Becky Wade has been appointed by Mayor Indya Kincannon to serve on the Board of Commissioners for Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC).
Becky Wade
Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation
Wade, the former director of Housing and Neighborhood Development for the City of Knoxville, retired in 2022. She worked more than 15 years for the city to assist in the renovation and creation of safe, livable and affordable housing.
“Becky is a great fit because she already understands KCDC’s mission of providing affordable housing and is very familiar with our organization, its people and our programs,” KCDC Executive Director and CEO Ben Bentley said. “KCDC will benefit immensely from her experience and expertise, and we welcome her to the board.”
The Board of Commissioners oversees programs provided by the agency, including affordable housing administration and redevelopment.
Wade graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1974 with a degree in human services. Her first job after college was serving as a case worker at Western Heights, a KCDC affordable housing community. Wade retired from KCDC – after a 31-year career – in 2007 at the close of the HOPE VI revitalization of Mechanicsville having served as director of the program.
She later joined the city and one of Wade’s final tasks as a director was to help apply for the $40 million federal grant for the Transforming Western initiative, which officially launched in 2023 and will transform the Western Heights housing site and surrounding Beaumont neighborhood.
Wade lives in South Knoxville with her husband, Jake, and cat Opus. They have three grown children and three grandchildren. In her spare time, Wade enjoys Pilates and yoga classes at the YMCA and hiking in the Smoky Mountains with Friends of the Smokies.
Wade will serve a four-year term. Seven members of KCDC’s Board of Commissioners are appointed by the Knoxville mayor.