Laura Zeilinger, director of D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS), announced that she will leave her position at the end of the year in a Nov. 1 staff email.
Zeilinger has led the agency, which is tasked with preventing and ending homelessness in the city, for nearly a decade. Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed Zeilinger to the post in 2015. Previously, Zeilinger served as executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness during the Obama administration.
“I called Laura the day after I was elected mayor to ask if she’d join my team,” Bowser wrote in a statement on Zeilinger’s departure. “I knew she was smart, passionate, and tenacious about creating better access to resources and support for our residents. Almost a decade later, I’m grateful that Laura made the decision to join the administration.”
During Zeilinger’s tenure, homelessness in the district decreased 27.5%, according to city data, though rates have ticked back up in recent years. Family homelessness especially decreased, and is currently about a third of what it was in 2016, according to the most recent Point in Time (PIT) Count. Zeilinger also worked to implement the city’s first plan to end homelessness, Homeward D.C., and its successor, though the city does not seem likely to succeed in its original goal of ending homelessness by 2025.
In an Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) meeting earlier this month, Zeilinger said her time as the head of the homeless services system “has been a pleasure and an honor and a very difficult task.” While she said there are still many things to fix in the system, she’s optimistic about the future.
“I know that the commitment to that work will long outlive my tenure here,” she said.
In her time as director, Zeilinger oversaw several major initiatives, including the closure of the D.C. General Shelter and the establishment of smaller family shelters throughout different wards.
Her agency also implemented reforms to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and created Career MAP, an employment initiative that began in 2022 and was designed to help D.C. residents achieve financial independence.
“Laura has just been a great member of our team, and I don’t think you’re going to find many human services directors that have a tenure as long or as impactful as hers,” Bowser told NBC Washington.
The mayor’s office has not announced a timeline for appointing Zeilinger’s replacement. In the ICH meeting, Zeilinger said the mayor is working on a transition plan and she will remain in her position through the end of the year.
DHS manages programs addressing homelessness, food security, and poverty and provides direct support to low-income families. The agency currently faces increasing demands for services, even amidst budget cuts. The new director will inherit a backlogged voucher system, a nearly-full homeless shelter system, and underfunded rental assistance programs.
“There is no expectation that anything stops, there is a place for someone with new thinking and new energy,” Zeilinger said.
