Board of Governors
Susan Baldwin
Senior Regional Planner, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
Ms. Baldwin is a senior regional planner for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), where she has worked for the past 18 years. At SANDAG she manages the Regional Housing Program and other regional planning projects focused on integrating transportation and land use decision-making.
Ms. Baldwin’s responsibilities have included: staffing several housing-related committees/working groups at SANDAG, writing housing elements for SANDAG member agencies, participating in a number of housing element reform efforts at the state level, assisting in the preparation of the Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP) for the San Diego region and associated Smart Growth Concept Map, and carrying out the last two Regional Housing Needs Assessments (RHNAs) for the 1999-2004 and 2005-2010 housing element cycles. She also managed the development of SANDAG’s pilot housing element self-certification program, which was established by state legislation in 1995; and co-managed the I-15 Interregional Partnership (I-15 IRP), which focused on developing strategies to address the jobs/housing imbalance and long distance commuting between the southwestern Riverside County and San Diego regions.
Ms. Baldwin has a degree in American Studies from the University of Colorado. She is a member of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners, and has lived and worked in the San Diego region for the past 27 years. In 2003, she was awarded a fellowship from the Fannie Mae Foundation to attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University. Prior to her current position she worked for the planning departments of the cities of La Mesa and San Diego.
Web site: www.sandag.org
Shiloh Ballard
Director of Housing and Community Development, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Shiloh Ballard is the Director of Housing and Community Development for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy trade group founded in 1978.
In her role with the Manufacturing Group, Shiloh helps direct the activities of SVMG's Land Use & Housing Committee and works with industry, civic and community leaders to develop innovative solutions to the region's housing, land use challenges. Shiloh also staffs the Housing Action Coalition and the Housing Leadership Council, two unique coalitions founded by SVMG. As staff to the HAC, a diverse coalition of environmentalists, businesses, labor and housing advocates, Shiloh works at the grassroots level to organize community support for more compact, appropriately-located home development proposals.
Shiloh has worked for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and State Senator Byron Sher. She serves on the board of the Santa Clara County Chapter of the League of Conservation Voters and has recently served on the boards of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Community Technology Alliance.
Web site: www.svmg.org
Annette Billingsley
Senior Vice President & Division Head, Union Bank of California
Annette Billingsley heads Union Bank's Community Development Finance (CDF) group, overseeing the bank's loans and equity investments in affordable housing across the United States, which total more than $2 billion. Annette brings more than 20 years experience in real estate finance and decades of leadership with major civic organizations to this position. As the head of the CDF group, Annette not only works to improve Union Bank's bottom line, but also helps to advance its corporate social responsibility mission. The CDF group helps to spur community development through the creation of affordable housing, emphasizing smart growth and environmental sustainability. Prior to joining Community Development Finance in fall 2009, Annette oversaw national real estate lending at Union Bank for more that 14 years. She began her career with Union Bank in 1984 as a trainee and then moved on to work at other major financial institutions including Security Pacific Bank, and Credit Agricole (now known as CALYON). Annette has been a member of the Urban Land Institute for more than 15 years and has been an active contributor to the organization's San Francisco district council and national council. She sits on the Board of the Golden Gate Chapter of Lambda Alpha International, which is the Honorary Society for the Advancement of Land Economics, and is a long-time member of the San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust. Annette graduated with a B.S. in Economics from Arizona State University and an MBA in Finance from Penn State University. is the Director of Housing and Community Development for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy trade group founded in 1978.
Website: www.uboc.com
Peter Carey
President & CEO, Self-Help Enterprises
Peter Carey is President/CEO of Self-Help Enterprises (SHE), a nonprofit housing and community development organization serving 8 counties in the San Joaquin Valley. Founded by Quakers in 1965, SHE has developed over 5,600 single family homes and 1000 rental housing units, and has rehabilitated another 5500 homes. Overall, SHE has assisted nearly 7000 families to become first-time homeowners. In addition, SHE provides program management for housing programs in partner communities throughout the Valley and is active in bringing wastewater treatment and clean drinking water to rural communities.
