In Focus Podcast

Episode 79  

He served as the Deputy Director for Modernization…

RICHARD A. WALEGA

Welcome former New Bedford City Planner Richard Walega to In-Focus Podcast Number 79. Richard began his tenure as City Planner in 1979. He also served as the Deputy Director for Modernization at the New Bedford, Massachusetts Housing Authority from 1993 to 2007, and as the Assistant Executive Director from 2007 to late 2009 when he was named Executive Director.

Richard managed capital programs for the authority. He led its effort to receive four competitive Recovery Act grants and was in charge of its transition to asset-based management, leveraging more than $125 million in federal and state capital aid to modernize public housing. He used his experience in housing finance and coordinated affordable housing rehabilitation and construction.

Richard Walega was also a Presidential appointee as HUD’s New England Regional Administrator. He is a member of the Bartleby Poetry Society and a poet for the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s Whaling Panorama presentation at the Kilburn Mill. No, Richard is not an artist but he is a beginner watercolorist and has a solid grasp on the future of the South Coast creative community.

Listen in on the conversation as The Artist Index’s host, Ron Fortier delves more into Richard’s life, work, and future ambitions. This episode was recorded with Zoom during the pandemic of 2021. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR THE PODCAST LINK or LISTEN HERE(new episodes are added a short time after being posted here)

The whole concept of The Artists Index and the journey we are on is are still in the making and very organic. And, at this critical time in our country’s history, challenged by the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have continued to podcast remotely, assisted by Zoom, in order to assure that our guests remain safe and, in the comfort of their home.

If you would like to be a guest or, have a suggestion, please let us know!

Richard Andrew Walega

Port Charlotte, Florida

richardwalega@icloud.com

www.instagram.com/walegarichard
www.facebook.com/RichardWalega

www.twitter.com/Richard_Walega

This program is supported in part by a grant from the New Bedford Cultural Council, a local agency that is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

This In-Focus podcast episode is made possible with the support of Heavenly Spirits, who invites you to celebrate the art of life and creative communities everywhere.

Heavenly Spirits, Importers Of Exceptional French Spirits.

www.heavenlyspirits.com