MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
September 29, 2023
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
142; D.C. Official Code § 1- 523.01), and pursuant to section 2066(b) of the Chief Tenant Advocate
Establishment Act of 2005, effective October 20, 2005 (D.C. Law 16- 33; D.C. Official Code § 42-
3531.06(b)), I am pleased to nominate the following person:
Ms. Johanna Shreve
Taylor Street NW
Washington, DC 20011
(Ward 4)
for reappointment as the Chief Tenant Advocate of the Office the Tenant Advocate, for a term to end
June 3, 2026.
Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
nominee, together
with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation
process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation.
Please do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser 1
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at the request of the Mayor
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
14 To confirm the reappointment of Ms. Johanna Shreve as the Chief Tenant Advocate.
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16 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
17 resolution may be cited as the "Chief Tenant Advocate of the Office of the Tenant Advocate
18 Johanna Shreve Confirmation Resolution of 2023".
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20 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the reappointment of:
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Ms. Johanna Shreve
Taylor Street
NW
Washington, DC 20011
(Ward 4)
27 as the Chief Tenant Advocate of the Office the Tenant Advocate, pursuant to section 2066(b) of
28 the Chief Tenant Advocate Establishment Act of 2005, effective October 20, 2005 (D.C. Law
29 16-33; D.C. Official Code § 42-3531.06(b )), to serve for a term to end June 3, 2026.
30 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
31 upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Office of the Mayor.
32 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
Johanna Shreve
April 2006 – present Chief Tenant Advocate, D.C. Office of the Tenant Advocate.
Commenced District of Columbia government service as Acting Chief Tenant Advocate on April
2006, and began a full term as Chief Tenant Advocate in June of 200 7. Created the Office of the
Tenant Advocate (OTA) as a temporary division within the Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), and led the agency into independent status (2007). Established and
refined the OTA’s multi- fold statutory mission of: legal representation, guidance, and technical
support; legislative and regulatory advocacy; tenant outreach and education; and emergency
housing assistance.
Worked with DCRA’s leadership to improve the quality and efficiency of rental unit
inspections. Conducted and presented cross-jurisdictional research that led to the creation of
DCRA’s proactive inspection program, and initiated OTA’s pre-inspection program to facilitate
DCRA’s tenant- requested building-wide inspection program.
Utilized administrative and managerial skillsets in meeting the necessary government
requirements associated with managing the day-to-day operations of the a gency. Those
requirements include: human resources, payroll administration, legislative and regulatory
monitoring on both the local and federal levels. Created a government a gency that
consistently maintains ethical standards while developing public services needs of the
District’s 350,000-person diverse renter population.
Legal Representation – the creation of a Legal Division that provides in -house legal
representation for tenants and tenant associations, and technical support and guidance to
tenants who have disputes with their landlords. Creation of a contracted legal provider
program. Creation of a referral program to other outside legal counsel. The Legal
Representation program has returned over $13,000,000 to District tenants in the past three
years.
Community Outreach – Well-attended monthly stakeholder meetings that focus on policy
discussions; creation of educational programs; presentations at community and academic
forums providing tenants with on- going access to assistance; the creation of a Tenant
Educational Institute; production of educational materials including a model “DC Tenant Bill
of Rights” (now required by statute to be distributed to every new tenant in the District); an
annual Tenant Summit that grows in registration and attendance each year.
Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) – Creation of an emergency housing
assistance program that has assisted more than one thousand tenants in the past decade. 1
Legislation and regulation: Creation of a Policy and Advocacy Division, responsible for
monitoring local and federal legislation, regulatory review, and assisting in the development of
the District’s Construction Code.
Administration Management – Development and implementation of all human resource
requirements, hiring and supervision of a staff of six teen (16). Preparation, development, and
execution of an agency budget. Preparation and monitoring of the performance planning
system. Creation of a case management tracking system.
January 1999 – April 2006 Founder of the Shreve Group, LLC. Prior to joining the District
government, Ms. Shreve was Principal of the Shreve Group, LLC, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm focused on providing technical assistance to local jurisdictions.
Utilizing the significant experience she gained in the housing industry the Shreve Group LLC
provided support to public and private housing entities, in areas suc h as HOME, Community
Development Block Grants (CDBG), Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Project Based Section 8,
and Section 108 loan guarantees; Department of Agriculture’s affordable Section 502 single and
Section 515 multifamily housing regulatory programs; as well as property management,
organizational dynamics, information technology, and interior design.
May 1988 – J
anuary 1999 Executive Director, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)
Rural Housing Council. Worked with Congressional staff, the Department of Agriculture (DOA),
and the secondary financial markets to redesign DOA’s rural loan guarantee program on behalf of NAHB members. Responsibilities included administrative, budgetary, and Federal policy advocacy, resulting in increased appropriations for rural single and multi- family housing,
redesign of the first no-down-payment loan guarantee program.
October 1985 – J
anuary 1987 Director of Real Estate Management Services – MPC and
Associates (a subsidiary of Arnold & Porter law firm). Responsibilities included construction
oversight, design of a rental accounting system, and hiring a rental housing staff for university,
on-site housing.
May 1984 – O
ctober 1985 Director of Property Management for the DC Public Housing
Authority. Responsibilities included management of 12,000 public housing units; human
resources, training and development of 500 employees; budget development, monitoring
and executing a $26 million budget; and assisting in the design and development of a
computerized rent roll accounting system;
development of training programs in the areas of
Federal public housing and Section 8 compliance requirements, civil rights and fair housing
compliance.
August 1978 – April 1984 Vice President of Training and Information Technology Design –
National Corporation for Housing Partnership. Responsibilities included creation of an internal
housing regulatory compliance-auditing program; establishment of an in-house accounting
supervisory management fee program; reduction of HUD non- compliance findings in over 2
80,000 units of low and moderate income housing in 44 states; development of a HUD-
recognized subsidized in- house industry based tr aining program which covered all facets of
subsidized housing programs, Fair Housing plan development and marketing, and provided on-
going training support in regulatory compliance for over 2,500 employees.
Education: Canada College, honors graduate; University of Santa Clara (CA); Georgetown
University
Continuing education, certification, subject expertise: Institute for Real Estate Management,
Certified Resident Manager; federal HUD programs including CDBG, HOME, Section 8, and Low
Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC); LIHTC audit specialist; federal Fair Housing, Environmental
Review, Uniform Relocation, and Section 504 disability non-discrimination; Real Estate
Development; Organizational Development; Non Profit Board Training. DCMR Title XIV,real
development and financing
Interests: Gardening, reading, horseback riding, and the piano.
Executive Office of the Mayor - Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Johanna Shreve
Johanna Shreve is the Chief Tenant Advocate of the District
of Columbia.
Since the inception of the Office of the Tenant Advocate in
fiscal year 2006, Ms. Shreve has been responsible for the
creation of the Office, and furthering its primary mission of
protecting District tenants, creating educational products, and
designing and coordinating community based programs. In
addition, the O ffice is responsible for the administration of a
citywide emergency housing program. Ms. Shreve brings more than 20 years of work in the
affordable housing industry to this position and believes that all tenants are entitled to decent,
safe, and sanitary housing.
A Ward 4 resident, Ms. Shreve received degrees from Canada College, University of Santa
Clara, and Georgetown University.
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
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The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724 -7681
To: Tommy Wells, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: September 26, 2023
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of Resolution nominating Johanna Shreve for
reappointment as the Chief Tenant Advocate of the Office of the Tenant Advocate
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above- referenced resolution and
found it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call Erika Satterlee, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at 202 -
724-1303, or me at 202- 724-7681.
______________________________ Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Cavendish