California Governor Brown has appointed Thomas Jefferson Alumna Susan Riggs 08' to serve his administration as Deputy Secretary of Housing Policy at the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency in Sacramento, CA.
“Susan’s accomplishments are something to celebrate,” said Professor Susan Bisom-Rapp. “She is one of our most talented and innovative graduates and she is making a tremendous difference in California.”
Riggs has dedicated her career to improving housing policy. She has promoted the creation of safe, stable, and affordable healthy housing for low income families since 2010 as executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation and has taught housing policy and real estate economics as adjunct faculty at San Diego State University since 2005. Previously, she practiced affordable housing and redevelopment law at Best Best and Krieger LLP and served as vice president of government affairs for the San Diego Association of Realtors. Riggs has also served as chief policy advisor and senior policy analyst for the San Diego Housing Commission, as adjunct faculty at Southwestern College, and as an associate at Trammell Crow Company and CB Richard Ellis.
In addition to serving as an appointee to the California Resource Board's Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, Riggs also serves on the Board of Directors of several prominent housing boards. Riggs is an active board member for Civic San Diego, Housing California, Home Again, and the Board of Governors of the California Housing Consortium. Previously, she served as president for Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C3) and as co-chair for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Housing Policy Committee.
"Ms. Riggs is well remembered at Thomas Jefferson School of Law as one of our most promising students. We always expected she would achieve great things. Her appointment is a great confirmation that with hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything with a law degree from Thomas Jefferson," said Professor Bryan H. Wildenthal.
Riggs has earned various awards and distinctions since graduating Magna Cum Laude from Thomas Jefferson. In 2008 she won the California State Bar Public Law Writing Competition. In 2011 she was inducted into San Diego Metro Magazine's “40 Under 40 Hall of Fame” and into Lambda Alpha International, an honorary society for the advancement of land economics.
