September Housing Unlimited Staff Spotlight - Aaron Fenster

Aaron Fenster, Chief Operating Officer

Aaron grew up in Rochester, NY and was raised in a Reform Jewish household where the concept of Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) was a central aspect of his upbringing. Aaron was taught to believe in the importance of building community and was a regular volunteer at the local soup kitchen.

Aaron met his partner Lana in college and they have been together for 12 years. They have a 2-year-old daughter, Maya, who has taken over their house from their beloved dog, Finn. But don’t worry, Finn still gets plenty of love! Aaron is enjoying fatherhood as well as balancing some of his personal hobbies of playing ultimate frisbee, seeing live music, supporting DC United and rooting for the Buffalo Bills. He also is interested in politics and serves as a poll watcher.

Aaron moved to DC after he was accepted into an AmeriCorps program called AVODAH; The Jewish Service Corps. He lived in a home with 14 others who all worked at frontline poverty organizations in the DC area. Aaron served as a Case Manager at Miriam’s Kitchen in Foggy Bottom, DC. There he learned about the root causes of homelessness and continued to develop a passion for helping people which led to an opportunity at Housing Unlimited in 2012. At the time, one of Aaron’s housemates was an AVODAH staff member at Housing Unlimited. They connected Aaron with Housing Unlimited and the rest is history!

Since joining our staff, Aaron has served in multiple roles, starting as a Property Manager, then Director of Property Management, and finally in his current role as COO. He loves his work at Housing Unlimited. Aaron has had the opportunity to build strong connections with tenants and recently enjoyed a newer role as a coach for the Housing Unlimited Tenants Council's leadership committee. He has been impressed with the tenants' positivity, passion for community building, and dedication to the organization. Finally, Aaron is also excited about the opportunity to participate in Leadership Montgomery’s CORE Program where he will meet with executives from across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in Montgomery County.