean. She serves as Project Director on contracts with federal, state/local governments, as well as contracts with public, not-for-profit, and for-profit developer/owners of low- and moderate-income housing for rental or homeownership
Dee and her company have received many prestigious awards and recognitions over their 20+ year business history. Inc. Magazine listed MDStrum Housing Services as one of the Top 100 Inner City Corporations in May 2003. She is immediate past president of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Indianapolis Chapter, Inc.(NCBW), and a member of the national board of this organization. She has been recognized for excellence in business ownership by the Indianapolis Center for Leadership Development; published in the 2000 edition of Indiana Trailblazers; and the Indianapolis Business Journal recently heralded her work with the NCBW to implement a financial literacy-training program for inner city high school girls
Dee received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Maryland at College Park in Family and Community Development
EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:
M.S., Family & Community Development, University of Maryland College Park, Maryland; 1977
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Chairperson, NAHRO's National Sub-Committee on Section 8: (1979-1982)
- Testified Before President Reagan's Commission on Housing: (1981)
- Developed Housing Management Curriculum for the National Housing Administration of Trinidad and Tobago: (1987)
- Executive Director, Indiana State Housing Board: (1979-1981)
- Selected by HUD Central Office to Provide Training to Staff of its 40 Field Offices: (1988)
- Selected as Court-Appointed Arbitrator by the Forsythe County Circuit Court of North Carolina (Winston-Salem), on Class Action Suit Involving 150 Low-income Families and a HUD-funded Housing Sponsor: (1988)
- Named in Outstanding Young Women of America: (1990)
- Named Entrepreneur of the Year by Indianapolis Center for Leadership Development: (1991)
- Selected by Amoco Oil Corp. Foundation, Inc. to implement its first Multi-Organization Technical Assistance Program: (1991-1999)
- Listed in Who's Who Among Rising Young Americans in Society and Business: (1992)
- Appointed to the Amoco Foundation Community Lending Review Panel: (1993)
- Selected by Rutgers University/ New Jersey Department of Community Affairs as a Public Housing Instructor for the NJ Commissioners and Executive Directors Certification Program: (1994-1999)
- Member, Advisory Committee, Housing Television Network, Inc (HTVN): (1994-1996)
- Member, Board of Advisors, Assisted Housing Management Insider Newsletter (1993-Present)
- Presenter, Housing Television Network, Inc. (Long-distance interactive learning provider): (1997)
- Presenter, NAHRO National, Regional and State Conferences: (1980-present)
- Developed the Community Consensus Building Training Curriculum for the Ministry of Social and Community Development (MSCD); Govt of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: (1998)
- Contractor to Troubled PHAs, U.S. Department of HUD, Office of Troubled Agency Recovery: (2000-2006)
PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS:
- Public Housing Manager (PHM)
- PHM Trainer/HUD Programs Trainer
- Designated HUD Training Organization for Public Housing, Section 8 and HQS/UPCS
- SBA Section 8(a) Certification as a small and disadvantaged W/MBE
CURRENT POSITION/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Owner, MDStrum Housing Services, (1980-Present); A wholly owned W/MBE specializing in specializing in management consultant services to Public Housing Authorities(PHAs), Community Development Corporations (CDCs), Community Economic Development Corporations (CEDCs), Resident Management Corporations (RMCs), For-Profit Owners/Developers/Sponsors of low-income housing, and HUD. Also provide training on management requirements of all HUD-funded multi-family housing programs and initiatives. Supervise a staff of five (5) full-time housing management professionals, six (6) permanent sub-contractors and 40+ housing consultants. Responsible for multiple contract awards from HUD’s Office of Troubled Agency Recovery and the Office of Public Housing Initiatives.
