The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors appointed Michelle Whitman Executive Director of the Community Development Commission in April 2023.

Michelle is an innovative and collaborative Executive Director specializing in equity centered housing production and interjurisdictional, cross-discipline, multisector community development. She is a proven fund developer with a track record including grant awards and investments over the past four years adding over $120 million (and counting) in new financial resources to foster a healthy, climate smart, disaster resilient housing system in Sonoma County. Michelle is recognized regionally as a housing finance expert with specific skills including operationalizing a housing-focused Joint Powers Authority, designing and launching a groundbreaking 501(c)(3) nonprofit loan fund with $21 million in lending capital to accelerate affordable multifamily housing production, and establishing a regionally respected, creative model as the visionary solution for the area’s housing crisis.

Michelle previously served as Executive Director for the Renewal Enterprise District 2019-2023, and as District Director for Sonoma County’s Third District 2011-2019. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University.