Shaun Donovan

Shaun Lawrence Sarda Donovan (born January 24, 1966) is an American government official and housing specialist who served as the 15th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 2009 to 2014, and as director of the Office of Management and Budget from 2014 to 2017. Prior to his time in the Obama administration he served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development from 2004 to 2009 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In February 2020, he filed paperwork to run for Mayor of New York City in the 2021 Democratic primary, which was ultimately won by Eric Adams. In 2023, he was named President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, a housing non-profit.

Early life and education Born in New York, to parents Michael and Martha, Donovan grew up on the Upper East Side and attended the Dalton School in Manhattan. He has three siblings. He holds three degrees from Harvard University: an A.B. in engineering sciences from Harvard College in 1987, a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1995, and a Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Design in 1995.

Shaun's father, Michael Donovan, is the founder and chairman of the board of directors of advertising software company Mediaocean. He was born in Panama of mixed Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish parentage. As a consultant, Donovan advised the Millennial Housing Commission on strategies for increasing multifamily housing development.

He worked for Prudential Mortgage Capital, from 2002 to 2004, as a managing director of FHA lending and affordable housing investments. The agency had a $1 billion budget, and 2,700 employees. He was confirmed as US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by the U.S. Senate through unanimous consent on January 22, 2009, and sworn in on January 26.

While Secretary, Donovan oversaw the allocation of 75% of HUD's share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act within one week of the bill's passage.

For President Obama's State of the Union address in 2010, Donovan served as the designated survivor.

On July 28, 2014 he was succeeded as Secretary by Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio.

Office of Management and Budget (2014–2017) On May 22, 2014, President Obama nominated Donovan to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget. On July 10, 2014, he was confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 75–22. He was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on August 5, 2014. He served in that role until 2017.

Post-Obama career

In 2017, Harvard University named Donovan Senior Strategist and Advisor to the President on Allston and Campus Development and its expansion in Allston, Massachusetts. Despite being one of the first announced candidates, Donovan got little support from local organizations and elected officials, and was ranked in the bottom half of pre-primary polls. He committed a notable gaffe when, during an interview with the New York Times, he estimated the median sale price of a home in Brooklyn to be "around $100,000," when it was actually $900,000. Donovan later emailed the New York Times to explain that he thought the question referred to the median assessed value of Brooklyn homes, not the sale price. He was defeated with 2.5% of the vote.

In 2023, he was named President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, a national housing nonprofit.

Personal life Donovan is married to Elizabeth "Liza" Eastman Gilbert, a landscape designer, and they have two sons. They live in Brooklyn, New York City.