UCDD-UCHRA Photo | UCDD-UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley addresses executive committee members on June 17, 2026.
The following was published by the UC Now and can be found by clicking here.
UCDD/UCHRA is implementing a new strategic plan designed to help regional residents achieve self-sufficiency through innovation and leadership. Executive Director Mark Farley said the agency spent approximately six months developing the plan to serve as a guiding document for the combined operations of both agencies.
“Our mission is to help the citizens of this region cultivate self-sufficiency and true wealth through innovation, collaboration, and leadership,” Farley said. “And I truly believe the employees of these two agencies live that each and every day.”
The strategic plan is built upon seven binding principles that Farley referred to as pillars, which address transportation, dignified housing, and intentional economic growth.
“We believe the citizens of the Upper Cumberland must be able to freely flow from community to community for them to be successful,” Farley said. “We need dignified and accessible housing. Of course, we fill a role in that through our housing department of making sure the seniors have safe housing to live in or people with disabilities and targeted groups.”
Farley said the plan also emphasizes economic mobility by maintaining a strong safety net for the region. Farley said programs like Empower Upper Cumberland are designed to ensure those facing difficult times have a necessary support system.
“I think the Upper Cumberland’s doing really well right now from an economic development standpoint,” Farley said. “We’ve got a great number of small businesses like the one we just illustrated here. We’ve got some great corporate partnerships and I’m going to tell you, all across our region, our team is working with the larger regional team that’s in place that we know and trust in each and every day.”
The board also approved a specific shift in how county offices operate under the Human Resource Agency. Farley said the agency is moving away from a reactive model where staff simply wait for residents to request financial assistance.
“They’re still going to do that but trying to move it to be more proactive, where they’re working with the young working family, trying to implement some of the best practices we’ve learned and hopefully not get them to be in the point where they’ve been in the past,” Farley said.
Farley said the agency intends to apply lessons learned from a $25 million Tennessee Opportunity Act pilot grant that served 900 families over the last four years. Farley said the goal is to get families headed on the right track before they reach a point of crisis.
