Buxbaum first encountered HAC while advocating to preserve USDA’s Section 515 rural rental housing. After moving to Maine in 2007 to join Coastal Enterprises, Inc., she deepened her focus on rural markets and the expiring-use risks facing 515 properties. Drawn to HAC’s mission and record, she joined the board and later served as chair.  

Her time in leadership coincided with important board work. The board set term limits, strengthened financial and HR systems, and managed an executive transition that could have unsettled any mission-driven nonprofit. “I am so proud that we were able to hire an excellent CEO to replace our respected and greatly loved leader of many years.” Buxbaum says. “It’s not easy to find someone willing and able to step into those shoes. Change can be hard, even when it’s ultimately positive.” Colleagues credit her with keeping meetings disciplined and inclusive. “Laura consistently brought insight and commitment to Board discussions,” says former director Peter Carey. “While serving as Board Chair, Laura effectively moved the business of each meeting forward, while fulfilling the role of Chair in a way that respected the voice of each member.” Theresa Singleton, HAC board member, adds: “Laura’s leadership and her friendship mean so much to so many people. She has led the board with humor, candor, grit, and focus. I am so very grateful to her for all that she has done for HAC and for rural communities. She should be proud of the legacy she leaves behind.” 

Under the new leadership she helped recruit—and with firm board backing—HAC expanded lending, strengthened its policy voice, and continued to produce research that clarifies rural housing needs. Buxbaum’s hope for the years ahead is straightforward: “It’s my hope that HAC will hold steadfast to its mission through challenging times. I expect HAC to continue to shine a light on the needs and opportunities in rural communities, and to advocate for what is right and important.” Her counsel to those who follow is just as direct: “Once a HACster, always a HACster! You are lucky to be part of this organization – if you bring your best self to the work, and persist, you will find it so rewarding. Know that this work truly makes a difference to so many people. Keep it up!” 

Manning-Beavin’s relationship with HAC stretches back nearly three decades—to a job posting in the paper HAC News that set him on a national path. After college, he coordinated emergency home repairs with the Appalachia Service Project in McDowell County, West Virginia. “That summer introduced me to work with tangible purpose,” he says. By 1997 he had joined HAC’s staff to help underwrite the organization’s first Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) award. 

He joined HAC’s board in 2015—just after, as he recalls, HAC’s congressional appropriation “went away,” forcing the organization to rethink how it sustained deep work with the lowest-capacity rural partners. “That was a watershed moment and forced a lot of soul searching,” he says. The outcome, in his telling, was a more entrepreneurial HAC: a loan fund that became “a tremendous vehicle for positive change,” a go-to role in preserving the Section 515 portfolio, evolving technical assistance, and research that opened doors to new partners.  

Colleagues describe him as patient and exacting in finance matters. “Tom is the whole package. With his experience as a developer of rural housing, his respected voice as advocate for Appalachia, and his background as a former HAC staffer, Tom brought a wide perspective to his role as Board member. His commitment to HAC’s mission and to the HAC team were always present. Exceptionally generous with his time and energy, Tom invested untold hours in his role as a board member and especially as Treasurer. He is a person of thoughtfulness and unquestioned integrity, and through the years I served alongside him, I often sought his perspective on issues that arose,” Carey says. Others underline the character behind the résumé. “Every interaction with Tom is defined by his genuine kindness, his sharp intellect, and his concern and caring for rural people and communities. You walk away feeling better about the world around us just knowing that people like Tom exist. He exemplifies every quality of a true HACster and will be missed,” says Theresa Singleton. 

Manning-Beavin highlights HAC’s Section 515 preservation push as emblematic of its purpose. The portfolio houses some of rural America’s most vulnerable residents, and nonprofit owners needed a lender willing to engage. “HAC stepped out of its comfort zone, and sought to share the burden of leading an effort to find solutions,” he says. He also points to internal entrepreneurship—like the R2 research initiative—as a path to new relevance, and he resists the idea of HAC morphing into a membership network. Rural America, he argues, needs a partner that works with anyone trying to improve housing conditions for people with low incomes. His parting advice is succinct: “Keep the faith. The work is hard, but absolutely vital to the organizations and communities we serve. If it were easy, then ‘the market’ would already be doing it.” 

Peers see both directors as leaders who paired judgment with initiative. Nick Mitchell-Bennett calls Buxbaum “Driven yet able to enjoy her life.” and Manning-Beavin “Pensive with lots of questions.” The imprint they leave is institutional and cultural; they helped set a tone for board service: ask precise questions, welcome debate, keep the mission in view. HAC today is better equipped to finance preservation and production, advise local practitioners, and publish research that informs policy and practice.  

HAC thanks Laura Buxbaum and Tom Manning-Beavin for their service and example. The next cohort of directors inherits their standard—and the same charge: keep faith with rural communities, and continue the work.