Carey is past president of the National Rural Housing Coalition, past president of California Coalition for Rural Housing and a member of the Housing Assistance Council board. As past Mayor, Council Member and Planning Commissioner for the City of Visalia, he is active in his community. In 2002, Peter received the Clay Cochran Award for Distinguished Service in Housing for the Rural Poor, recognizing "outstanding and enduring service, with national impact," and in 2006 received LISC's Mike Sviridoff Award. He was appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger to the CalHFA Board of Directors.
Web site: www.selfhelpenterprises.org
Alice Carr
Market Director of California and Nevada for Citibank Community Development
Previous to becoming the director, she served as a loan officer with Citibank and California Federal Bank’s Multifamily Affordable Housing Group. Her other affordable housing experience includes working at the Low Income Investment Fund and the Policy and Planning Division of the Los Angeles Housing Department. Alice completed her undergraduate degree at Occidental College and subsequently earned an M.A from the University of California, Los Angeles in Urban Planning, with a concentration in housing and community development.
At Citibank, Alice currently manages a team of loan officers and analysts who originate and underwrite a wide variety of residential, commercial and mixed-use community development properties throughout California and Nevada. These projects utilize a variety of subsidies including Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Tax-Exempt Multifamily Revenue Bonds, annually renewable Section 8 contracts, HOME/CDBG funds, redevelopment funds, the Affordable Housing Program, and Shelter Plus Care, among others. Projects vary in structure and size, ranging from 100% affordable, restricted rent multi-family complexes to mixed-use developments with large or small retail components.
Web site: www.citibank.com
Larry Clemens
Senior Vice President, San Diego Housing Commission
Web site: www.sdhc.net
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Bernard T. Deasy
President, Merritt Community Capital
Bernard T. Deasy has served as President of Merritt Community Capital since February 1997. Mr. Deasy has over 30 years of affordable housing and finance experience in both the public and private sectors. His experience includes over ten years in Public Finance Investment Banking as well as public sector service as the Deputy Executive Director of the San Francisco Housing Authority and several senior management positions with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mr. Deasy received an MBA (1967) and a BS degree (1963) in Real Estate and Finance from San Jose State University. Mr. Deasy is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and serves on the Board of Directors of the California Community Reinvestment Corporation, Bay Area Community Services, Oakland Housing Initiatives, Inc. and the Loan Committee of the Low Income Investment Fund.
Web site: www.merrittcap.org
Mariano Diaz
Vice President, Western Region, Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC)
Mariano comes to LISC from The San Diego Foundation, a $500 million community foundation, where as senior vice president, community partnerships, for the last five years he was responsible for the strategic planning, implementation of community improvement programs and supporting grants in the areas of human services; science and technology; environment; arts and culture; and civil society.
Prior to that, Diaz was global director for the Nike Foundation and community affairs operations. He was a member of the global corporate social responsibility team where he positioned Nike as a leader in youth civic engagement, sustainable community programs and Nike philanthropic initiatives. He communicated Nike’s corporate social responsibility agenda to statewide and national philanthropic institutions, professional associations, elected officials and nonprofit organizations.
Earlier, as owner and principal consultant of Esme & Associates, he provided capacity building strategies to California-based nonprofit organizations and public service agencies. He also worked in executive positions at The California Endowment, Blue Cross of California, Nestle USA, The James Irvine Foundation and other community service nonprofits. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a master’s of education degree in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University’s graduate school of education.
Web site: www.lisc.org
Lucetta “Lucy” Dunn
President & CEO, Orange County Business Council
Lucetta “Lucy” Dunn, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and confirmed by the California State Senate in 2004 to serve as the Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that operates under the aegis of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency in Sacramento.
Dunn’s position includes oversight for administering the state’s housing finance, rehabilitation, and community development programs; oversight of the state’s housing planning and code-setting processes, and regulate manufactured housing and mobile home parks. HCD funds awarded since January 2004 will create at least 25,000 affordable homes and shelter spaces for Californians.
Dunn’s diverse leadership skills and outstanding background earned her the title of California State Legislature “Woman of the Year 1997” in recognition of her “civic involvement, influence and participation in public policy and planning task forces”.
