Crawford, Symone
Symone Crawford
Executive Director 617-822-9100 x303 email
Symone Crawford is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA), a role she assumed on January 1, 2022. Her journey with MAHA began in 2004 when she started as a volunteer, driven by a passion for increasing homeownership opportunities for people of color and first-time homebuyers. Over the years, she served on MAHA's Board of Directors for 11 years, including a term as board chair, and joined the staff in 2018 as the Director of STASH and Homeownership Operations.
Symone was born in Jamaica and moved to Boston in 1999. She became a homeowner in Mattapan through a mortgage program negotiated by MAHA, inspiring her to advocate for affordable housing. Before joining MAHA, she worked for 17 years at Encompass Insurance, most recently as a claims service leader.
Under her leadership, MAHA continues to focus on narrowing the racial homeownership gap through innovative programs and community advocacy. One of her significant contributions is the STASH program (Saving Toward Affordable Sustainable Homeownership), a matched savings initiative designed to help first-generation homebuyers.
In addition to her work at MAHA, Symone was appointed to serve on the Massachusetts Housing Advisory Council and as a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Symone also serves on several boards, such as the Citizens Housing and Planning Agency (CHAPA), Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (MPIUA), and the Hyde Park Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Devan joined the MAHA team in 2022. She has previously worked as the Director of Marketing for Shakespeare in Clark Park. She was also the owner of Devan Callahan Media, social media marketing and consulting, where she worked with clients from small businesses, to non profits (including MAHA!). Devan has her B.A. from Muhlenberg College in both Theatre and French and Francophone Studies. She grew up in Milton, MA and is now splitting her time between Philly and Boston. She loves a good cup of coffee, walks with her dog, and reading.
Shauntelle joined MAHA in January 2022. She was most recently the Senior Program Services Coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts. At Big Brothers Big Sisters, Shauntelle was a lead organizer on forming an exciting new partnership with My Brother’s Keeper, an Obama Foundation-funded initiative addressing persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color. Having immigrated from the island of Jamaica, Shauntelle is a first-generation Bostonian. She graduated cum laude from University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BA in English, and earned her MA at UMass Boston. Shauntelle taught English Language Arts at the middle school level upon graduating.
Sarah became part of the MAHA team in 2019, leveraging her years of experience empowering first-time homebuyers, particularly those from diverse backgrounds. She provides comprehensive homebuyer and homeowner workshops along with one-on-one counseling sessions to help clients achieve their dream of owning a home. Sarah is a native Spanish speaker, and is passionate about serving the diverse community at MAHA. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, learning a new cooking recipe and volunteering at her local food bank.
