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Director, Emergency Services Bureau Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services, Department of Housing Preservation & Development.
"I want everyone in our division to put themselves into the position of tenants. Can you imagine trying to sleep with no heat in the dead of winter? What about not being able to cook for your family because you don't have gas for the stove? That is always in the forefront of my mind and motivates me to work to the best of my ability."
As the Director of the Emergency Services Bureau and with 35 years experience at HPD, Ms.Parham is revered as an expert in the complex system of how to get repairs done well and quickly and how to ensure the housing code is met. Her team responds to 30,000 emergency repair cases a year, such as no heat, no water, burst pipes or collapsed ceilings. She is recognized not only for her team's quick response time, but also for her ingenuity in finding temporary fixes. She will arrange a fuel drop off in the middle of the night. Her tenacity in holding landlords accountable when essential repairs are neglected and getting warrants so vendors can fix the problem is legendary. Says Ms. Parham, "I want everyone in our division to put themselves into the position of tenants. Can you imagine trying to sleep with no heat in the dead of winter? What about not being able to cook for your family because you don't have gas for the stove? That is always in the forefront of my mind and motivates me to work to the best of my ability."
