Eric Price Takes the Helm at NHPF: Leading Affordable Housing Innovation

Effective January 1, 2025, Eric Price has assumed the role of President and CEO at The NHP Foundation (NHPF), marking a significant leadership transition for one of America’s most influential affordable housing organizations. This appointment comes as NHPF enters a new chapter of expansion and strategic growth, building on decades of work in tackling the nation’s housing affordability crisis. Price, who brings more than three decades of experience in community development and policy, succeeds Dick Burns, the organization’s CEO for the past 15 years. Burns will transition to a senior advisory position while joining NHPF’s Board of Trustees, ensuring continuity during this leadership change.

The timing of Eric Price’s appointment reflects NHPF’s confidence in his proven track record of scaling housing initiatives and driving innovative solutions at the intersection of public policy and private capital.

From Deputy Mayor to National Housing Leader: Eric Price’s Rise in Community Development

Before leading NHPF, Eric Price served as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development in Washington, D.C., where he championed several transformative initiatives that reshaped the city’s approach to housing and economic development. His work in the nation’s capital provides a blueprint for the strategies he’s now implementing nationally.

As a key architect of Washington, D.C.'s housing policy, Price created the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF), a landmark initiative that has since invested approximately $1 billion in affordable housing projects since 2015. The fund has become a model for other municipalities seeking sustainable approaches to housing production. Alongside this work, Price managed a $300 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program, which catalyzed both job creation and neighborhood retail investment, demonstrating his ability to balance economic development with community-focused outcomes.

These achievements in Washington, D.C., established Price as a leader who understands how to leverage public and private resources to address systemic housing challenges—a skillset directly applicable to NHPF’s mission of acquiring, developing, and managing properties for low- and moderate-income families.

Building Scale Through Strategic Finance: Eric Price’s Accomplishments at NHPF

Since joining NHPF, Eric Price has already demonstrated his commitment to expanding the organization’s reach and impact through innovative financial strategies. In 2023, under his leadership, NHPF issued a groundbreaking $75 million social bond, securing an AA- rating from Standard & Poor’s—the highest rating ever awarded to a non-profit social housing provider. This achievement signifies investor confidence in both the organization’s financial stability and its mission-driven approach.

Beyond the social bond issuance, Price secured NHPF’s first award from the CDFI Fund’s Capital Magnet Fund, enabling the organization to unlock additional private capital for expanded affordable housing development. These financial innovations represent a strategic shift toward sustainable, scalable funding models that attract institutional investors while maintaining the organization’s core mission.

Under Eric Price’s leadership, NHPF has also nearly doubled its workforce, positioning the organization to significantly expand its portfolio and reach across the nation. These metrics reflect not just organizational growth, but a tangible increase in the organization’s capacity to develop and manage housing for families in need.

Operation Pathways: Completing the Housing Solution

Integral to NHPF’s holistic approach is Operation Pathways, the organization’s resident services subsidiary. While property acquisition and development form the foundation of NHPF’s work, Operation Pathways addresses the human element through family-centered coaching and community development programs. These initiatives empower residents to achieve financial stability and build stronger communities—recognizing that affordable housing’s true impact lies in transforming residents’ long-term prospects.

Eric Price’s leadership emphasizes this integrated approach, acknowledging that housing alone, without supportive services, represents only a partial solution to the broader affordability crisis.

Strategic Partnerships and the Future of Affordable Housing

NHPF’s success rests on robust partnerships with financial institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These collaborations enable the organization to pool expertise and resources, maximizing impact across the affordable housing sector. Eric Price’s experience navigating both public and private sectors positions him uniquely to deepen these relationships and forge new alliances.

His focus on financial innovation—demonstrated through the $75 million social bond and Capital Magnet Fund success—signals a strategic direction toward attracting mainstream institutional capital to affordable housing, an area traditionally underfunded relative to commercial real estate development.

A Leadership Transition Built for Long-Term Impact

The transition from Dick Burns to Eric Price represents continuity grounded in strategic evolution. Burns’ 15-year tenure established NHPF as a mission-driven organization with strong governance and operational foundations. His move to the Board of Trustees ensures that accumulated institutional knowledge and leadership wisdom remain embedded in the organization’s decision-making structure.

Eric Price inherits this solid foundation and brings a growth-oriented vision anchored in financial innovation and national scale. His appointment signals NHPF’s intent to expand beyond its current footprint and tackle affordable housing challenges with renewed strategic focus and expanded capital capacity.

Eric Price’s Vision: Reshaping America’s Housing Landscape

Eric Price is widely recognized for his strategic, innovative, and resident-focused leadership philosophy. His career trajectory—from municipal policy architect to national housing leader—reflects a deep understanding of how systemic change occurs: through the intersection of bold vision, pragmatic policy, and institutional partnership.

As NHPF’s new President and CEO, Eric Price is expected to drive the organization toward increased scale and impact, leveraging his three decades of experience to address America’s persistent affordable housing crisis. His emphasis on sustainable, financially innovative solutions suggests that NHPF will continue evolving as a model for other organizations seeking to balance mission integrity with operational growth.

The appointment of Eric Price represents not just a leadership change, but a strategic repositioning of NHPF within the affordable housing sector—one that prioritizes innovation, partnership, and systemic impact at a time when America’s housing crisis demands bold action.