Pasadena has selected James Wong to be the next director of the city’s department of housing.
Wong started in the new role on Monday, March 24, taking over for Bill Huang, the city’s first housing director, who retired in December.
“Jim will be a tremendous asset to our City as the Director of Housing due to his strong background in housing administration, a proven track record of delivering critical housing programs, and being a respected presence within the regional housing community.” City Manager Miguel Márquez said in a statement. “Jim works effectively with both the community he serves and his team, leveraging their collective expertise to develop creative solutions to our many complicated housing challenges.”
The department has an annual budget of $46.3 million and 91 full-time equivalent employees. Wong has worked for the city of Pasadena since 1990 in multiple roles most recently as acting director of housing.
In total, Wong has four decades of experience in housing programs and administration.
An avid music collector, Wong has a bachelor of science degree in economics and a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning from UCLA.