Leadership
Salin Geevarghese is the President & CEO of SGG Insight, LLC, a consulting firm offering comprehensive services to public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sector leaders and organizations. He also serves as Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) as well as the founding Director of the Mixed-Income Strategic Alliance and its Innovation and Action Network. The Mixed-Income Strategic Alliance is a collaboration of CSSP, the National Initiative on Mixed Income Communities at Case Western Reserve University and Urban Strategies, Inc.
From April 2014 to January 2017, Geevarghese served in a senior appointed leadership post as HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of International and Philanthropic Innovation (within the Office of Policy Development and Research) during the Administration of President Barack Obama. Appointed by Secretary Shaun Donovan and serving under Secretary Julian Castro, in this role, Salin led an innovation team charged with engaging cross-sector and cross-border partners to harness and apply best practices, programs and policies for the benefit of communities and aligning common efforts. Among the most prominent roles, Geevarghese led the United States’ domestic preparations on the New Urban Agenda and co-led with the U.S. State Department its delegation in October 2016 to Quito, Ecuador for Habitat III, the largest conference in the world focused on sustainable and inclusive urbanization and the role of cities for growth and shared prosperity. The conference is organized by the United Nations and held every 20 years.
Prior to this appointment, Secretary Donovan appointed Salin as Acting Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. In that role, he was responsible for advancing housing and communities that increase affordability, cost savings, efficiency, and quality of life, while also expanding regional economic growth and opportunity. He provided technical and policy support for energy, green building, and integrated housing, transportation and economic development programs at HUD and around the nation. Salin came to the Obama Administration as a Senior Advisor and as part of the founding leadership of HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities and the Partnership for Sustainable Communities between HUD, DOT and EPA. Geevarghese also consulted on many of the place-based initiatives of the Administration as well as efforts to embed and institutionalize its key design and operational elements.
Salin is that rare leader who has worked across the public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors and across virtually every policy silo affecting individuals, families and communities.
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Before coming to HUD as an appointee of President Obama, Salin worked as a Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation where he focused on urban redevelopment issues, anchor institutions, regional equity and opportunity, and community and economic development policy. He was in the senior management of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, focused on building the civic and change capacity of public, private, and nonprofit leaders and organizations and in communities like Las Vegas, NV, Flint, MI, Orange County, FL, Newark, NJ, and throughout the state of Ohio. Salin was previously a corporate manager with the BellSouth Corporation where he worked with their corporate philanthropy on education reform and student achievement, community change and public engagement, and technology. He co-led the corporate practice of the national management consultancy TCC Group where he assisted CEOs, foundation executives, and nonprofit leaders on strategic planning, organizational development and redesign, and evaluation projects. His clients at TCC Group included corporations, foundations, and nonprofits, including the Prudential Foundation, Wachovia Corporation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Foundation Center, National Urban League, and Habitat for Humanity.
A recognized expert and leader, Salin has consulted, spoken, and written widely on open records laws and transparency, public education issues, civil rights and equity issues, community and economic development, sustainable urbanization, and civic innovation and engagement efforts.