Anne Catherine Sullivan Peterson passed away peacefully on July 10, 2023.

Anne Peterson was born in Syracuse, NY February 14, 1944 where she lived for much of her life. She was a graduate of Syracuse University where she earned a BA in English, MA in Library Science, and a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School. She loved Syracuse.

Anne Peterson dedicated her career to enabling people of all incomes, ages, races, and ethnicities to secure housing. In 1996 she moved to Rochester, NY to become the Executive Director of the Housing Council of Monroe County. Under her leadership The Housing Council assisted more than ten thousand individuals annually to access housing. Anne provided leadership and advice nationally through her roles on the Board of Directors of the early years of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and assisted many individuals throughout the country who consulted with her to resolve issues regarding mortgage lenders. Her expertise and successful battles with lenders in the early 1990’s expanded the availability of home mortgages to many communities and thousands of new homeowners throughout Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania.

Together with the City of Rochester and Monroe County The Housing Council created programs including landlord & tenant education, mortgage relief assistance, a first time homebuyers program, rental rehabilitation, and Fair Housing/Community Choice Initiatives.

In addition, the Housing Council, under Anne’s leadership, administered the Rochester Housing Authority’s Section 8 Regional Opportunity Counseling (ROC) Program, which made it possible for City families to relocate from the inner city to towns and villages.  ROC families were assigned sponsors to assist families in transitioning into their new communities and to reside in quality housing. In 2005 Anne Peterson wrote the “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice for Monroe County”.

Anne was a member of the City/County Homeless Continuum of Care Implementation Team, which brought in over $3 million dollars annually to address the housing and supportive service needs of the homeless in the Rochester community.

She worked closely with the Rochester Realtors Association to provide fair housing training to realtors, a highly praised “best practices” program model used throughout the US.

Annually, Anne taught a Fair Housing/Affordable Housing class at Monroe County Community College developed for affordable housing developers, realtors, lawyers, architects, engineers, and city/county municipal employees. Anne was exceptionally dedicated to helping family and senior households, developmentally disabled persons, homeless persons, landlords, and realtors.

For 15 years Anne Peterson wrote the column titled “Apartments” in the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper, which addressed countless questions from landlords and tenants.

Anne Peterson is survived by her daughter Laura Anne Peterson and son-in-law Jonathan Pope, her sister Lora Sullivan McCooey and brother-in-law Patrick McCooey, nephews Sean and Michael McCooey, daughter-in-law Florence and great nieces Caela and Susie. She is predeceased by her brother Edward Sullivan, whose children live in the Syracuse area. Anne was the widow of Dr. Philip L. Peterson, a professor and scholar of Philosophy at Syracuse University.

Anne loved reading, seeing plays, traveling, knitting, gardening, and cats. Her intelligence, wit, and love was felt by many. But most of all by her daughter, Laura Anne.

A gathering to remember Anne will be scheduled soon.