Sheila A. Dillon is the Chief of Housing for the City of Boston and the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH). As the Chief of Housing, she is a member of Mayor Michelle Wu’s Cabinet, and a key advisor to the Mayor on housing issues in Boston. In her role at MOH, she oversees several divisions which include: 

• the Boston Home Center, which helps Bostonians create and sustain generational wealth by becoming homeowners or repairing the home they already own; 
• the Office of Housing Stability, which assists Boston’s renters with housing assistance, including rental relief and eviction prevention services; 
• Neighborhood Housing and Development, which focuses on the creation and preservation of income-restricted housing in Boston; 
• Supportive Housing, which provides funding for housing and supportive services for Boston’s unhoused residents, those at risk of homelessness, and housing for people with HIV/AIDS; 
• Real Estate Management and Sales, which is responsible for the City’s tax foreclosed and surplus property; 
• and the newly created Office of Urban Agriculture, GrowBoston, which seeks to increase local food production and support Boston’s food producers.

The Mayor’s Office of Housing currently has a staff of 135 and an annual budget of approximately $170 million, which includes federal grants from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2022, MOH was allocated $234 million of the $560 million awarded by the federal government in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to create and preserve new income-restricted housing with an emphasis on new homeownership opportunities. 

Chief Dillon is also dedicated to public service as a Board member of Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, an Advisory Member of the Local Initiatives Support Collaborative, and the Rian Immigrant Center. 

Prior to her appointment as Chief of Housing, Sheila served as the Director of the Bureau of Rental Assistance at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. She also was the Director of Real Estate at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and the Director of Development for the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation.

Chief Dillon received her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York, and graduate degrees from Pepperdine University and Suffolk University. She currently lives in Boston with her family.