Meet Kyle Huhtanen of Cobb County-Smryna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Huhtanen.

Hi Kyle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Educated as an architect, I chose a path that took me into the non-profit sector working in faith-based missions to serve the neighbor. After living and working with facility development for a medical mission in Honduras for over 12 years, I returned to the USA landing in Atlanta in 2012. Through some intentional decisions to stay connected to community, I began a 10-year journey to preserve senior affordable housing. As Executive Director of an organization that owned and managed two senior affordable housing communities, I led efforts to rehab, extend wrap around services and strengthen partnerships for financing. I had the unique opportunity to join Habitat for Humanity at the beginning of 2025 as the CEO of the Habitat NWMA affiliate. This new mission opens the door to address the crisis of affordable housing through new homes that give families a chance to build a house, find stability and achieve the dream of home ownership.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Making the decision to move as a young adult to a distant land allowed me to obtain invaluable life experiences. Staying for 12 years created a difficult transition back to the USA. I had to validate my experiences in these distant locations were transferable and my skills applicable to the US professional job market. Navigating that time of returning to a traditional architecture career or further pursuing my passion for building community was tough. I went as a single man and returned as a husband and father of 2. The tenacity to find my way back to meaningful and purposeful work was a journey that took a few years.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Educated as a designer always pushes me to be a critical thinker in the process of addressing challenges and leading projects. While not practicing architecture, I find affinity with work that requires me thinking outside the box to find solutions that will work with the constraints. The journey through my professional work has achieved measurable outcomes that had previously been dreams and plans in the life of the organization. The creation of new facilities to serve the medical attention in Honduras and rehabbed buildings to continue the mission of affordable housing in Atlanta have given me a sense of purpose. Now I am confronted with a new challenge that also requires creativity and alternative approaches to open up avenues for families to achieve home ownership.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding a mentor requires intentional and sincere actions to ask for guidance. The humility to say I will do better work with your help can be a tough step. Networking requires time and the ability to navigate being uncomfortable. New contacts come with frequent encounters to new circles of people. I find I just have to go and start conversations with the person in my proximity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.habitatnwma.org
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-huhtanen-a1bb36b/