During her professional builder-developer career, Lucy Dunn negotiated the precedent-setting sale of the 900 acre Bolsa Chica wetlands for restoration as part of a balanced plan that also included residential development. She most recently served as the past Executive Vice President of Hearthside Homes, a division of California Coastal Communities, one of Southern California’s premiere homebuilders. Previously she acted as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Signal Landmark Homes and Koll Real Estate Group.
In 2001, she served as President of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, representing the interests of 225,000 employees of more than 1,800 member companies. Since then she served as vice president of the California Building Industry Association; director of the National Association of Home Builders; as a member of the Urban Land Institute and a founding member of the Foundation for Economic and Environmental Progress.
Ms. Dunn has been a director and/or member of a number of non-profit organizations, including chair of the Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation since 2002; member of the Orange County Business Council, and the California Office of Historic Preservation’s subcommittee on Archaeology.
Ms. Dunn’s civic involvement includes participation in a variety of public policy task forces: Governor Davis’ Commission on Building for the 21st Century, the Orange County Privatization Task Force, El Toro Reuse Plan and the County of Orange/League of Cities Sphere of Influence Task Force.
Dunn earned her Juris Doctorate from Western State University, College of Law, and thereafter managed her own law firm from 1981-87. She is a member of the California State Bar and Orange County Bar Associations, as well as having been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and Federal District Courts of Appeal. She is the proud mom to her two sons, one of whom is a recent Chapman University graduate, and the other now plays football for the University of Louisiana as he pursues his degree.
Web site: www.ocbc.org
Ann Gressani
Policy Development and Communications Director, NPH
Ann manages NPH’s public policy and communications agenda. She is actively involved with our members, working groups and coalition partners on state and federal legislative activities. She also oversees NPH’s publications, including the newsletter and policy reports as well as our website.
Ann’s career includes over seventeen years experience in government relations, public policy analysis and political strategic planning. She was Principal Consultant the California State Senate committee on Energy and Public Utilities where she managed staff responsible for policy development and analysis. She also managed government relations for MCI Telecommunications where she organized effective legislative, regulatory and public issue campaigns in California and other western states. Ann is a graduate of the University of Santa Clara and lives in Oakland with her family.
Web site: www.nonprofithousing.org/
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Web site: www.haca.net
Robin Hughes
Executive Director, Los Angeles Community Design Center
Ms. Hughes is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Community Design Center. She has over twenty years of experience in the affordable housing and community development industry. She has worked with for-profit and non-profit developers in the syndication, financing, construction, development and management of affordable housing. Prior to rejoining LACDC in January 1996, Ms. Hughes served as the Housing Director for the organization between 1990 and 1994. In addition to her non-profit experience, she has held positions in the private and public sectors with The Richman Group of Companies, Citibank, the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, and the Office of the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles.
Ms. Hughes received her Master and Bachelor degrees in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a certification from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Program Achieving Excellence in Community Development. She is a Planning Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles. She also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Low Income Investment Fund and CityLife Downtown Charter School, the Board of Governance for the California Housing Consortium, and the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of Drew Economic Development Corporation, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, Mercy Charities Housing of California, and the Southern California Association of Non-profit Housing.
Web site: www.losangelescommunitydesigncenter.com
Lynn Hutchins
Partner, Goldfarb & Lipman
Lynn Hutchins is a partner at Goldfarb & Lipman practicing in the areas of affordable housing, environmental law, real estate finance and redevelopment. She represents numerous nonprofit corporations and public agencies on the development, financing and management of low and moderate income projects and programs. Ms. Hutchins frequently advises and lectures on labor issues related to housing and community development projects.
Ms. Hutchins also represents many redevelopment agencies in the adoption, amendment and implementation of redevelopment plans. She advises redevelopment agencies on the requirements for low and moderate income housing under the Community Redevelopment Law, and has structured numerous transactions with redevelopment agencies and other public entities relating to housing developments. She is a co-author of A Legal Guide to California Redevelopment (Third Edition), a leading reference source on redevelopment legal issues.
She received a J.D. degree from King Hall School of Law, University of California, Davis, with Order of Coif honors, 1984. She graduated from Stanford University in 1980 with an A.B. degree in Human Biology, with an emphasis in environmental policy.
