Fred Karnas is a Fellow at the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation (RMHF), where he supports the organization’s efforts to address the needs of older adults. This is Fred’s second engagement with RMHF. He brings a long history of work in the areas of housing, health, and human services, with a special focus on addressing the needs of homeless persons, older adults, and persons with disabilities.

Most recently, Fred has been engaged as a consultant locally and nationally on a variety of projects related to older adults, persons with serious mental health conditions, and housing. Previously, he served as a senior policy advisor at the Department of the Treasury, helping to lead the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance program.

Before his initial tenure with RMHF, he was a senior fellow at The Kresge Foundation, where he served as an adviser to the foundation’s six program area teams on issues related to housing.  Prior to joining Kresge, Fred was president and CEO of St. Luke’s Health Initiatives (now the Vitalyst Health Foundation), based in Phoenix, focused on creating healthy communities.

Previously, Fred was appointed by President Obama to the role of senior adviser to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, where he served as HUD’s liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services and as the department’s liaison to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.  He also served in the Clinton Administration as deputy assistant secretary for special needs at HUD, director of the Office of AIDS Housing, and executive director of the Interagency Council on the Homeless.

Prior roles include serving in Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s cabinet as director of the Arizona Department of Housing and the Arizona Housing Finance Authority. Before joining Gov. Napolitano’s cabinet, he served as a policy advisor to the governor, staffing the Arizona Council on Medical Education and Research, which the governor chaired, and as co-chair of the Arizona State Interagency and Community Council on Homelessness.

Fred’s nonprofit work has included service as executive director of several housing and human service organizations, including the National Coalition for the Homeless, a Washington-based advocacy group. He currently serves on the board of the SPAN Center in Richmond, VA. Fred holds a Bachelor of City Planning degree from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, an MSW and Certificate in Gerontology from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a PhD from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech.