Elizabeth Wood (executive)
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Wood was the first Executive Director of the Chicago Housing Authority
.
Born to missionary parents in Japan, Elizabeth Wood was educated at Illinois Wesleyan University
and at the University of Michigan
where she received both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in rhetoric. In 1928, after teaching English at Vassar College
for four years, Wood moved to Chicago and found a job with the Home Modernizing Bureau, a trade organization. This organization collapsed with the stock market, however, and soon after Wood began her career as a housing advocate and planner. Wood first worked for the United Charities (now Family Service Bureau) as a caseworker, while also taking courses at the University of Chicago
's School of Social Service Administration. Beginning in 1934, Wood was appointed as the Executive Director of Metropolitan Housing Council. During this time she also served on the Illinois State Housing Board.
In 1937, Wood assumed the position of Executive Director for the nascent Chicago Housing Authority, working to structure city management of three housing projects built by the Federal Public Works Administration
, including the Jane Addams, Julia C. Lathrop and Trumbull Park Homes. Through her productive partnership with Mayor Edward Kelly, Wood is credited with running an agency free of corruption and tirelessly pursuing a goal of providing high-quality, racially integrated housing. Wood weathered several race riots at newly integrated housing sites, first in the Southwest side Airport Homes in 1946, the Southside Fernwood Homes in 1947, and Park Manor in 1949. An advocate of low-rise projects scattered throughout the city, Wood worked closely with the Parks Department to assure tenants adequate recreation space and advocated for the construction of community and cultural facilities with housing.
After Mayor Kelly left office, and following years of often violent battles with city council members who wished to limit new public housing construction to black neighborhoods, Wood resigned from the CHA in 1954. Wood later worked for the City Housing Authority and the Citizens Housing and Planning Council in New York City and from 1965 to 1972 she served as an advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Johnson and Nixon Administrations.
Elizabeth Wood Park in Chicago was named in 2004 as a testament to Wood's dedication to the city.
Chicago Housing Authority
The Chicago Housing Authority is a municipal corporation established by the State of Illinois in 1937 with jurisdiction for the administrative oversight of public housing within the City of Chicago...
.
Born to missionary parents in Japan, Elizabeth Wood was educated at Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
and at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where she received both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in rhetoric. In 1928, after teaching English at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
for four years, Wood moved to Chicago and found a job with the Home Modernizing Bureau, a trade organization. This organization collapsed with the stock market, however, and soon after Wood began her career as a housing advocate and planner. Wood first worked for the United Charities (now Family Service Bureau) as a caseworker, while also taking courses at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's School of Social Service Administration. Beginning in 1934, Wood was appointed as the Executive Director of Metropolitan Housing Council. During this time she also served on the Illinois State Housing Board.
In 1937, Wood assumed the position of Executive Director for the nascent Chicago Housing Authority, working to structure city management of three housing projects built by the Federal Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
, including the Jane Addams, Julia C. Lathrop and Trumbull Park Homes. Through her productive partnership with Mayor Edward Kelly, Wood is credited with running an agency free of corruption and tirelessly pursuing a goal of providing high-quality, racially integrated housing. Wood weathered several race riots at newly integrated housing sites, first in the Southwest side Airport Homes in 1946, the Southside Fernwood Homes in 1947, and Park Manor in 1949. An advocate of low-rise projects scattered throughout the city, Wood worked closely with the Parks Department to assure tenants adequate recreation space and advocated for the construction of community and cultural facilities with housing.
After Mayor Kelly left office, and following years of often violent battles with city council members who wished to limit new public housing construction to black neighborhoods, Wood resigned from the CHA in 1954. Wood later worked for the City Housing Authority and the Citizens Housing and Planning Council in New York City and from 1965 to 1972 she served as an advisor at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Johnson and Nixon Administrations.
Elizabeth Wood Park in Chicago was named in 2004 as a testament to Wood's dedication to the city.
External links
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFDD1731F934A25752C0A965958260&sec=&spon=%20OBIT
- http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/253.html
- http://chicagotribute.org/Markers/Wood.htm