Executive Director
Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity
Age: 36
When Jeff Capps took the reigns as executive director of Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity (CVHH) in the spring of 2009, the area was in dire need of decent, affordable housing.
“While some may not have wanted to apply for his job at the time, Mr. Capps took on the role of leading the organization less than a year after the flood of 2008, when the Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity itself was flood-impacted,” stated Katie Giorgio in her nomination of Mr. Capps.
Previously the director of community relations of the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, Mr. Capps and his wife, Amber, wanted to move closer to her family in Iowa City.
“If I moved to Iowa, I thought it would be the end of the line for my Habitat for Humanity career,” he said. “But, sure enough, the right opportunity came up.”
His experience in Memphis prepared him to hit the ground running, leading projects in 2009 and 2010 to build 33 homes with AmeriCorps.
CVHH serves more than 20 families annually with new construction, rehabilitation and owner-occupied repairs.
He has led Iowa’s Community Housing Development Organization, is a member of Cedar Rapids Affordable Housing group and the Cedar Rapids Downtown Rotary Club and was appointed to State Support Organization for Habitat Iowa. In November 2011, he joined the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project in Haiti.
Mr. Capps graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor degree in journalism (broadcast) from the University of Missouri.
He and his wife live in Iowa City with their daughters, Adelaide and Louisa.
-Angie Holmes