Web site: www.goldfarblipman.com
Web site: www.ci.richmond.ca.us
Keeley Kirkendall
Executive Vice President, PNC ARCS LLC
Keeley Kirkendall has over 20 years experience in commercial real estate, delivering both debt and equity on over $4 billion of real estate business nationwide. He currently serves as Executive Vice President, in charge of Affordable Housing for PNC ARCS.
Prior to joining ARCS, Keeley was President of Edison Capital Housing Investments (ECHI), managing new acquisitions as well as their $1.2 billion national investment portfolio of multifamily properties. ECHI invested in Low Income Housing and Historic Tax Credits for their own account as well as syndications.
Keeley has served on the boards of California Community Reinvestment Corporation, California Housing Consortium, Board Chair of the LISC Advisory Committee, Long Beach Day Nursery, and National Association of Industrial Office Parks. He is also a guest lecturer for the University of California, Berkeley and USC, MBA programs.
Web site: www.askarcs.com
Leslye Krutko
Director, City of San Jose--Housing Department
Leslye Krutko has over 25 years of experience in the affordable housing field in both State and local government positions. Since 2001, Ms. Krutko has served as the Director for the City of San José’s Housing Department, having held the position of Assistant Director for ten-year period beginning in 1991. Under her leadership, the Department has become one of the most active and well-respected housing organizations in the nation. Serving as a public-purpose lender, the Department has financed the construction of more than 17,000 affordable housing units since 1988, leveraging $2.3 billion in private and public capital with $566 million in City loans and grants. In addition to multi-family housing production, the City has assisted more than 1,600 homebuyers to buy their first home, including over 600 public school teachers. And, more than 13,000 homes have received housing rehabilitation assistance.
Prior to joining the City of San José in 1991, Ms. Krutko worked for the State of California in its Departments of Developmental Services and Housing and Community Development. She was appointed by the Governor to the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s senior staff and was responsible for the daily oversight of the State’s housing loan and grant programs, including administration of the State’s first affordable housing bond initiatives that made $600 million available for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing throughout the State.
Leslye earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science/Public Service from the University of California at Davis.
Web site: www.sjhousing.org
Dennis Lalor
Executive Director, South County Housing Corporation
Dennis Lalor joined South County Housing in 1986 and has served as the chief executive officer since 1997. In his current capacity as President/CEO, he has overseen the expansion of the agency’s California service area from Santa Clara County into San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties, serving urban and rural communities in some of the least affordable and difficult to develop areas of the nation. Mr. Lalor provides general oversight for all housing development, property management, neighborhood services, and housing construction. He is responsible for overall management of three corporations, South County Housing, South County Property Management and South County Community Builders with a staff of 100 and a portfolio of more than 2400 single-family, multi-family and commercial units, and 1500 units in development. Mr. Lalor serves as spokesperson for South County Housing and advocates actively for affordable housing at the local, state and national levels.
He began his career in community development at SCH as Housing Rehab Program Manager in 1986, before serving as Single-Family Program Director and Housing Development Director. Mr. Lalor received his undergraduate degree from San Jose State University and holds the General Contractor’s License for the Corporation.
Dennis sits on the boards and advisory committees of numerous organizations, including the California Coalition for Rural Housing, National Rural Housing Coalition, Neighborhood Capital Corporation, the Rural Network Alliance and the Rural Advisory Committee of LISC.
Web site: www.scounty.com
Jennifer LeSar
President & CEO, LeSar Development Company
Jennifer LeSar started her career in Boston in 1985, has over two decades of experience in the real estate industry, and brings a diverse background to community development and urban revitalization. Her professional and voluntary work in the private, non-profit and governmental sectors has been focused at the national, state, regional and local levels.
Prior to starting LeSar Development Company, Jennifer spent 9 years as an investment banker arranging real estate equity investments in properties and funds, and the 12 years before that as an affordable housing developer. She has developed and / or financed approximately $3 billion in residential and commercial properties.She has worked on the development, financial consulting, investment, and policy sides of the community development and affordable housing business. She has extensive experience with the capital markets including public and private debt, and both total return and tax-motivated equity investing. She received her MBA in real estate, finance and nonprofit management and her MA in Urban Planning both from UCLA. Her bachelor’s degree is from Bryn Mawr College.
