By Dennis Shaughnessey,
dshaughnessey@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- Tha Chhan's life journey has taken him from the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the executive offices of the Lowell Housing Authority.
Chhan, 45, was recently promoted to division director of Leased Housing Programs at the LHA. As a young boy, he witnessed first-hand the atrocities and horrors that took place in his homeland. He lost family members. He saw things he prefers not to remember.
He fled Cambodia in 1983 and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand. On May 23, 1985, he arrived in Waukeegan, Ill. He's never looked back.
Chhan came to Lowell 1988. He went to the unemployment office for work.
"I had two job offers," Chhan said. "Both temporary. One was for the (Internal Revenue Service) as a tax examiner and the other was here at the Lowell Housing Authority as an interpreter."
During the interview in Lowell, Chhan learned that if a full-time position opened, he could go to college and get fully reimbursed. Chhan attended what was then the University of Lowell, then transferred to Franklin Pierce College, earning a liberal-arts degree. He's holds a master's degree in business administration from Boston University.
But in the beginning, there was culture shock.
"I grew up in a communist country. We worked seven days a week from dawn to dusk," he recalls. "Here, we got two days off every week. We had a vacation, health benefits."
He has been a fixture in Lowell for almost 19 years. In addition to his other duties as Leasing Housing program director, he sees himself as a liaison to the Southeast Asian community.
"By understanding their culture, I can help them assimilate and integrate," he explains. "When it comes to living in the housing authority, I can help them understand what we expect of them and what they can expect of us."
Chhan's promotion to division director coincides with several other recent promotions in the LHA. He takes over for Mary Ann Maciejewski, a 26-year employee who has been tapped as executive assistant to Executive Director Gary Wallace.
"She has a talent working with tenants and landlords, as well as executive directors," Wallace said with a laugh. "Her extensive background, education and diligence make her a perfect fit to replace Carol Tsitsinopoulos, who retired at the beginning of the month."
It was Tsitsinopoulos' retirement, in fact, that led to several promotions in the department, including Arlene McDermott, a 29-year LHA employee, who now fills Chhan's old position as assistant division director.
"When Carol retired, we moved several people up and did not fill the back positions," Wallace said, adding that the administrative staff has decreased from 57 people to 47.
"We've been slowly moving that way for the past six or seven years. We can do that because personnel know each other's position and their dedication allowed us to merge several jobs into one so we can survive."
Wallace said attrition, early-retirement incentives, cross training, job sharing and privatization, accounted for approximately $1 million in savings to the LHA.
"As we go into collective bargaining with the unions, it's good for them to see what we're doing at the management level," Wallace said.
"We're making the necessary cutbacks in order to save money for the agency. It also shows the taxpayer that we are fiscally responsible."
LOWELL -- Tha Chhan's life journey has taken him from the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the executive offices of the Lowell Housing Authority.
Chhan, 45, was recently promoted to division director of Leased Housing Programs at the LHA. As a young boy, he witnessed first-hand the atrocities and horrors that took place in his homeland. He lost family members. He saw things he prefers not to remember.
He fled Cambodia in 1983 and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand. On May 23, 1985, he arrived in Waukeegan, Ill. He's never looked back.
Chhan came to Lowell 1988. He went to the unemployment office for work.
"I had two job offers," Chhan said. "Both temporary. One was for the (Internal Revenue Service) as a tax examiner and the other was here at the Lowell Housing Authority as an interpreter."
During the interview in Lowell, Chhan learned that if a full-time position opened, he could go to college and get fully reimbursed. Chhan attended what was then the University of Lowell, then transferred to Franklin Pierce College, earning a liberal-arts degree. He's holds a master's degree in business administration from Boston University.
But in the beginning, there was culture shock.
"I grew up in a communist country. We worked seven days a week from dawn to dusk," he recalls. "Here, we got two days off every week. We had a vacation, health benefits."
He has been a fixture in Lowell for almost 19 years. In addition to his other duties as Leasing Housing program director, he sees himself as a liaison to the Southeast Asian community.
"By understanding their culture, I can help them assimilate and integrate," he explains. "When it comes to living in the housing authority, I can help them understand what we expect of them and what they can expect of us."
Chhan's promotion to division director coincides with several other recent promotions in the LHA. He takes over for Mary Ann Maciejewski, a 26-year employee who has been tapped as executive assistant to Executive Director Gary Wallace.
"She has a talent working with tenants and landlords, as well as executive directors," Wallace said with a laugh. "Her extensive background, education and diligence make her a perfect fit to replace Carol Tsitsinopoulos, who retired at the beginning of the month."
It was Tsitsinopoulos' retirement, in fact, that led to several promotions in the department, including Arlene McDermott, a 29-year LHA employee, who now fills Chhan's old position as assistant division director.
"When Carol retired, we moved several people up and did not fill the back positions," Wallace said, adding that the administrative staff has decreased from 57 people to 47.
"We've been slowly moving that way for the past six or seven years. We can do that because personnel know each other's position and their dedication allowed us to merge several jobs into one so we can survive."
Wallace said attrition, early-retirement incentives, cross training, job sharing and privatization, accounted for approximately $1 million in savings to the LHA.
"As we go into collective bargaining with the unions, it's good for them to see what we're doing at the management level," Wallace said.
"We're making the necessary cutbacks in order to save money for the agency. It also shows the taxpayer that we are fiscally responsible."
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