As Sally Dunford was preparing for retirement as executive director of West Bronx Housing, a job she’s held on to for 28 years, there was already someone she had in mind to succeed her.

It didn’t require any sifting of resumes or recommendations, but an understanding of who already demonstrated the capability in doing the work. It came from Joshua Stephenson, the former constituent services director for Councilman Andrew Cohen, who had worked with Dunford over the last two years to settle housing grievances for tenants living within Cohen’s 11th Council District.

The work was already familiar to him, and Dunford immediately saw a replacement. On Jan. 9, Stephenson became the newest executive director to lead West Bronx Housing, an advocacy group falling under the Bronx Jewish Community Council. Dunford highly recommended Stephenson to the job (he still needed to formally apply), previously referring to him as a young “dynamo.”

Stephenson, 35, steadily transitioned to the role, working alongside Dunford for three months before she officially left the position. Ahead of his ascension to the role, Stephenson was  reminded of Dunford’s reputation for housing work that contributed to West Bronx Housing’s own reputation its built over the years. And he intends to continue that work.

“It’s been a humbling experience to have somebody entrust something that they’ve been building for 20 years to you, and will give it everything I have,” said Stephenson, speaking to the Norwood News from his boxy office at 220 E. 204th St.

Stephenson’s path to the Bronx came with some stops around the country. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, before living several years in Miami, FL, where he picked up how to speak Spanish at a young age. He eventually moved to Southern California, after living in Sacramento, CA and Syracuse, NY. He later enrolled at UC Berkeley, graduating with a degree in political science with a focus in international relations. But the jobs in that arena were few and far between, which Stephenson blamed on the Great Recession that had roiled the country then, and Stephenson found himself preparing pizzas for three years.

“I got tired of cooking pizza,” said Stephenson, laughing. “You can only cook so many pizzas before you get tired of the smell.”

Stephenson eventually moved to Brooklyn and found an internship with Manhattan Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright before interning at Cohen’s office in Kingsbridge. There, he fell in love with constituent work that laid the groundwork for his current role. He soon went from intern to constituent services director, enjoying the work that comes with haranguing landlords and city agencies to resolve tenant-landlord disputes. While working for Cohen, Stephenson was doubling as a waiter.

On top of helping residents settle any differences with their landlord, West Bronx Housing also helps residents apply for rent freezes, handle immigration issues, and social work. In some cases, Stephenson will accompany clients to Bronx Housing Court on the Grand Concourse, lending his thoughts on individual cases.

That kind of outreach is happening in other parts of the nonprofit’s work, including a plan for several know-your-rights workshops he has in mind. Such workshops haven’t been so well received within West Bronx Housing’s immediate area of Bedford Park as Community Board 7, whose office is directly across the street, led a housing workshop that was poorly attended despite publicity surrounding it.

Stephenson looks to try a different tact, relying heavily on its email list with names, somewhere in the thousands, that have accrued over the last few years. “We can hold events basically anywhere—[Community Boards] 5, 7, 8, and 12,” said Stephenson. “We have huge lists of clients, and huge lists of locations that we can hold events.”

It’s Stephenson’s hope that tenants will be well-versed in tenant matters, especially now since the state enacted stronger rent laws last year, adding greater protections to renters. He anticipates landlords, with some already suing the state because of the rent laws, will skirt some of the measures that include eliminating vacancy bonuses and reducing the monetary impact of Major Capital Improvements. Stephenson is now wary that landlords will begin targeting the New York City Rent Guidelines Board for some monetary relief.

“The Rent Guidelines Board increases are going to be substantially larger moving forward because landlords are going to put a lot of pressure on the Board and the mayor to give them larger increases,” said Stephenson. “There’s nowhere else for landlords to go.”

As Stephenson braces for a fight with landlords, West Bronx Housing’s mantra : treat renters fairly.

“Housing impacts everybody on a personal level,” said Stephenson. “I fundamentally believe that housing is a right for everyone … [residents] deserve to live in dignity.”