Karla Henderson
President & Chief Executive Officer
Project for Pride in Living (PPL)
Karla Henderson has served as President and CEO of Project for Pride in Living (PPL) since January 2025, leading the more than 50-year-old organization into its next chapter with an inspirational, collaborative, and empowering leadership style. She oversees an organization with over $335 million in assets and a team of more than 200 high-performing individuals dedicated to creating pathways to housing stability and economic opportunity.
Since stepping into the role, Karla has driven transformative growth, including the opening of four new housing developments in 2025—Union Park Flats, Opportunity Crossing, The Williams, and Simpson Community Shelter & Apartments. Under her leadership, PPL also launched RE-Seed, a new approach to equitable development powered by strong public and private partnerships. PPL also became one of GroundBreak’s origination partners securing meaningful down payment assistance for emerging developers to expand access to generational wealth-building opportunities through the RE-Seed program.
Karla first joined PPL in March 2024 as Senior Vice President of Housing Stability, bringing more than two decades of experience in advancing equity through community development, urban planning, and capital improvement. Before joining PPL, she served as Director of Community Development for the City of Bloomington, Minnesota. A proud Detroit native, Karla began her career after earning a bachelor’s degree in public resource management from Michigan State University and quickly emerged as a community leader, holding key roles such as Group Executive of Planning and Facilities for the City of Detroit and Director of Capital Investment and Buildings Administration for Wayne County, Michigan.
Nationally recognized for her expertise in community development and affordable housing, Karla is often tapped to speak at major conferences and thought leadership forums. In 2026, she was named to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s PowerShift 25 list, honoring newly appointed business and non-profit leaders that the community needs to know. She currently serves on the board of Land Bank Twin Cities and was the 2024–25 co-chair of Leadership Twin Cities a MPLS Regional Chamber Program.
Since stepping into the role, Karla has driven transformative growth, including the opening of four new housing developments in 2025—Union Park Flats, Opportunity Crossing, The Williams, and Simpson Community Shelter & Apartments. Under her leadership, PPL also launched RE-Seed, a new approach to equitable development powered by strong public and private partnerships. PPL also became one of GroundBreak’s origination partners securing meaningful down payment assistance for emerging developers to expand access to generational wealth-building opportunities through the RE-Seed program.
Karla first joined PPL in March 2024 as Senior Vice President of Housing Stability, bringing more than two decades of experience in advancing equity through community development, urban planning, and capital improvement. Before joining PPL, she served as Director of Community Development for the City of Bloomington, Minnesota. A proud Detroit native, Karla began her career after earning a bachelor’s degree in public resource management from Michigan State University and quickly emerged as a community leader, holding key roles such as Group Executive of Planning and Facilities for the City of Detroit and Director of Capital Investment and Buildings Administration for Wayne County, Michigan.
Nationally recognized for her expertise in community development and affordable housing, Karla is often tapped to speak at major conferences and thought leadership forums. In 2026, she was named to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s PowerShift 25 list, honoring newly appointed business and non-profit leaders that the community needs to know. She currently serves on the board of Land Bank Twin Cities and was the 2024–25 co-chair of Leadership Twin Cities a MPLS Regional Chamber Program.
