Celebrating a New CCRH Role: Head of Special Initiatives and External Partnerships

CCRH is proud to announce a meaningful leadership transition within our team—one that honors a legacy of deep commitment and opens new opportunities.

We congratulate Gisela Salgado on reaching an incredible milestone: 20 years of service with CCRH! For the majority of that time, Gisela led our nationally recognized Internship Program, shaping it into a model for cultivating new BIPOC talent in affordable housing. Today, we celebrate not only her tenure but also her exciting transition into a new role as Head of Special Initiatives and External Partnerships—a position she has held since the beginning of this year.

Gisela’s journey in the affordable housing field began as a CCRH intern, placed with Community HousingWorks in San Diego. What followed was two decades of dedicated leadership, through which the Internship Program evolved into a nationally recognized model for recruiting, training, and supporting emerging BIPOC leaders—especially from rural, low-income, and farmworker communities.

We also honor the vision of Ana Baiz-Torres, the program’s founder, who entrusted Gisela with the program’s future and whose legacy lives on in a growing network of passionate, justice-driven affordable housing practitioners and leaders.

The Internship Program was founded on the belief that those most impacted by housing injustice—immigrant families, rural communities, and people of color—must be at the forefront of housing solutions. Gisela’s lived experience as the daughter of a migrant farmworker and granddaughter of a Bracero laborer rooted her commitment to this mission and fueled her passion to extend access to career and leadership pathways in the affordable housing field.

Today, the Internship Program continues to thrive under the leadership of Austyn Perry, CCRH’s Leadership Development Programs Director. Austyn brings strong vision and dedication to the interns, deepening the program’s impact through enhanced systems, programming, and partnerships. We’re deeply grateful to the alumni and supporters whose mentorship, insight, and advocacy continue to sustain this important effort.

In her new role, Gisela leads the launch of the Rural Housing Visionary Organizational Leadership Program, a new initiative shaped by alumni feedback and CCRH member and stakeholder input. This program supports mid-career BIPOC affordable housing practitioners by offering advanced leadership development, technical skills training, and allyship development for supervisors and executive leaders. She is joined in this work by former CCRH Internship Program participants Matt Huerta and Eric Diaz, who are serving as consultants.

Gisela is also focused on strengthen external partnerships, deepening our organizational commitment to collaboration, shared leadership, and collective impact. These efforts support CCRH’s mission to advocate for a thriving rural California that grows affordable housing for rural, tribal, and farmworker families and communities.

We are deeply grateful for Gisela’s leadership, both past and present. Please join us in celebrating this exciting new chapter and supporting her continued contributions to the affordable housing field. We look forward to the impact ahead—not only for CCRH, but for the communities we serve across California.

With appreciation,

California Coalition for Rural Housing