The governing body of the Authority is its Board of Commissioners, which is comprised of six members, five of whom are appointed by the Pierce County Executive and ratified by County Council and one which is appointed by the Authority Board of Commissioners.

The Board appoints an Executive Director to administer the affairs of the Authority. The Authority is not considered a component unit of Pierce County, as the Board of Commissioners independently oversees the Authority's operations and Pierce County is not financially accountable for the Authority. Commissioners serve a five-year term.
 

MELANIE MORGAN (Chairperson) - Homelessness can be a few steps away for many families, an illness, loss of employment, catastrophic event or domestic violence can dramatically affect a family's ability to maintain stable housing. As a community member, I have made a commitment to advocate for affordable housing and victims of domestic violence. During the Section 8 program crisis of 2004, I advocated with success to the Pierce County Housing Authority and the Tacoma Housing Authority to refrain from porting back relocated domestic violence victims. I also spoke in Seattle at the Tenants Union rally to save the Section 8 program. While employed with the Pierce County Commission Against Domestic Violence, I developed a program that housed victims of domestic violence in their own apartments, at no cost to the client. I also have given many trainings in the Landlord/Tenant Act, Domestic Violence training for Crime Free Housing and educational classes for victims of domestic violence. I consider it a great honor to serve as a Commissioner for the Pierce County Housing Authority. It allows me to continue serving the community, which I believe, is my civic responsibility.
 

MARK P. MARTINEZ (Vice Chairperson) Mark P. Martinez was born in Seattle on February 27, 1958. He moved with his family to San Jose, CA at age two and remained there until returning to Tacoma in 1969. He went to school at Sherman Elementary, Mason Jr. High School and Bellarmine Prep., graduating in 1976. He obtained his Journeyman Roofer certification from the Pierce County Roofers Joint Apprenticeship Training Council in April of 1985. He has held various positions within the Roofer's Union Local #153 including President, Vice-President and Apprenticeship Instructor. His experience culminated with his election to the full time position of Business Manager in 1994. In 2005, Mr. Martinez was elected by his peers to the position of Executive Secretary of the Pierce County Building & Construction Trades Council, representing the interests of  the 22 construction craft unions and over 10,000 union construction workers living & working in Pierce County. Mr. Martinez has served as a trustee on the Roofer's Health and Welfare Trust and the Roofer's Local #153 Supplemental Pension Fund. He served as a member of the Pierce County Roofer's Joint Apprenticeship Training Council for sixteen years.  He is active in the trade union movement and is a member of the Executive Board of the Pierce County Central Labor Council. Community activities include serving on the Pierce County Trauma Care Task Force, the Pierce County Housing Authority Board of Commissioner, Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees, and on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Pierce County. He is a Senior Fellow of the Americian Leadership Forum of Pierce County (Class X). He lives with his wife Faye and son Darius, 14 years old, in Tacoma's South End.
 

EDWARD W. TROUGHTON (Commissioner) - Appointed to the Board in January of 2002. Ed was born in Connecticut. His father's Army career moved them often, including Germany as one of the first families stationed there post WWII. Combining his family travels with his own military and merchant marine career, he has been to every U.S capital and most countries in the free world. He has resided in Washington since the 1960's. After his term in the Merchant Marine, he pursued several careers including journeyman welder, maintenance mechanic and entrepreneurial ventures owning and operating a bar and a service station. Following a work injury, he retained and became a CAD drafter (computer assisted drafting), a career he continues to date. His outside interests include trout and ice fishing in Idaho, gardening, physical fitness, and of course computers. Ed's childhood experience in Germany included a visit to the Dachau concentration camp, which influenced him to work in his lifetime to ensure that such atrocities would not be forgotten or repeated. To that end, he has been an active volunteer. Since 2002 he has volunteered as commissioner with us and the Pierce County Human Rights Commission, also at the Tacoma YMCA since 1994. His snow white hair and beard make him the perfect, volunteer "Santa" which he personifies at community functions annually throughout Puget Sound.
  

Meloni Barnes(Commissioner) -  I was appointed as a Commissioner in April 2011. I am blessed and fortunate to be a resident of Pierce County Housing Authority's Low Income Public Housing (LIPH) program. I graduated from Moses Lake High School and subsequently moved to Tacoma in 1991. I earned both an Associate of Arts degree in Psychology and a Certificate in Human Services from Tacoma Community College. In addition, I am a Counselor Certified Advisor and a Tutor for A+ Learning Solutions. In the past, I have been a volunteer for the American Red Cross, SAF (Service Armed Forces) and currently volunteer on the Community Accountability Board with the Pierce County Juvenile Court Diversion program. I was a Living Assistance Caregiver for over three years. I am a proud mother of five and grandmother of three.

Speaking as a Commissioner and as a citizen, I think that we all have a responsibility to do everything we can to empower each other and to constantly strive to help others by sharing our time, knowledge and resources. Thank you for your support.  

Deborah Smith (Commissioner) -Deborah Smith joined the Board of Commissioners in August 2011.  She has a background in nonprofit management and spent nine years as the executive director of a transitional housing agency.  During her tenure, she spearheaded programs for domestic violence survivors and their children.  In the 1990s, Ms. Smith was involved in the national debate on welfare reform and helped to create a program which paired welfare recipients and legislators in an education exchange to foster a better understanding about the welfare system.  She is passionate about social justice issues and has previously served as a Board Member for the United Way of Pierce County, member of the Pierce County Coalition for the Homeless and program committee member for the Washington Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.  Currently Ms. Smith works for the University of Washington as a manager at the Office of Educational Assessment.    She is also an alumnus of the University of Washington and received her B.A. degree in Political Science.