Massachusetts Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus announced he will be resigning from his position on Feb. 27 to become CEO of UniBank.
NBC Boston reports Gov. Maura Healey is replacing Augustus with former State Rep. Juana Matias, a former member of the state’s House of Representatives. Matias was previously the New England regional administrator of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Augustus was the first secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, a position created by Healey when she took office in 2023. He was a former state senator and Worcester city manager, and Healey’s office credited him for launching “the state’s most comprehensive housing legislation ever” with the $5.2 billion Affordable Homes Act.
“Massachusetts’ housing crisis impacts every community, but we know what the solution is — build more housing and strengthen the systems that help people find stability at every stage,” said Augustus in a statement. “I’m deeply grateful to the talented, mission-driven public servants across HLC. This team delivered with creativity, rigor and heart, and I leave confident that HLC under Secretary Matias’ leadership will keep pushing forward to make housing more affordable and more available across Massachusetts.”
Whitinsville, Massachusetts-headquartered UniBank was founded in 1870 and is a full-service, mutually owned community bank with roughly $2.7 million in assets. In a statement, Board Chairman Timothy P. Wickstrom welcomed Augustus as “a collaborative, results-driven leader with deep roots in Central Massachusetts and a strong record of public service. His substantive interaction with the business community throughout the Commonwealth, as well as his experience with cities and towns, makes him exceptionally well-suited for this position.”
