Cynthia Parker
President & CEO
BRIDGE Housing

Cynthia A. Parker, President & CEO, is responsible for the overall direction of BRIDGE Housing, a leading nonprofit developer, owner and manager of affordable housing. She joined BRIDGE as President and CEO in 2010, bringing over 30 years of diverse and relevant experience to the organization. Under Ms. Parker’s direction, BRIDGE Housing doubled its production, expanded from California to Oregon and Washington, and added significant depth and capacity in its provision of resident services and equitable community development. BRIDGE has approximately 11,700 apartments in its asset and property management portfolio, with another 7,000 homes ($3.8 billion in total development cost) in its pipeline.

Earlier, Ms. Parker held positions as Regional President for Mercy Housing Northwest and Senior Vice President of Seattle-Northwest Securities, a public finance firm. She established the Housing Office of the City of Seattle and served as the City’s Director of Housing under two separate mayors, with responsibility for the City’s housing investment strategies, $100 million annual capital budget and $824 million loan portfolio.

A former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Ms. Parker has chaired the Sound Families Initiative for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and currently serves as a director of the National Affordable Housing Trust, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Housing Partnership Network, Housing Partnership Equity Trust, Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, Up for Growth Action (Chair), the Beneficial State Foundation, and is on the Board of Governors of the California Housing Consortium. Ms. Parker is a graduate of Portland State University.