Hyra to Serve as Board Chairman of Public Housing Authority

Alexandria resident Derek Hyra, who serves as a professor at Virginia Tech's , has been elected chairman of the board of commissioners for the .

“It is an honor and privilege to serve the City of Alexandria in this leadership role,” Hyra said in a statement posted by Virginia Tech. “This is an important public service opportunity that not only coincides remarkably well with my scholarly interests but it closely aligns with my personal values.”

Hyra joined Virginia Tech in 2009. His research focuses on inner city economic development, with an emphasis on housing policy and race. In 2011, Hyra was appointed to serve on the new Small Business Administration’s Advisory Council on Underserved Communities, one of 15 individuals from across the country representing the business, banking and finance, community development, nonprofit and academic sectors.

He is also a formidable basketball player and likes to practice at the when he's not spending time with his family or working on his book about the revitalization of Washington, D.C.'s Shaw/U Street neighborhood.