EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – ECHO Housing Corporation has announced the appointments of two executives to newly created roles: Savannah Wood as Chief Executive Officer and Erik Tilkemeier as Chief Operating Officer.
A news release says Wood has been with ECHO Housing Corporation since 2018 in various roles, most recently as Assistant Director where she oversees policies, procedures, and staff for six federally funded homeless service programs. While at ECHO Housing, Wood has participated in the Leadership Everyone program, as well as attended the Next Generation Leadership Academy and the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority’s Strategic Management for Community Development Executives course.
ECHO Housing says Tilkemeier was most recently Director of Economic & Urban Development for the City Heights Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) in San Diego, California. He has a background in real estate development, property management, affordable housing, economic development, and community development corporation leadership. Tilkemeier has also led pre-development planning for 117 units of affordable housing and 15,000 square feet of community serving commercial space, assisted in doubling the organization’s funding and impact from 2019 to 2022, and advocated for equitable housing policies at the local, regional, state, and federal levels.
“We couldn’t have been more fortunate to have found the combined skills of Savannah and Erik to take ECHO Housing into the future. With these new leaders guiding the way, we will be positioned to better serve those seeking permanent housing, as well as provide enhanced supportive services to those who we have already placed,” said Board of Directors Chairman Dane Chandler. “With their combined records of successful leadership, we’re thrilled to have Savannah move into the CEO role and have Erik join our hardworking team as COO. Their collective strengths strategically position us for our next phase of service.”
A news release says the outgoing ECHO Executive Director Chris Metz, who departs to begin work toward a doctoral degree, couldn’t be more pleased with the appointments.
“I have worked directly with Savannah for the past four years and know first-hand that her passion for ECHO’s mission and her work ethic are second to none. Combined with Erik’s years of experience in property management and development, I am confident ECHO Housing, and more importantly those it serves, is in good hands.”
