Ability Housing announced Feb. 26 it appointed Reggie Fullwood as the nonprofit affordable housing developer’s new CEO, succeeding Shannon Nazworth, who left the organization in December.
“Ability Housing has a strong foundation to grow from, which Reggie helped create over two decades of service. Reggie’s long-standing commitment to our mission and demonstrated leadership across the state are exactly what we need at this moment to move the organization forward,” Greg Matovina, Ability Housing board chair, said in a news release.
Fullwood has been part of the organization’s board of directors for two separate terms, starting in the early 2000s and most recently as chair.
Earlier in his career, he had senior roles with The Vestcor Cos. and the Metro North Community Development Corp., developers of multifamily and single-family housing and community-based, resident-centered programs.
In 1999, Fullwood was elected to the Jacksonville City Council before advancing to the state Legislature, where he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and was re-elected without opposition in 2012.
In 2016, Fullwood pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of failure to file an income tax return stemming from allegations that he embezzled campaign funds and submitted fraudulent campaign expenditure reports to the state. In 2017, he was granted three years of supervised release and ordered to serve 180 days of home detention in connection to his guilty pleas.
Five years later, Fullwood became CEO of Operation New Hope, a Jacksonville-based nonprofit focused on workforce development and reentry services to those released from the state prison system. Operation New Hope has added offices under his oversight in St. Augustine, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa and the Space Coast region.
Ability Housing said Fullwood will play a pivotal role in scaling the organization’s service to thousands of Floridians, with a new community approaching completion in St. Augustine and construction set to begin in March on multifamily developments in Jacksonville and Orlando.
Fullwood will hold dual CEO roles at Ability Housing and Operation New Hope, with the goal of creating more alignment between both organizations in service areas like case management, mental health support, permanent supportive housing and workforce development training.
“The overall goal is to move people from poverty to self-sufficiency and success. It’s an absolute honor to lead our teams, boards of directors and our partners. Our impact on the thousands of clients and residents we support every day is profound, and we will continue to grow both organizations,” Fullwood said in the release.