Michael A. Houlemard, Jr., is the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) Executive Officer (Retired).  FORA is a broadly representative agency located on the Monterey Bay, responsible for former Fort Ord conversion to civilian reuse program – which was declared a military base reuse national model by the Department of Defense. Mr. Houlemard also oversees a $100 million munitions and explosives cleanup of 3,400 former Fort Ord acres.

In 2004, the Association of Defense Communities bestowed on Mr. Houlemard the award of Local Reuse Authority Executive of the Year.  Mr. Houlemard received the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce’s Ruth Vreeland 2012 Public Official of the Year award. In 2019 the Association of Defense Communities awarded Michael the John Lynch Lifetime Achievment Award.

Mr. Houlemard’s professional career spans 30 years in community planning, real property development, business training, and economic forecasting including managing several successful multi-interest partnerships to complete regional and larger-scale projects.  Prior to assuming his current post in 1997, Houlemard served as Executive Assistant to the Chancellor and as Director of Community Planning and Land Development for the University of California at Santa Cruz.

In earlier career positions, Mr. Houlemard received a gubernatorial appointment as a Deputy in the California Department of Housing and Community Development. He served as Project Manager for the Pasadena Redevelopment Agency, Executive Director of the Southern California Urban Coalition, Deputy Director of the Pasadena Urban Coalition, and Assistant Dean/Director in the University of California at Santa Barbara Office of Veterans’ Affairs.  In his professional capacity, he has provided a full array of topical testimony in public hearings and before Congress.  In addition, Mr. Houlemard has been a columnist for local weekly publications and has written articles for several (regional & national) publications.

Mr. Houlemard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and spent his formative years in Pasadena, California.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a Master of Arts in Urban Studies from Occidental College, and is a graduate of the prestigious CORO Foundation Fellowship Program. He continues his long-time service as an active participant and/or officer on many public and private boards and commissions, and is a certified Special Districts Administrator (SDA). Past activities have included appointments to statewide councils and memberships in several professional associations. Mr. Houlemard was appointed to represent the State of California on the National Governors Association “Federal Facilities Environmental Cleanup Working Group.” In 2009, he was elected president of the Association of Defense Communities and served in that capacity until 2012.