1110 W. Washington Suite 280, Phoenix, AZ 85007
Director’s Office: 602-771-1007

Leadership

Carol L. Ditmore
Director

Carol Ditmore is the Director of the Arizona Department of Housing, since her appointment by Governor Doug Ducey on  September 27, 2017. With over two decades of experience in state government and senior management responsibility within Arizona’s housing programs, Ms. Ditmore brings an extensive background in all state and federal housing programs, as well as the operations of a state agency. In addition to serving in the capacity of director of this cabinet-level agency, Ms. Ditmore chairs the Board of Directors of the Arizona Home Foreclosure Prevention Funding Corporation, a nonprofit corporation established by the State to serve as the eligible entity for a federal grant through the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Ms. Ditmore also chairs the Governor’s Recidivism Reduction Goal Council Housing Subgroup. 

Ms. Ditmore previously headed the Department’s operations for over 15 years, directing a broad portfolio of divisions and services at the agency that included legal services and procurement and overseeing annual resources totaling more than $300 million annually. She had served as Interim Director since June 2017, and for a period in 2009. Prior to the Housing Department’s launch as a new state agency in 2002, Ms. Ditmore was instrumental in the establishment of the agency’s operations while working in the Governor’s Office of Housing Development under Governor Jane D. Hull. Prior to this assignment, Ms. Ditmore had served for a number of years as a Housing Programs Manager when the State’s housing programs were housed in a division of the Arizona Department of Commerce. 

Her professional history prior to working in state government included 10 years with the American Red Cross. Ms. Ditmore holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with a minor in Sociology, from Pepperdine University, and an Executive Education Certification from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 

Reginald H. Givens
Assistant Deputy Director
Operations

Reginald Givens has served as the Assistant Deputy Director of Operations for the Arizona Department of Housing since 2017. In this position, Mr. Givens oversees the following functions or divisions of the agency: Legal Services, Human Resources, Procurement, Budget, Finance and Accounting, Loan Servicing, Mortgage Assistance, Public Records Information, Publications, Information Technology, Facility Management and Fleet. Prior to assuming the helm over the Department’s Operations, Mr. Givens served as Administrator of the Foreclosure Assistance Division from 2010 to 2017, managing the State’s Hardest Hit Fund grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the National Mortgage Foreclosure Counseling award. Mr. Givens joined the Department in 2009 to coordinate the Your Way Home Program, a temporary Economic Stimulus program financed through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. 

Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Givens spent a number of years working in private lending in the residential mortgage industry, holding positions with Key Advisors Financial Group, Inc., and Mortgage Lenders Network. 

Mr. Givens studied Business Management at Wayland Baptist University and served in the United States Air Force.

Andrew Rael
Assistant Deputy Director
Programs

Andrew Rael is the Assistant Deputy Director of Programs for the Arizona Department of Housing, a position he has filled for nearly a decade. In this position, Mr. Rael oversees Housing Programs for the Department, including Rental Development, Community Development and Revitalization, Special Needs Housing, Asset Management, and Section 8 and Compliance.  Mr. Rael has extensive experience administering local and state government funds including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership, Housing Assistance for Persons with AIDS, Continuum of Care, Emergency Shelter Grant, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Weatherization Assistance Program, State Housing Trust Fund, National Housing Trust Fund, Section 811, and Section 8 Programs.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Home Foreclosure Prevention Funding Corporation, a nonprofit corporation established by the State to serve as the eligible entity for a federal grant through the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

In addition to his tenure with the State, Mr. Rael’s nearly 30 years of professional housing experience includes work with the Lancy, Scult and Lazarus law firm in Phoenix, the cities of Casa Grande, Flagstaff and Avondale and the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. Mr. Rael has coordinated the development of Affordable Housing, Neighborhood Revitalization and Consolidated Plans for five jurisdictions. 

Mr. Rael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Regional Planning from New Mexico State University. He also achieved a certificate in Executive Integral Leadership from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.

Debra Blake
Assistant Deputy Director
Manufactured Housing

Debra Blake is the Assistant Deputy Director of Manufactured Housing for the Arizona Department of Housing. In this role, she oversees the Manufactured Housing Division, which oversees the regulation of the manufactured housing and factory built building industry in Arizona, including licensing, inspecting, and other associated responsibilities. This division is designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as Arizona’s State Administrative Agency for consumer complaints, and the In Plant Inspection Agency for monitoring the construction of homes in manufacturing factories. Ms. Blake serves as co-chair of the national Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee, an advisory Board to HUD, and chairs its Regulatory Sub-Committee. She provides staff support to the Arizona Board of Manufactured Housing and leads the Department’s lean transformation Arizona Management System (AMS) efforts. Ms. Blake serves as on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Home Foreclosure Prevention Funding Corporation, a nonprofit corporation established by the State to serve as the eligible entity for a federal grant through the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

Prior to joining Housing, Ms. Blake served in the positions of Interim Director, Deputy Director and Director of Compliance for the Arizona Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety from 2007 to 2016. Her professional history prior to working for the State, included positions in private business and manufacturing with WorldCom Wireless, Sallie Mae, and Gerber Baby Products. 

Ms. Blake holds a B.S. from Western International University, and studied at the University of Phoenix, and Phoenix College.

Support Staff
 

Janelle Johnsen
Communications Officer

Janelle Johnsen is the Communications Officer at the Arizona Department of Housing. This is a newly developed position as a result of the reassignment of duties from the former Legislative Liaison/Public Information Officer position.

Ms. Johnsen joined the Department in this new role after spending the most recent three years as the Sr. Communication Specialist at Tri-West Healthcare Alliance. Ms. Johnsen is a US Marine Corps Reserve veteran where she served for 10 years and began her career in communications/public relations.

Ms. Johnsen holds a Bachelor of Arts from Central Washington University with a major in public relations.

Olivia Gibala
Assistant to the Director

Olivia Gibala is the Assistant to the Director at the Arizona Department of Housing. In this position, Ms. Gibala provides administrative services for the Director’s Office.

Ms. Gibala previously worked on the State’s housing programs as a Contract Management Specialist from 1992 to 2002, when the State’s Housing Programs were located within the Arizona Department of Commerce. Ms. Gibala also has over five years of experience in office management and ten years in customer service. 

Ms. Gibala has attended both Phoenix College and ASU West.