February 6: Michael Green

The Central Division of the TDH/ CDC COVID 19 Project, Meharry Medical College Office of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, and the TN CEAL nominate Mr. Michael A. Green, an exceptional Metro Department Housing Authority Employee.

Mr. Green and his team have been on the front line in the COVID 19 pandemic. As a member of the TN-CEAL partnership, he provides leadership and stewardship through services in the MDHA Affordable Housing Communities. These services include COVID 19 testing and vaccinations in the most complex communities in the state. Mr. Green does not shy away from this tough and difficult job. His work includes COVID-19 education and awareness while building confidence and acceptance among vulnerable individuals who invest their trust in Mr. Green as a trustworthy person and trusted messenger.

To date, he has held close to 30 events. One of the first events that he held was a Back to School event that provided backpacks full of supplies for the people that stayed at Cheatham Place. The families loved it and thanked everyone for caring. He also has baby shower events and Christmas events to try and make sure that families will be able to provide gifts for their children. Every event that he holds, Mr. Green is first on the scene, interacting with the residents by name, with a warm and nurturing smile. He is someone that the community he serves can count and depend on to get through this pandemic. Among the affordable housing communities that he has had events are Vine Hill Apartments, Edgefield Manor, Parkway Terrace, Cheatham Place, JP Napier, and Levy Place.

Mr. Green is someone that is passionate about the community. He has had multiple events that provided not only COVID-19 testing and vaccines, but food for the people that live in affordable housing communities.

A Nolensville, Tennessee native, Mr. Michael Green earned degrees from both the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Cumberland University, after which he became the first African-American man to graduate with a master’s degree in social work from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He is an ordained elder of the Primitive Baptist Church where he has served for 10 years. An employee of the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) for 22 years, Green began as a job search facilitator and then became a social services coordinator. Voted the Agency’s employee of the year in 2011, Green was promoted to resident association coordinator in 2015, making him the first man in the Agency’s history to hold the title.

Over the more than two decades that he has worked for MDHA, Green has created and implemented numerous community programs, including the Leading Youth in their Dreams, Inspirations and Ambitions (LYDIA) Society, an Inner-City Cotillion Group and Sparkles, a high school preparatory program. He also revitalized the practical nursing partnership with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, where MDHA staff facilitate MDHA residents enrolling in spots reserved for them in the vocational program so they can receive diplomas in nursing.

Mr. Green is a board member of Dominion Financial Management and Vaccine for All.