A look at possible successors for the Greene-free Housing Authority

The Philadelphia Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners passed a resolution yesterday to form a search committee to find a new executive director to replace Carl Greene.

Among the candidates are:

Phil Goldsmith: Former city managing director during the Street administration and past interim director of the School District of Philadelphia. Board president of CeaseFire PA, a statewide organization whose mission is to reduce handgun violence.

Nelson Diaz: Served as a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge from 1981 through 1993. Now an attorney practicing in the general litigation department of Cozen O'Connor, he handles public-housing issues, among others. Appointed by President Bill Clinton to be the general counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Ed Schwartz: Former city councilman who headed city's Office of Housing and Community Development from 1987 until 1992, overseeing rehabilitation of more than 4,000 houses and apartments for low-income residents. As founder and president of the Institute for the Study of Civic Values, he has been a national leader in movements to revitalize neighborhoods.

Rob Hess: Headed homeless services in Philadelphia and New York. Now works at the Doe Fund, a nonprofit that helps the homeless find work and housing. He is responsible for expanding the Ready, Willing & Able program.

Eva Gladstein: Serves as executive director of the 31-member Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission. She was also executive director of the Philadelphia Empowerment Zone from 1998 through 2005, when she was tapped as director of Philadelphia's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative, former Mayor Street's attempt to address blight by tearing down empty buildings and buying empty lots.

Patricia Smith: Director of special initiatives for the Philadelphia-based TRF, a national leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization. She was also a former director of the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.

- Barbara Laker