Q&A with Chanté Brady, MBA, CPA

After an intensive search, Health Care for the Homeless is excited to introduce our new Chief Financial Officer, Chanté Brady. Chanté holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). She is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), as well as a Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA), Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), and Federal Information Technology Security Professional (FITSP). As you can tell, Chanté brings an extensive background in public accounting, auditing, and as a federal contractor in finance and IT audits and security. Take a moment to learn more about Chanté’s experience and approach!

You’ve overseen financial and IT systems for some incredibly large and complex institutions, including federal agencies and private firms. What drew you to this field?

What I like most about this field is the challenge of understanding the inner workings of a system and how data is entered, processed, and then used as output for informational reporting.

Early in my career, I was working at a public accounting firm as an Outsourcing Accountant. I was responsible for doing the accounting for a small lobbying group that wanted to go from a manual accounting system to an automated system, and I had to figure out how to get it done. I then realized how important it was for an accountant to understand accounting systems, as well as IT as it relates to systems.

Why Health Care for the Homeless in particular?

I had been performing accounting and consulting for various federal agencies for the past 20 years, and I was looking for a change. I reflected on my experiences as an outsourcing accountant to several non-profit organizations and decided that I wanted to return to non-profits. I wanted to join an organization that was more mission-focused where I could feel like I was making a true impact. I saw the job posting for Health Care for the Homeless. After researching, I saw that the mission was helping disadvantaged populations to obtain health care, which I believe is a basic, human right. So I decided to apply.

Overseeing the creation of our 2023 agency budget will be one of your first big projects. Our CEO often says that budgets demonstrate our values. What’s your take?

I agree, budgets do demonstrate our values! A budget gives structure and substance to an organization, while also making a strong statement about the organization’s intention and plans, as it indicates what the organization is expecting to tackle and implement in the coming years.

As CFO, you’ll be managing the Finance, IT, and Facilities & Security departments. These departments impact the work of every single staff member. What are a few ways you see racial equity and inclusion (REI) influencing your approach to the work?

I’m committed to the organization’s REI goals and objectives. I’ll encourage the organization to continue to be active and intentional about hiring and developing people from diverse backgrounds, in order to reap the rewards that increased equity and inclusion bring—such as innovation, creativity, and diverse thought processes and solutions to organizational challenges.  Furthermore, I will make sure that we keep in mind that it’s more than physical representation of diversity; we also must make people feel included to ensure that there is true equity in the workplace. Inclusion is not about counting people; it’s about making people count. 

What should staff (and others!) know about your approach to the position?

In practice, I enjoy being very hands on in the workplace. So far, the people here have been so nice, and I see a lot of opportunities to be collaborative.

One of my biggest values is about being transparent with people; communicating with everyone at the agency about the things I plan on innovating and making sure that what I say matches what I do. That’s very important to me.

You grew up in Maryland and have spent most of your career in the DMV. How would you describe your connection to Baltimore?

Yes, I grew up in Prince George’s County. I went to Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore for four years, where I lived on campus and had the opportunity to have internships in the Baltimore area.  Right out of college I worked in Owings Mills, and my work allowed me to travel a lot around the area. I ended up in Severna Park which I have enjoyed and allows me to be close to family, including my son, who just turned 21.

What is something that helps you find joy outside of work?

Taking care of and spending time with my two dogs (bull terrier mixes), Bella and Cherry!

Give Chanté a warm welcome when you see her!