Chickie Grayson

President & CEO
Enterprise Homes, Inc.

Chickie Grayson has spent 30 years developing housing for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

“I don’t think of myself an influencer, but I do feel a commitment and passion for continuing the work of Enterprise’s founders – Jim and Patty Rouse — by connecting people to opportunity,” Grayson says. “This means building more affordable homes in high-opportunity areas, while also bringing opportunity to distressed communities – where there’s often a lot of infrastructure as well as knowledge and resourcefulness.”

Grayson, who earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in urban affairs from the University of Maryland, began her career with Enterprise in 1987.

The Baltimore District Council of The Urban Land Institute has honored Grayson with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, she was inducted into the Affordable Housing Finance Hall of Fame. She has received the HOPE Leadership award for her achievements and dedication to providing homeownership opportunities for minorities.

Grayson is the immediate past president of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, and she serves on the board of directors for Parks and People Foundation, and the board of trustees of the Maryland Science Center.

Among the company’s recent projects is Metro Heights at Mondawmin, which will provide 70 affordable units in a Baltimore community scarred by the 2015 rioting.

“We all may have similar goals in life. But we don’t all have the same opportunities,” Grayson says. “And where you live – the place you call home — affects the life you can have.”

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