Kathleen Cheatham
Director of Affordable Housing Compliance

Kathleen oversees the functions for ensuring compliance in affordable and income-restricted housing programs across Abode’s portfolio, including the successful management, oversight and execution of lease-up for new developments working across multiple departments. She directly oversees the tenant-relationship-management module, applicant processing, waitlist management, compliance workflow and approval, internal compliance and auditing, reasonable accommodations, recertification workflow, regulatory audits and reporting, internal compliance training within eLearning platform, and relocation compliance. She fosters and develops relationships with local and state funders and partners, and serves as the primary contact person to maintain property and affordable housing compliance. Kathleen manages and directs the daily activities of occupancy, data and compliance staff; screens and assigns workload; plans, prioritizes and assigns tasks and projects; trains and coaches staff; monitors work production and quality, develops staff skills, and evaluates performance. She implements and monitors the intake functions, including the determination of eligibility, managing waitlists, applicant appeals, and the retention protocol of resident files. She also works collaboratively with partners to ensure preparation for initial affordable lease-up, ongoing occupancy, and compliance with various local, state and/or federal programs.

Kathleen has 15 years of experience in homeless services and supportive housing. Prior to joining Abode in 2017, she held a variety of management positions in both resident services and property management — including operations, compliance and facilities — across more than 1,000 supportive housing units in San Francisco.

Kathleen has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis. She holds an Executive Master of Public Administration degree from the Edward S. Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University. She holds a Certified Professional of Occupancy HUD Certification and a Specialist in Housing Credit Management Certification, both developed by the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA).