VHFA HIRES PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER, ADDS COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

BURLINGTON, VT ¾ Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) Executive Director Sarah Carpenter announced John Fairbanks has been hired as Public Affairs Manager, a senior management position, and Craig Bailey has been promoted to Communications Coordinator. Fairbanks is responsible for coordination of Agency marketing initiatives and oversight of public relations and distribution of information. He also will work on state and federal legislative matters related to affordable housing. A former reporter with the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, Fairbanks was most recently Communications Director for Families USA, a national health care advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. He has also served as Press Secretary and Congressional Liaison for Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, a group founded by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.; Press Secretary for Rep. Bernie Sanders; and Communications Coordinator for Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). Bailey joined the agency in November 2000 as part-time Web/Graphic Designer, overseeing the VHFA Web site (www.vhfa.org) and design of all agency publications. In addition to his previous responsibilities, Bailey will assist with all public affairs and media outreach efforts. Before joining VHFA, Bailey was Managing Editor at Business People magazine in Williston. He's worked in broadcasting since 1985, and hosts "Floydian Slip" Sunday nights on Champ 101.3. VHFA was established by the Vermont Legislature in 1974 to finance and promote affordable housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income Vermonters. Since its inception, the agency has provided financing to approximately 23,000 households and almost 4,900 affordable apartments.