MEMPHIS (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam has appointed Memphis-area homebuilder Kim Grant Brown as the first woman to head the Tennessee Housing Development Agency's board of directors.

A news release Tuesday from the agency says Brown led a meeting as board chairwoman for the first time on Tuesday.

Brown was appointed to the board in December 2015.

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville graduate served as president of the West Tennessee Home Builders Association in 2014.

She manages her own construction company and partners with the family real estate group, Grant & Company.

The agency was created by the state legislature in 1973 to providing financing opportunities that encourage affordable housing projects, and to ensure housing availability regardless of income, disability or age.