Rayne Martin is Chief of Staff of the Recovery School District here in NO. I think she is. This painful April 20, 2010, T-P story lists Siona LaFrance as RSD Chief of Staff. In this March 2010 article at 2theadvocate.com, Martin is called, vaguely enough, “an official of the state Department of Education.” She’s named as one of the co-leaders for the Race to the Top team. [In March, LA was "considered one of the favorites" to get the money. Oops. Race to the Top has its own issues. This is only one.]
Martin’s LinkedIn profile lists her as Chief Information Officer at RSD, a position that it says started in December 2007. But in 2008, in this T-P article on Kelvin Adams’ departure, Martin is identified as interim Chief of Staff and described as “a Shreveport native recruited by Vallas to the district.”
Prior to being RSD CIO, Martin was Deputy Chief of Operations at RSD from July 2007 until December 2007, a total of 6 months. Her position before that? Director of Relocation and Supportive Services at the Chicago Housing Authority, October 2001 to January 2007. During this time, high-rise public housing complexes like Cabrini Green had been demolished and residents were being relocated around the city.
In the first stages of its transformation plan, the housing authority struggled to develop an effective relocation system. Families who received vouchers ended up in neighborhoods that were racially and economically segregated; some residents were “lost” before they could receive services to which they were entitled, and even more simply failed to move at all, ending up in “temporary” housing in other CHA buildings, some of which were also slated for demolition. [13]
As a result of the controversy, the CHA negotiated a formal Relocation Rights contract in 2000 with its main resident organization, the Central Advisory Council (“CAC”), that spelled out its obligations to residents during the transformation process. [14] The contract defines the terms for lease compliance and the steps residents can take to “cure” lease violations and remain eligible for replacement housing. Finally, the contract specifies the services that will be offered to residents during the transformation, including supportive services, relocation assistance, and mobility counseling. The CHA’s relocation efforts remained controversial and the housing authority was sued in 2004 over the resegregation of residents who had received vouchers. [15] However, despite—or perhaps because of—the controversy, the CHA gradually refined and improved its relocation and supportive service system and now has a very sophisticated and elaborate relocation process. [No Simple Solutions: Housing CHA’s Most Vulnerable Families, Susan J. Popkin, Ph.D.]
Martin came to the office of Relocation and Supportive Services in the midst of controversy and worked through controversy. How’d she get the job? She had several positions in different cities, including Chief of Staff for County Supervisor John Gioia. Here’s how Martin describes the process she used to get the job:
Rayne’s interest in CHA’s plan lead [sic] her to designing the most elaborate, extensive relocation program in the nation. [The Plan was conceived in 2000, about a year before her arrival.]
“When I arrived in Chicago, I sent emails to anyone I could think of that would be able to put me in connection with the project. As a result, I got three or four names and numbers to call. But instead of approaching the phone calls as job solicitations, what I came up with was more like ‘Hi, I’m new to Chicago, and I would really like to talk to you and do an informational interview about the Plan for Transformation’. Most of the people were open to it.” Rayne continued, “I never left an interview without obtaining the name of another person I could talk to. Eventually I was led to the HR director for CHA, whom I called twice a week for three weeks straight. She probably thought that I was either crazy, or I really had something of value and eventually she gave me the chance to interview with a resident group, and they called and said they really liked me.”
“I met with my future boss,” Rayne told me of securing her position at CHA, “and we started to talk about the concept of relocation, and my position on it was that relocation should occur all the time with families because you should always be in a position to better your income and obtain better housing. In that conversation I realized they were looking for a director. So I was offered the job as a director, and when I started, it was a department of one, then it was a department of five, and now it has grown to forty.”
From what I can find, the office she ran did a fairly good job with few online complaints. But I don’t get the always-be-in-a-position part.
She also spoke at the 2004 President’s Convocation at Centenary College, from which she graduated in 1996. The Convocation starts each academic year, welcoming incoming freshmen. Excerpt:
Quirky study habits aside, I worked very hard and at the end of my second semester, I learned that I was not going to earn an A in any subject; instead, I was going to earn straight B’s.
“Upon learning this, I ran to Dr. Shelburne’s office crying. Dr. Shelburne was my advisor and English professor whose constant faith in my ability has had a profound impact on my life. That day, when I came to him so upset, I finally managed to tell him what was wrong. In his infinite wisdom he explained that there are worse things in life then not getting all A’s. He proceeded to let me know that I can be as successful as I want in life and the grades that I receive in school are not going to determine this.
“In that moment, I began to learn that I can achieve anything that I want and that I can not let one success indicator define my own belief in myself. I believe now that the most important factor in one’s success is the ability visualize that success. [emphasis added]
Wish she’d tell some kids here that.
Martin had been a volunteer, coordinator, several things prior to CHA:
At Centenary, Rayne began to organize and lead public service projects through Habitats for Humanity, Student Government and the Lighthouse, an after-school program for teenagers.
After graduating in 1996, Rayne moved to Philadelphia, where she became a VISTA volunteer. As such, she was given the duties of setting up community mediation centers in inner-city communities and peer mediation programs in high schools. In Philadelphia, Rayne confirmed her ability and drive to pursue a career in public service. “I was realizing that you don’t necessarily have to know what want to do with your life at 18, 20, 30, or 40,” Rayne told me of her time with VISTA, “but you should know what makes you happy, and you should spend your time working towards achieving that happiness.”
Rayne’s pursuit of her happiness soon led her to San Francisco, California where she did political fundraising and further community mediation work. When she decided to relocate to Chicago, With [sic] her public service ambitions now refined by her experience in the field, Rayne decided to relocate to Chicago. “When I was working in San Francisco as chief of staff for a county commissioner, I was exposed to different types of public service. Through my experience, I knew that I wanted to be in housing, and I had heard about the ‘Plan for Transformation’ going on in Chicago.”
Email birdies complain about Martin’s “lack of experience” and may be set off by her scant experience in education before being hired by the RSD. But there also is some flak because Martin is relatively young, white, and in a high-paying position. Bitterness/envy or legit complaints? Hard to verify with the RSD’s opaqueness. Birdies?
