Expert staff to oversee implementation of Gilpin Court Redevelopment as outlined in Jackson Ward Community Plan   

Richmond, VA — The City of Richmond is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Marchman and Edward P. Richards to step into the roles of Senior Advisor for Public Housing Transformation and People Plan Program Manager, respectively. 

Kevin Marchman joins the City from the National Organization of African Americans in Housing (NOAAH), a national advocacy organization which he founded in 1998 to advance equitable housing policies and resident empowerment initiatives. At NOAAH, he served as Executive Director, Managing Director and Board Chairperson.

In addition to his nearly three decades at the helm of NOAAH, Mr. Marchman has served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Executive Director of the Denver Housing Authority, and as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Mayor for the City of Denver.  

“We are incredibly fortunate to welcome Kevin to Team Richmond,” said Mayor Danny Avula. “In him, we have a tried and tested leader with a deep commitment to and expertise in public housing and community development. I cannot imagine a more qualified professional to facilitate our public housing transformation and look forward to learning from him and working with him to reimagine and reinvigorate our public housing communities, starting with Gilpin.”

Mr. Marchman steps into a newly created position for the City, providing strategic direction over the transformation of large-scale public housing developments and their surrounding neighborhoods, in close partnership with the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA).

Edward Richards joins the City’s Office of Community Wealth Building having spent more than a decade serving Richmond’s most vulnerable residents as a Social Worker, providing support to older adults, persons experiencing homelessness, people with intellectual disabilities, the medically vulnerable, refugees, and low-income communities.  

He is a graduate of VCU’s School of Social Work, where he now teaches as an adjunct professor. In addition to his work at VCU and as a Community Embedded (Adjunct) Faculty, Mr. Richards also volunteers time as the Membership Committee Chair for the Richmond Association of Black Social Workers and serves on the board of the Uplift Community Action (formerly Capital Area Partnership Uplifting People – CAPUP). He has also worked as a Community Advisory member for Henrico County and the City of Richmond’s Health Equity Fund.

As the People Plan Program Manager, Mr. Richards will oversee the people plan for Gilpin Court, supporting residents through economic mobility by offering family assessments and case management, coordination with community partners to provide support services and job training and job placements, all while continuing to communicate and collaborate with residents to ensure successful outcomes.

Mr. Richards will work closely with RRHA, service providers, and internal City partners to reduce barriers throughout the housing transition, develop a coordinated system of partners, strengthen case management programming, and promote long-term housing stability during and after relocation.  

“For the City to truly transform, we have to transform public housing” said Sharon Ebert, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Planning and Economic Development, which includes the Office of Community Wealth Building. “That process starts with getting the right people in position; people who are committed to the work of understanding the needs and desires of people with limited incomes. Mr. Richards is one of these people, and we are lucky to have him on board.”

In the short-term, both Mr. Marchman and Mr. Richards will be deeply involved in implementing the redevelopment of Gilpin Court, as part of the larger Jackson Ward Community Plan (JWCP) and in collaboration with the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Joint Gilpin Transformation Working Group, which includes senior staff from both the City and RRHA.

The hiring of both Mr. Marchman and Mr. Richards is consistent with the key terms outlined in the Gilpin Court redevelopment memorandum of understanding, currently before the City Council for approval, that calls for the hiring of full-time City staff to oversee implementation of the JWCP’s three core elements: Neighborhood, Housing, and People.

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About the Jackson Ward Community Plan

The Jackson Ward Community Plan brought Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward residents, planning experts, elected officials, and community members together to reach an informed, shared vision for the future of the neighborhood.  

The final plan was submitted to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) November 17, 2023, and approved by HUD in August 2024.  The Jackson Ward business community and residents requested additional work be done to the plan in 2025 and a soon to be released final version should be available in October.