Irene Agustin, who serves in San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, will take the helm of Baltimore City’s homeless services office, which has been without a permanent director for a year.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Tuesday announced that he has appointed Agustin to serve as the director of the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services starting in June. She currently works as the Director of Coordinated Entry and Problem Solving in San Francisco.
William Wells will become deputy director of the department, after serving as Senior Vice President for Business Strategy at the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.
“Naming a Homeless Services Director with the experience to build an anti-homelessness strategy in collaboration with service providers and community partners has been one of my top priorities,” Scott said in a statement. “Irene and Bill bring deep commitment and a wealth of experience to their respective roles, and I look forward to working with them to make homelessness rare and brief in Baltimore.”
In San Francisco, Agustin led the city’s alternative sheltering system and oversaw the housing of homeless individuals in rooms at 29 hotels during the coronavirus pandemic. She later developed strategies for connecting individuals from those hotel sites with permanent housing options, Baltimore officials said.
Before arriving in San Francisco, Agustin worked as the Director of Human Services in St. Louis. She previously served as that city’s Chief Program Manager for the homeless services division.
Agustin earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and a master’s degree in social work from Saint Louis University.
Wells led a reorganization of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City after it split from the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development.
He has also worked with Medicaid waiver programs, and coordinated partnerships with local organizations and government agencies.
Wells graduated from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Baltimore.
He serves on the board of directors for the Middle Grades Partnership and the University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs Dean’s advisory board.
Tisha Edwards, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, has also served as the acting director of Baltimore’s homeless services department since May 2020, following a staff shake-up.
The office’s director at the time, Jerrianne Anthony, was placed on leave and city officials said deputy director John Turner was “no longer with the city.”
Baltimore Brew reported in May 2020 that Hannah L. Roberts, Anthony’s chief of staff, had also submitted her letter of resignation.
The Baltimore Sun in June reported that city officials said Anthony was no longer employed by the city.
In May 2020, the city hired a consultant to help stabilize the homeless services department. Edwards and Sheryln Goldstein, then-mayor Jack Young’s deputy chief of staff of operations, began supervising the department.
Edwards will resume serving solely as the executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success when Agustin begins leading the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services in June.
“I thank Acting Director Edwards for her diligence in the dual roles she has played over the past year, particularly during COVID-19,” Scott said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with MOHS and MOCFS as the lead human services agencies in Baltimore City.”
