PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence Housing Authority will begin 2013 with a new board chairman.
Nicholas P. Retsinas, a Harvard lecturer and director emeritus, was selected Thursday. Before Harvard, he served as assistant secretary for the housing commissioner at the federal department of Housing and Urban Development.
Former Chairman Thomas Ryan will remain on the board as vice chairman.
The Authority has a $44-million budget, mostly federal money, and operates 13 public housing sites and 245 scattered-site homes. It also administers federal Section 8 housing for more than 2,500 people.
The agency was in the news for much of 2012 after current and former employees accused former Director Stephen O'Rourke of sexual harassment and mismanagement. The board gave O'Rourke a $250,000 severance package in September.