Vilma Huertas was appointed Special Advisor to the Chair, effective April 15, 2019. As Special Advisor to the Chair, Vilma will oversee NYCHA’s Board as well as other special initiatives for the Office of the Chair. Vilma served as NYCHA’s Executive Vice President for Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer since July 2018.In that role, she helped establish NYCHA’s first-ever Compliance Department.
Prior to that, Vilma was NYCHA’s Corporate Secretary to the Board since 2005, where she acted as a key advisor to Board Members and a conduit between the Board and the executive team, and executed all Board Member logistics. She also oversaw the Office of Impartial Hearings, the Guardian Ad Litem Unit, and the Calendar and Documents Unit.
Vilma was previously NYCHA’s Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, after serving as the department's Legislative Liaison and then Deputy Director. Prior to joining NYCHA, Vilma held various positions, including Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, Chief of Staff in the New York State Assembly, and Assistant Housing Director and Director of Economic Development for a large non-profit. Vilma has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University and a Juris Doctor from the City University of New York School of Law. She is also a graduate of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ Management Academy.