Who is Dr. Robert Marbut?

Dr. Marbut was recently appointed and confirmed unanimously as the Executive Director for the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. This means that he manages a council of representatives from every federal agency that is related to homelessness in any way.

He is a strong advocate for accountability in government and nonprofit programs, and has worked for many years to help people have the resources they need to exit homelessness. Dr. Marbut's main focus has been ending (not perpetuating) homelessness and breaking the vicious cycle which some systems enable.

His critics will point out that he has not supported popular "Housing First" initiatives. He believes that housing first doesn't work when it leaves out the all-important factor of case managers working with the individuals who transition out of homelessness.

He is a strong proponent of Utah values such as cooperation and self-reliance, and has done a lot of work in Salt Lake to help improve our homeless system.

Dr. Marbut has an impressive academic background, including a PhD in Government from the University of Texas with minors in American politics, international relations, and political behavior. He also has a Masters of Art in Government and Criminal Justice, with bachelor degrees in economics, political science, and psychology from Claremont.

We are grateful to have someone who knows our situation in Salt Lake City personally in such an important position of influence in the federal government. We have long said that we hope our state can be a shining example of how to address homelessness, and we hope that we can see that come to fruition with Dr. Marbut leading the national homelessness initiative.