LeSar Development Company (LDC) specializes in urban infill and community-oriented real estate consulting. Services include housing policy development, financial and deal structuring, feasibility analysis, full-scale real estate project management, procurement of debt and equity, and asset and portfolio repositioning.
Web site: www.lesardevelopment.com
Kristen Lonner
Principle & Executive Vice President, Cerrell Associates
Kristen Montet Lonner is responsible for oversight of Cerrell’s Land Use and Planning division. She is an experienced land use planner and political strategist with an extensive career in the public sector working on a variety of development projects. Her expertise helps clients successfully navigate the public entitlements process.
A former Los Angeles city council deputy, Kristen began her career as an intern with Los Angeles City Councilmember Laura Chick. A subsequent role on Cindy Miscikowski’s victorious city council campaign team led to Kristen’s selection as Miscikowski’s Westside Field Deputy specializing in public works, building, and safety and planning issues.
In 1999, Kristen was tapped to join Miscikowski’s legislative staff as the associate planning deputy responsible for urban planning and development issues. Kristen worked directly with Miscikowski and was subsequently named her chief planning deputy. Kristen also handled citywide-planning issues when Miscikowski served as the vice chair of the council’s planning and land use committee.
In October of 2003, Kristen was named the director of land use planning for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s new construction program. The program brings over 300 school construction projects to the Los Angeles area and is the largest public works project in the U.S. LAUSD promoted Kristen to Chief of Staff to the deputy chief facilities executive of new construction. In this position, she tackled difficult political decisions and negotiated with city councilmembers and state elected officials on a wide range of issues.
Following her time at LAUSD, Kristen served as vice president of land use for GCG Rose & Kindel, representing developers seeking entitlements for projects throughout Southern California.
A UCLA graduate, Kristen is the chair of the Ralph J. Bunche Scholarship for the UCLA Alumni Association and serves on the UCLA Alumni Association scholarship steering committee. Kristen is also the president of the 900-member Los Angeles County Young Democrats. In addition to her leadership in those groups, Kristen serves as the public relations chair for the Westside Urban Forum and sits on land use committees for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Central City Association, and the Los Angeles Business Council assisting them with policy development and outreach. Kristen is a graduate of the Los Angeles Chamber’s Leadership LA program.
Web site: www.cerrell.com
Principal, Daniel B. Lopez & Associates
Daniel B. Lopez has over 30 years experience in the affordable housing field with significant experience in finance, development and policy making. He started his career at the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in 1976 where he worked on a major land use-transportation study for Santa Clara County and later became ABAG's Housing Program Manager. In 1983 he was recruited by Citicorp/Citibank to start-up and head the bank's California community lending efforts after the bank purchages a failed savings and loan. He established and expanded the bank's efforts becoming the largest affordable housing lender in the state at the time. In 1989, he was recruited to help create the California Community Reinvestment Corporation where he served as the initial President and CEO until 1994.
Since 1994, he has had his own consulting practice specializing in afforable housing finance, program development and general problem solving. His clients include and have included public agencies, for-profit developers, government sponsored agencies, tax credit equity investors and non-profit organizations. He has served and continues to serve on a variety of non-profit and public agency boards, committees and commissions serving as board chair for many of these efforts. He has a B.A. in Economics and Quantified Sociology and a M.A. in Urban Planning.
Mary Murtagh
President & CEO, EAH Housing
Ms. Murtagh joined EAH Housing as Executive Director in 1986. Professionally trained as an architect, Ms. Murtagh specialized in real estate finance and project management prior to joining EAH. Under her direction, EAH has successfully pursued development opportunities creating over 4,000 units throughout California and Hawaii, and increasing units under EAH property management by over 750%.
She has implemented a number of innovative policy changes, including the creation of the first computer learning center in HUD's western region, which has since been expanded to a network of 13 learning centers in EAH developments. Murtagh's leadership has positioned EAH as one of the most respected affordable housing and advocacy organizations in the Western United States.
