Board Member John Bruno considers Housing Trust Silicon Valley the perfect example of what his mother always told him – “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
The business community’s concern about the lack of affordable housing for working families led to the innovative concept of the Housing Trust – an experiment in public/private partnership that has turned into a highly successful, respected organization. “I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said.
John was involved in forming the Housing Trust and joined the Board in 2006 while serving as Vice President of Real Estate and Procurement for Cadence Design Systems. Since 2014, John has worked at Yahoo! as Vice President of Global Real Estate, Workplace, & Procurement. He will be leaving the Board at the end of the year according to our term policy.
During his tenure, several achievements stand out to him as significant milestones for the Housing Trust, including becoming the first nonprofit CDFI to receive a Standard & Poor’s rating (AA-). He is also proud of the Board’s leadership in gaining voter approval for Measure A, the bond that will provide $950 million for affordable housing in Santa Clara County.
He is impressed with the growth of the Housing Trust’s annual Investor Briefing, which this year drew almost 500 business and community leaders, and enjoys hearing the personal stories about how Housing Trust programs have helped improve the lives of individuals and families.
“I appreciate the holistic approach of Silicon Valley to community issues – that we need to think about the housing needs of the people who clean our offices and swing the hammers to build our buildings,” he said, as well as address the challenge of recruiting and retaining high tech employees because of the lack of affordable housing.
John considers the Housing Trust Board as one of the most rewarding board positions he’s ever had, and is very excited about its future, especially the potential of the new TECH Fund and the Housing Trust’s broadened geographic approach to become a regional resource.