Project HOME VP named new head of Office of Homeless Services

Cheryl Hill is the new Executive Director of the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) for the City of Philadelphia. In an announcement made by Mayor Cherelle Parker, Hill will lead OHS, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, effective immediately.

Hill brings more than three decades of leadership, and housing, property, fiscal and program management to her new position.

“Cheryl’s deep experience developing and managing programs that help individuals and families — who are often at the lowest point in their lives — put a roof over their heads and thrive, will be an asset to the City of Philadelphia,” Parker said. “She will lead OHS down a path of focused, improved, fiscally responsible delivery of service to Philadelphia’s most marginalized population.”

OHS has been under intense scrutiny since late last year, when lawmakers revealed the department had overspent its budget by nearly $15 million over a four-year period.

In a preliminary report released in April, the city’s Office of Inspector General found that the OHS, under the leadership of former executive director Liz Hersh, purposely ran up a deficit in an attempt to avoid service cuts.

Hersh left OHS in November 2023, and was replaced by Interim Executive Director, David Holloman. Holloman has returned to his previous executive leadership role as OHS’s Chief of Staff since Hill’s appointment.

“This is a critical time for our city, and I look forward to collaborating with David Holloman, our partners, and the community to develop strategies that build on our strengths to address homelessness in innovative, compassionate, and impactful ways that benefit all Philadelphians,” said Hill.

Hill formerly served at Project HOME, a nationally recognized nonprofit homeless services provider, as Senior Vice President of Supportive Housing Operation, and earlier as Vice President, Property and Asset Management. As a Project HOME leader, Hill demonstrated fiscally responsible management of a $20 million annual budget and implemented strategies that supported residents, as well as staff.

Hill has spent more than a decade as an affordable housing consultant leading diverse and complex projects such as developing a HUD-50058 data collection and reporting module — preventing tenant evictions during the 2008 foreclosure crisis and emergency housing placement during Hurricane Katrina.

In her newest role at OHS, Hill will lead the city’s administrative agency that is responsible for funding and overseeing the more than 70 providers that help it meet its mission to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.