CSBG-DCL-2022-36 Announcing Program Operations Branch Chief

Dear Colleague,

Please join the Office of Community Services (OCS) in officially welcoming the new Division of Community Assistance (DCA) Program Operations Branch Chief Verna P. Best.

Effective June 21, 2022, Ms. Best will provide leadership in support of the planning, implementation, operation, and management of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG).

Prior to federal service, Ms. Best was the Program Manager for the Wake County Human Services Social and Economic Vitality Initiative in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this position, she led a collaborative, multi-tiered initiative to eliminate intergenerational poverty in southeast Raleigh and eastern Wake County. Her work included implementing strategies to help individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency and strengthen community level assets. She was instrumental in building community support for grassroot nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs/small businesses. In addition, Ms. Best was selected to serve on the Wake County Manager’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee to assist with dismantling systemic racism within the organization.

Throughout her career, Ms. Best has focused on the needs of people with low incomes, in communities impacted by the ills of poverty. She served as the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity for more than eight years, during which time she was responsible for administering CSBG and the Weatherization and Emergency Shelter Grants Program. Ms. Best also worked at Wayne Action Group for Economic Solvency (WAGES), a Community Action Agency, for 11 years where she served as the CSBG Manager and as the CSBG/Self-Sufficiency Program Administrator.

Ms. Best’s commitment to the CSBG Network spans more than a decade at the community, state, and national levels. Ms. Best served in several roles on the National Association of State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) Board, including Vice President, Treasurer, and CSBG Program Chair. Ms. Best also served on a National Community Action Partnership (NCAP) CSBG Working Group to support the development of the Organizational Standards, focusing on organizational leadership, human resource management, financial operations, consumer input and involvement, community engagement, and board governance. 

As a result of her commitment to the CSBG Network, in March of 2017, Ms. Best was awarded the Marjorie J. Witherspoon Award by the NASCSP Board, in recognition of her outstanding service to her peers and NASCSP.

Ms. Best earned a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast and Journalism from St. Augustine’s College and a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. Ms. Best was also certified as a national peer-to-peer Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) Trainer.

Ms. Best is the proud mother of a 26-year-old son, Alton, and she looks forward to supporting the CSBG Network in her new role.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to continuing to provide high-quality services to OCS partners.

/s/
Charisse Johnson
Director, Division of Community Assistance
Office of Community Services