Effective July 12, Carol Galante will serve as acting commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) after being named to the position by President Obama.

In her new role, Galante, a licensed real estate broker with a Master of City Planning degree from U.C. Berkeley, will manage the agency’s insurance portfolio, including multifamily housing, health care facilities, and more than 20% of mortgages in the domestic single-family market, says HUD.

Galante previously served as deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and replaces former acting commissioner Robert C. Ryan, who vacated the position to become a senior advisor to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

Prior to that, the new acting commissioner also served as President of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, which specializes in the development of family and senior affordable apartments, rental and ownership housing.

Ryan was previously responsible for overseeing FHA’s enterprise risk management functions in a division encompassing all of its business lines since October 2009; this included single-family, multifamily and healthcare lines. In April 2011, Ryan took over as acting commissioner for the FHA after Commissioner David Stevens left to head the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“I am extremely confident that her proven track record is exactly what HUD needs to continue moving the FHA forward,” HUD Secretary Donovan said in a statement. “I am also pleased to bring Bob Ryan into my office to work closely with me on issues such as housing finance reform.”

Written by Alyssa Gerace