Rufus Washington is the Director of Community Planning and Development for HUD’s Los Angeles Field Office. Rufus has served a cross-section of communities locally and nationally in housing, economic development, community development, and homelessness for over 40 years. His HUD Los Angeles career has spanned over 33 years, beginning on the front lines of working with local governments and nonprofits to address the needs of southern California’s low and moderate-income citizens. Passion, Accountability, and Respect are the guiding values of Rufus and his team of 25 professionals in the Los Angeles Field Office. They serve over 110 entitlement cities, over 100 non-profit agencies, and administer a grant portfolio over 700 million dollars. In his “spare time,” Rufus is a certified high school basketball official. He and his wife are the proud grandparents of a rambunctious two-year-old.