Frederick D. Wacker
Director and Chief Operating Officer

A 32-year veteran working to provide affordable housing opportunities for low-income families, Fred’s role as director and COO of The Home Depot Foundation is a natural progression from his previous 14 years of work between the Fannie Mae Foundation and Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Fred’s primary focus is to shepherd the Foundation’s 5-year strategic plan and position the Foundation as a knowledge leader in affordable housing built responsibly, urban forestry and sustainable community development.   

Fred also manages many of the Foundation’s national partnerships including the Habitat for Humanity International $30 million grant relationship supporting the Partners in Sustainable Building program, which is currently being piloted with 30 Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the United States.

Prior to joining The Home Depot, Fred served as Southeast regional director for the Fannie Mae Foundation where he developed and managed an annual philanthropic program of $2 million in grants, $1 million in loan fund investments and a significant number of strategic charitable benefit event sponsorships provided to nonprofit organizations in 11 Southeastern states. He was awarded the Fannie Mae Foundation’s Chairman’s Service Award in both 2002 and 2003.

During his tenure at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, Fred designed and developed the monitoring and tracking systems for the Bank’s Affordable Housing Program which ultimately became a model for the entire Federal Home Loan Bank system.

Originally from Newark, N.J., Fred has lived in Georgia for 31 years where he has served as a board/advisory committee member for many community organizations including the Mid South Delta Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Atlanta Mutual Housing Association, the Southern Rural Development Initiative and the Mixed Income Communities Initiative, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership.

A graduate of Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, Fred currently lives in Madison, Ga. with his family. He spends his free time as a troop leader for the Boy Scouts of America and is involved in the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy. Fred is also a professionally trained and certified stained glass artisan.