Success Stories
C. Owen Highfill: 2008 PMF
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130214212414im_/http://www.pmf.gov/media/40078/highfill.jpg)
I began work at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise
Oversight (OFHEO) on July 21, 2008, as a planning analyst on the
performance and planning team. Nine days later, President Bush
signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which created
the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) by combining the staffs
of OFHEO, the Federal Housing Finance Board, and a mission office
of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was an
incredible opportunity to be a part of the winding down of two
agencies and the start up of a new federal regulator. As a planning
analyst, I helped create FHFA's first planning and performance
documents, including the Agency Strategic Plan, the annual Agency
Performance Plan, and the Performance and Accountability Report.
During my fellowship, I also completed several internal rotations
in FHFA's mission offices and was able to see first-hand how FHFA
regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) and the 12
Federal Home Loan Banks.
At the conclusion of my fellowship, I accepted a position in the
Office of Conservatorship Operations (OCO) as a conservatorship
operations specialist. FHFA created the office after placing the
Enterprises in conservatorship on September 6, 2008. OCO
facilitates communication and decision-making between the
Enterprises and FHFA management and oversees the Enterprises' roles
in the Making Home Affordable program. My experience working in OCO
during this unprecedented time in our nation's housing finance
system has been invaluable, filled with challenges and fantastic
learning opportunities. It has been exciting and rewarding to be a
part of an agency and an office that play such strong leadership
roles in the national response to the housing finance crisis.