In 1980, Murtagh served as Development Officer for the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Based in Washington, D.C., Murtagh was responsible for negotiated loans for real estate projects having a combined value of more than $300 million.
Prior to relocating to the Bay Area, Murtagh was Assistant Deputy Administrator of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of the City of Los Angeles. While at the CRA, she participated in the financing of numerous projects in downtown Los Angeles, including the LA Central Library, business development districts and urban residential.
Murtagh was raised in a university town in New Hampshire, home of Dartmouth College. She graduated cum laude from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, in philosophy and art history and went on to receive a Master of Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She subsequently studied investment analysis, tax and real estate finance at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Web site: www.eahhousing.org
Brian Prater
Director of Calfornia Lending & Strategic Opportunities, Low Income Investment Fund
Brian Prater is the Director of California Lending and Strategic Opportunities at the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF). LIIF is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), and one of the leading nonprofit lenders of acquisition and predevelopment financing for affordable housing projects in California. Prater oversees lending staff in the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices of LIIF, and leads LIIF's policy work around affordable housing. In addition to its affordable housing work, LIIF is also one of the largest charter school and childcare facility lenders in the country, and a three-time recipient of New Market Tax Credit awards. Prior to joining LIIF in 2008, Prater was a Senior Vice President and Team Leafer in Community Development Banking with Bank of America. Prater also spent seven years with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and three years with the New York City Housing Authority. Prater has a Masters degree in Public Administration and Policy from Columbia University.
Web site: www.liifund.org
Sue Reynolds
President & CEO, Community HousingWorks
Sue Reynolds has led Community HousingWorks as President and CEO since 1997. Under her leadership, the corporation has come a nationally recognized multifamily developer, homeownership lender and an innovator in community-based programs that strengthen communities and families' financial independence.
Multifamily affordable housing finance is one of Ms. Reynolds areas of expertise. She has been responsible for the financing or development of thousands of affordable homes in multifamily projects over her professional career. As Deputy Director of the California Housing Partnership, Ms. Reynolds packaged housing projects for community developers totaling over $30 million in financing. Ms. Reynolds has also assisted projects with a wide range of resident-controlled ownership models. Westside Field Deputy specializing in public works, building, and safety and planning issues.community-based programs that strengthen communities and families' financial independence.
In nearly a decade of housing work in New York City, she staffed the citywide federation of community development corporations, and was a planner and housing financial consultant at New York's Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development. She has also taught graduate-level planning courses. Ms. Reynolds currently sits on the boards of California Rural Housing Coalition, the Urban Land Institute (Tijuana/San Diego) and the Center for Policy Initiatives. She also serves on the Torrey Pines Community Reinvestment Advisory Board and the LGBT Senior Housing Steering Committee. She has been a member of every mayoral San Dieho housing task force for the last 15 years, and was a co-founder of the San Diego Housing Federation. Ms. Reynolds holds a Master of Urban Planning degree from Columbia University.
Web site: www.chworks.org
Margaret Schrand
Web site: www.wellsfargo.com
Tom Scott has been the executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation since January 2002.
Prior to joining the Federation, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Community HousingWorks, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, from 1996 until 2002. He was President of the Board from January 1999 to January 2002. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Anchorage Neighborhood Housing Services in Anchorage, Alaska from 1986 to 1990. He spent 25 years in the emergency medical services industry as a state regulator, researcher, writer, consultant and association staff.
He has a B.A. in Sociology/Social Work from LaSalle College in Philadelphia and a Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration.
Mr. Scott was appointed to the Poway Housing Commission by Poway Mayor Mickey Cafagna in 2003. Mr. Scott has lived next door to an affordable housing apartment complex in Poway for 14 years and a half-block from a new affordable family apartment project that opened in 1998. He prides himself on being a YIMBY with credibility.
Web site: www.housingsandiego.org
Web site: www.sfgov.org/site/moh_index.asp
Web site: www.cbia.org
Jay Stark
Jay Stark manages the firm's Urban Private Equity Funds, Western Region, targeting investments in urban residential and commercial properties. Mr. Stark is responsible for origination, underwriting, due diligence and closing of investments in the region, and he is a member of the national PRG Investment Committee.
