The Bethlehem Housing Authority is served by men and women from all walks of life. Commissioners serve at the will of the Mayor and are appointed to staggered, five year terms. Commissioners serve without pay.
Over the years, scores of citizens have served the public in this important role. Here is the most up to date list of these dedicated public servants.
The Board of Commissioners meets publicly on the second Monday of each month, at 4:00 PM in the Fred B. Rooney community room at Monocacy Tower, 645 Main Street. The public is invited to attend any meeting.
Click here for Board Meeting details
The following members comprise the BHA Board of Commissioners
Lindsey M. Altvater Clifton (Chairperson)
Rev. Lindsey Altvater Clifton was named by Mayor Reynolds to the Board in January 2023 and was nominated Chairperson on 1/8/2024. Rev. Cifton is the Associate Pastor for Justice & Community Impact at First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem. She is passionate about justice-seeking and community engagement, and she leads the congregation’s advocacy efforts. As
a community leader, Lindsey is a member of Bethlehem Interfaith Group and the NAACP Community Advisory Board. She is honored to be serving on the Board of Commissioners for the Bethlehem Housing Authority, and she is one of the core organizers for Yes In God’s Backyard Lehigh Valley—a regional faith-based housing coalition-building project of the Lehigh Conference of Churches. Lindsey believes that housing is a human right and that everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to live so that they can experience dignity, belonging, and flourishing. She was born and raised in Greensboro, NC, and is an alum of Elon University (B.A., 2009) and Wake Forest University (M.Div., 2016).
Rogelio Ortiz (Vice Chairperson - Resident Commissioner)
Roy, his wife and five children have resided in Bethlehem since 2000. As a resident of public housing, Roy was nominated to complete the unfinished term of the late Dot Saby in 2015. Under Roy's leadership, the Lynfield Tenant Council has become an important component in the lives of 200 families in the Lynfield area. Roy's leadership qualities were recognized recently when he became a director on the BASD board. Roy was nominated Vice Chairperson on 1/8/2024.
Iris Linares
Iris was Mayor Callahan's choice to replace Regino Cora as a BHA commissioner as of January 8th 2007. She is a Bethlehem native and grew up in Marvine. She was educated in the city attending Donegan School and Nitschmann Junior High before graduating from Liberty High School in 1965. She met and married her husband Henry before beginning her professional career. She started at Durkee Famous Foods in 1967. She was actively involved as a member of the United Steelworkers Union and served as recording secretary and as a member of the negotiating committee. This led to a life-long interest in the political process. She eventually ran for delegate and served at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago the year Bill Clinton was the party's choice. She continues to be active in local politics. She has worked with the United Way as a loan campaign specialist and with an organization called Teen Works. Following the plant closing at Durkee's, she worked for a year at the Steelworkers Dislocation Center assisting coworkers in retraining and reeducation. She then resumed her own education at Northampton Community College studying Law Administration and Computer Science. She is employed by the Peter Angelos firm as a legal assistant. Iris and Henry are proud parents of two daughters and a son.
Valerie McLendon
Valerie was named by Mayor Callahan to fill the unexpired term of the departed George Samuelson in January 2013.
J. Marc Rittle
Marc was named by Mayor Reynolds to the Board in October 2022. Marc, public speaker and advocate, has been dedicated to finding solutions to hunger and homelessness for over 30 years. Marc first moved to Bethlehem in 2002 with a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University (2001) and later earned ABD status (All But Dissertation) from Loyola University Chicago, both in the field of Sociology. As an adjunct professor at Loyola (2004-2007), Marc authored and taught a course titled Sociology of Poverty. He then entered the non-profit world at United Way Metro Chicago (2007) before returning to Bethlehem again in 2011. After 11 years at United Way and nearly two decades of getting to know the Bethlehem community, Marc moved from his role of Vice President, Impact at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley to his present position of Executive Director at New Bethany. Marc’s proudest achievement has been serving the Bethlehem and Lehigh Valley community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Past member appointments
4/26/1938 - John F. Stefko, Samuel E. Fishburn, Wm. C. Bader, Robert Pfeifle, Andrew W. Litzenberger
2/5/1941 - Colonel William R. Coyle, Weir Jepsen
5/26/1941 - Merritt S. Kriedler
9/10/1945 - Henri A. Bodder
1/14/1946 - George W. Sides
9/28/1949 - Louis A. Villard
6/28/1950 - Marvin M. Steyers
7/11/1955 - J. Robert Judd
4/14/1958 - Fred B. Rooney
7/8/1955 - Milton Greenberg
7/17/1959 - George A. Kotich
3/11/1964 - George J. Desh
9/13/1965 - Charles G. Stehly
1/8/1967 - Rev. Frank Flisser
6/14/1971 - Timothy D. Mead
9/13/1971 - Robert F. Czopoth
9/17/1973 - William J. Werpehowski
4/8/1974 - Joseph Albanese
2/13/1978 - Victor M. Garcia, William L. Gorcsan, Robert J. Donchez
1/10/1983 - James J. McCarthy
4/14/1986 - Dolores W. Caskey
11/30/1987 - Daniel Harrigan
3/14/1988 - Dr. Leonard A. Wenzel
4/10/1989 - Dr. Mahlon H. Hellerich
5/14/1990 - Sergia Montz
8/11/1994 - Teresa Negron (Resident commissioner)
3/13/1995 - John C. Cornish
2/9/1998 - Robert F. Czopoth
9/13/1999 - Larry Kisslinger
8/10/2001 - Barbara McNeely Fains (Resident commissioner)
11/13/2001 - Regino Cora
3/11/2002 - Eugene Learn
11/01/2002 - Joe Long
3/8/2004 - David Sanders
1/11/2005 - Paul Reitmeir (Resident commissioner)
3/12/2007 - George Samuelson
4/21/2009 - Dot Saby (Resident commissioner)
3/17/2017 - Gregory Solderitch
5/12/2021 - Susan Acevdeo
