Global Communities was founded in 1952 as the Cooperative Housing Foundation to build housing for those in need in the US. It later expanded its efforts internationally in the 1960s-1970s at the request of the US government. By the 1980s, it had ended its domestic programs and focused entirely on international work and addressing other community needs beyond just housing. Today, as Global Communities, it helps communities worldwide confront issues like displaced persons, HIV/AIDS, and disaster relief.

1. Lauri Fitz-Pegado on
Global Communities

2. A partner since 2001 at the Livingston Group, a
consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC,
the Honorable Lauri Fitz-Pegado has served her
country with distinction, both in the US Information
Agency and the US Department of Commerce.
She serves Global Communities as Vice Chair of
its Board of Trustees.

3. Founded in 1952 to build housing for those in
need, Global Communities, then known as the
Cooperative Housing Foundation or CHF, built
more than 60,000 houses in 35 states over the
next 30 years. In the early 1960s, it expanded its
efforts into Central America at the behest of the
US government, and continued to expand into the
international arena throughout the 1970s. During
this time, it reduced its domestic programs,
concentrating more on its international work. In
the 1980s it ended its domestic program entirely,
focusing instead on international work and
expanding beyond housing to address other
community needs.

4. After celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2012, the
foundation continues to respond to change and
address new problems facing the world’s indigent
and poor. Newly renamed Global Communities, it
helps communities worldwide confront the
problems of displaced persons, HIV/AIDS,
disaster relief, and other challenges.