LAFAYETTE, La. — After 26 years leading Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, Executive Director Melinda Taylor has announced she will retire in December 2026, leaving behind a legacy of building homes and helping families across Acadiana achieve homeownership.
“It's been a great privilege of my life to do this work,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s work with Habitat for Humanity began in the 1990s in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, before she moved to Lafayette to lead the local affiliate. To date, more than 150 Habitat homes have been built across Acadiana.
“I really thought, this is something I think I want to do for the rest of my life, or the rest of my career anyway… and maybe the rest of my life. We'll see as a volunteer. But I don't think I envisioned the full scope of what we would be able to accomplish here,” Taylor said.
During her 26-year career with Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, Taylor helped families build new beginnings through some of the community’s most challenging moments. That includes recovery efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as helping families like Kayla Moton's achieve the dream of homeownership.
“Once you're in it, once you're building houses, once you see those people, once you see what comes out of it – it's hard to quantify exactly the impact that Habitat has on the community, and for myself, because it's just such an amazing program,” Moton said.
While Habitat helped change the lives of local families, Taylor said the work changed her as well. Seeing the barriers many families faced when trying to become homeowners inspired her to focus on building the best homes possible.
For families like Moton’s, Taylor leaves behind more than a legacy of homes — she leaves a legacy of hope.
“Thank you so much for everything that you've done, all the hearts that you have touched and all the hearts that you will continue to touch, whether you're physically within that office or not," Moton told Taylor. "You have been an instrumental part of our community and we are blessed for that,” she added.
