Staff Spotlight: Frances Marie Pugh
"In every aspect of homeless services, the principal question is always how decisions will impact someone who is currently experiencing homelessness."
This post was updated on 7/31/2026 as Frances Marie departs Homeward to pursue graduate school.
As Frances Marie Pugh prepares to begin graduate school to pursue a degree in Public Policy, we want to celebrate the incredible impact she has made on our organization, our community, and our neighbors experiencing homelessness. During her six years Homeward, Frances Marie's leadership has strengthened our community's response to homelessness and elevated the voices of those most affected by housing instability.
Among her many accomplishments, Frances Marie played an integral role in helping secure increased federal funding to support housing and services for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, as well as survivors fleeing domestic violence. Her advocacy and policy expertise contributed to expanding resources that will have a lasting impact on some of our community's most vulnerable neighbors.
Her leadership has also been recognized at the local and state levels. In 2026, Frances Marie was selected for the Emerging Leaders in Nonprofits program through the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond and was honored with the 2023 Virginia Housing Alliance (VHA) Emerging Leader Award, recognizing her dedication to advancing housing solutions and strengthening communities across the Commonwealth.
Whether collaborating with community partners, shaping policy conversations, or championing innovative solutions, Frances Marie has consistently brought compassion, intelligence, and determination to every challenge. While we will certainly miss her at Homeward, we couldn't be more excited to see what she accomplishes next. We know that graduate school is only the beginning of an extraordinary career in public policy, and we look forward to watching the positive impact she will continue to make.
Please join us in congratulating Frances Marie and wishing her the very best as she begins this exciting new chapter. Thank you, Frances Marie, for your leadership, your advocacy, and your unwavering commitment to ending homelessness!
Below is the original Staff Spotlight post on Frances Marie from 2025:
Q: How did you get into homeless services as a field of work?
A: I started in homeless services as an AmeriCorps VISTA through Virginia Housing Alliance. My background is in economics, public policy, and direct service through volunteerism, so homeless services turned out to be an unexpectedly natural fit!
Q: What’s your job at Homeward and has it evolved since you first joined?
A: When I first started at Homeward, my role was a little bit of everything. I found my niche in writing coordinated funding applications and have helped our community secure an additional $3.8 million in competitive funds dedicated to homeless services. In my current role, I mostly focus on ways to improve the efficiency and efficacy of coordinated funds in our community, in addition to supporting our competitive funding competitions and grants administration.
Q: What are some parts of your job that you enjoy?
A: I most enjoy the opportunities that I have to be in-person with our partners! In my role, I see the system from a very different perspective than from those on the ground doing the work, so it’s incredibly valuable to me to learn from our partners and the amazing professionals who serve in contexts that I don’t normally see.
Q: Is there anything you wish more people knew or understood about homeless services as a field of work?
A: As a field of work, I wish that more people understood just how person-centered the work is. In every aspect of homeless services, the principal question is always how decisions will impact someone who is currently experiencing homelessness, especially in policy and funding decisions.
Q: What motivates you?
A: I am motivated by the knowledge that the work we do at Homeward makes a positive difference in the lives of our neighbors experiencing homelessness, both presently and in the future. I also am motivated by the hope that the work we do will not only reduce the total number of people experiencing homelessness in our region, but strengthen our community’s integrated safety net resources to respond when someone experiences a housing crisis at any level.
