Wake County recognizes key nonprofit partners as new Continuum of Care lead agency stands up

Wake County commissioners on April 21 publicly recognized nonprofit partners that supported the county’s Continuum of Care during a multi‑year governance transition and introduced Eileen Rosa as director of the county’s new lead agency department.

Deputy County Manager Dwayne Holder told the board the former lead agency’s inability to continue operations “placed critical HUD funding in jeopardy, threatening vital services for those experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness,” and that local organizations had stepped in during the period of instability.

The board publicly thanked three organizations identified by county staff: Haven House Services, which served as the interim collaborative applicant for the HUD CoC competition and organized federal reporting and the January 2025 point‑in‑time count; Oak City Cares, which served as interim coordinated entry lead entity and continues to operate as a primary access point for services; and Urban Ministries of Wake County, which operated the county’s HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) during the transition. Dwayne Holder introduced Eileen Rosa as the county’s newly appointed COC lead agency director and said she “has already begun assembling her team.”

Eileen Rosa said she was “honored to be serving as the COC lead agency director with Wake County” and thanked the nonprofit partners and staff for their support during the transition.

The board and several commissioners individually thanked the organizations and staff. Commissioner Adams said she felt “like we’ve been in the trenches” with those partners and called them “vital.” Commissioner Stallings called the partnerships “our secret sauce,” and Vice Chair Myer (recorded in the meeting under several similar spellings) said her prior experience working with Haven House underscored the continuing need for housing work.

Staff specifically recognized individuals who played leading roles in the transition: Michelle Zechman and Erin Flynn from Haven House; Kathy Johnson and the Oak City Cares team; former and current Urban Ministries leaders Peter Morris and Danielle “DJ” Jones (and Cheryl Cozzi in absentia); Steven Gruver, immediate past chair of the CoC governance board (noted in the meeting as director of social services with The Salvation Army) and newly hired Wake County homeless and prevention services division director; and Nicole Stewart, chair of the CoC governance board and director of engagement at the A.J. Fletcher Foundation.

Commissioners said the county looks forward to supporting the county‑run lead agency while returning certain CoC functions to the community over time. No formal action was required or taken on the recognition.