WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced Angilla Denton, Rural Development's Chief Risk Officer, has been selected to serve as the Rural Housing Service (RHS) Deputy Administrator for Multifamily Housing.  

"Angilla Denton has dedicated her career to serving rural American families, and I have witnessed her authenticity, drive and commitment to ensuring that USDA Rural Development does everything in its power to positively impact quality of life for people across the country,” USDA Rural Housing Service Administrator Joaquin Altoro said. “Angilla will bring new energy and expertise as the Deputy Administrator of USDA's Multifamily Housing Programs, and her leadership will benefit hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on these programs every day for safe and affordable rental housing in rural areas.”  

Angilla has more than 20 years of extensive field, state, and headquarters experience and is a proven leader within Rural Development (RD). Over the past decade, she has led significant modernization efforts to include administration and agency priorities that furthered RD's mission. Under her leadership as the Civil Rights Director, RD achieved its first outstanding performance and accountability civil rights rating. She also served as RD's very first Chief Operating Officer and led several key realignment efforts including the stand up of the RD Innovation Center to focus on data analytics and customer experience. Most recently, Ms. Denton, in her role as the Chief Risk Officer, led Human Resource Modernization efforts that resulted in a 32 percent reduction in time to hire.  

Prior to joining Rural Development in 2002, Ms. Denton worked for 12 years in the affordable housing and property management sector in Nevada. She served as an advocate for Nevada residents and possesses firsthand knowledge and a keen understanding of rural community and tenant needs, owner perspectives, onsite and property management operations, and compliance matters. 

Ms. Denton was born and raised in rural America and is the oldest daughter of a third-generation farmer. Her family has farmed in the Southern Idaho Magic Valley for more than 120 years and continues active operations today. 

USDA Rural Development's Multifamily Housing (MFH) organization currently has more than 20,000 loans that encompass 13,000 rental properties that houses 400,000 units and 300,000 Rental Assistance (RA) units for very low- and low-income tenants across rural America.

Ms. Denton will assume her new role as the RHS Deputy Administrator for MFH effective December 31, 2023.

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