Marion joined IEM as Vice President of Disaster Recovery in February 2024. A recognized leader in affordable housing, disaster recovery, and community resilience, Marion has over 25 years of experience managing federal grant programs and multi-billion dollar budgets. Marion has dedicated her career to strengthening and accelerating federal support for communities devastated by disasters. Her expertise and leadership have earned her a powerful voice in shaping national recovery efforts, having been called on six times to testify, both on Capitol Hill and in the field, helping to drive meaningful improvements in disaster response and recovery.

Before joining IEM, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), overseeing $10 billion annually and leading a team of 900. She directed federal programs to combat homelessness, expand affordable housing, strengthen local economies, and support disaster recovery. As HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Marion sought feedback on how HUD administers CDBG-Disaster Recovery grants and implemented dozens of changes to allow states and local governments to rebuild more quickly.

Previously, as Senior Vice President at Enterprise Community Partners, she advanced national housing policy. She led nationwide work to create healthy, green affordable housing and to support resilience planning and programs in communities impacted by flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and extreme heat.

Previously, Marion served CPD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, where she oversaw affordable housing and community development programs, including the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the Housing Trust Fund, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and CDBG Disaster Recovery funds. In this role, she formed and facilitated multiple public-private partnerships, including the award-winning Rebuild by Design initiative and the National Disaster Resilience Competition. Earlier in her career she served as Chief Operating Officer and Acting Executive Director of the federal Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force and as program counsel for CPD and Native American programs.

Marion holds a JD magna cum laude from Howard University and a BA from Northwestern University.