David Bachrach receives Paul Poulos Award

The City of East Providence’s Community Development Director, David Bachrach, was presented with the Paul Poulos Achievement Award at the National Community Development Association’s (NCDA’s) New England Regional Annual Meeting, held recently.

The award was established by the New England region of NCDA in 1996, in honor of Paul Poulos, the late Executive Director of the Fall River (MA) Community Development Agency, and former national President of NCDA. The award is given annually to an individual in recognition of their outstanding and dedicated contributions in the field of community development.

The nominating committee, which is comprised of former Poulos Award recipients, selected Bachrach as this year’s honoree for having dedicated his professional career to addressing the needs of low income individuals and families.

Bachrach has been working for the City of East Providence for more than fifteen years. “David is a state-wide leader in advocating for affordable housing, and has assisted hundreds of residents over the years through his community’s housing rehabilitation program,” said Patrick Sullivan, Director of Planning & Community Development for the City of New Bedford, MA, and spokesman for the Poulos Award committee. “When he’s not helping residents with home improvements, he’s working to provide heating assistance and emergency shelter to residents in need.”

“I am humbled and honored by this recognition and will continue to strive to accomplish significant impacts for my community,” said Bachrach.

A longtime member of the NCDA Region I Board of Directors, he also currently serves as the co-Chair of NCDA’s national economic development committee. He routinely moderates and participates on panel discussions on the regional and national level for NCDA, and has been involved with the organization for over twenty years, beginning with his work in community development in Taunton, MA.