Samuel Sanders, executive director of the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance for the last 15 years, will leave the organization at the end of June, MCRA announced Monday. Sanders is moving to Virginia to work as deputy city manager in Charlottesville.
After working at MCRA for so many years, Sanders says it was time for a change and the opportunity presented itself. He also attended high school and college in Virginia.
During his time at MCRA, Sanders secured a NeighborWorks America charter, which brought funds to Baton Rouge for affordable housing and community development, led the Home Ownership Center, built, partnered and supported new affordable housing in Mid City, and helped to secure designation of the Mid City Cultural District.
“I love working with people and helping people,” Sanders says. “This has been a great opportunity to bring those two things together. We’ve brought a lot of attention to the Mid City area; we’ve done a lot of great things, and I hope they can continue to build on that, even if I’m not there.”
Ashley Orphe, MCRA director of operations, will serve as interim executive director beginning June 1. The MCRA board is forming a search committee to find a permanent executive director.