Prior to joining PRG, Mr. Stark was director of development for The Lee Group, Inc., a leading urban residential development company where he was involved in the development of over $300 million of urban housing for first-time homebuyers in Southern California.
Mr. Stark serves on the State of California’s principal Affordable Housing Committee, the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) Local Assistance Loan and Grant Committee, where he oversees more than 20 state-wide affordable housing and infrastructure programs, including the recently approved $2.5 billion Proposition 1C bond measure, which includes funding for transit-based housing, urban infill development and related affordable housing initiatives.
Senior Project Manager, Heschong Mahone Group, Inc
Julieann Summerford, Associate Director of Implementation, has designed and implemented numerous energy efficiency programs geared toward the multifamily and affordable housing markets (new construction and rehab) including incentives, assistance, and policy. Ms. Summerford implemented the state’s first program focused on efficient multi-family housing (low- and high-rise) and the installation of ES appliances and lighting in new construction. She also designed and launched multi-family programs for various utilities. She helped design the curriculum for a multifamily energy efficiency design training, conducted throughout the state. Her policy focus has been on utility allowance reform for energy efficient projects. Ms. Summerford has served as chair of the California Association of Building Energy Consultants (CABEC) and is a Certified-Energy Plans Examiner (CEPE). Ms. Summerford holds a B.S. in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning from UC Davis.
Lydia Tan
Executive Vice President, BRIDGE Housing Corporation
Ms. Tan is Executive Vice President of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, one of the largest affordable housing developers in California. She also serves the same role for BUILD, BRIDGE's for profit affiiate which is focused on large mixed income, mixed use scale redevelopment efforts in urban infill locations. In her role at BRIDGE and BUILD, Ms. Tan supervises real estate development and project finance activities. She joined the organization in 1991 and has over 25 years experience in the building industry, including prior experience as an architect. In her 18 years at BRIDGE, Ms. Tan has managed or overseen the development of over 8,500 units of housing throughout California. Her responsibilities at BRIDGE and BUILD include providing strategic direction for the divisions, ensuring high quality outcomes at all levels of the organization, and leading the company's major development efforts.
A Prior to her work at BRIDGE, Ms. Tan was a Development Associate at Tsen & Associates, consulting wth community-based groups to build affordable housing, and was a Principal in Fleming + Tan, an Oakland-based architecture practive. Ms. Tan currently serves on the Board of Directors of SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research where she co-chairs the Housing Policy Committee and the Northern California Community Loan Fund where she chairs the Finance Committee. She is also a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of Build-It-Green, the Loan Committee of the Opportunity Fund, and the Community Advisory Board for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute and Lambda Alpha. Ms. Tan is a registered Architect with an A.B. Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University.
Web site: www.bridgehousing.com
John E. Tastor
Area Executive Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management
John Tastor manages a client service and business development unit devoted to large accounts, with a focus on the real estate and hospitality industries. Gallagher’s San Francisco clients include prominent affordable housing developer/owners in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego. Arthur J. Gallagher is a publicly owned, national insurance brokerage firm. It is currently the third largest in the United States and fourth largest in the world.
John’s experience includes providing insurance and risk management services to both for-profit and nonprofit developers and property owners. He has had extensive experience in placing insurance and handling claims for condominium and single-family dwelling developments.
John is a graduate of the University of San Francisco. He has been in the insurance industry for thirty-two years, thirty as a broker. He was an underwriter with the Travelers Insurance Company, an Account Executive with two major, national insurance brokerage firms, and a co-founder of McNamara & Associates Insurance Brokers in 1980, joining Gallagher through a merger in 1990. He has been a part of the San Francisco Branch Management Team since 1992.
Web site: www.ajg.com
Elizabeth Tracey
Regional Lending Manager, Washington Mutual
Liz Tracey joined WaMu in September of 2007, where she manages community lending for the Southwest region (California, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado). She previously worked for Bank of America's community development bank as a Senior Vice President and client manager. Other experience at BofA included covering commercial clients of the bank's Latin America group, managing the AHP practice within the community development bank, and underwriting affordable housing transactions. She also worked as an analyst for Standard and Poor's in their tax exempt housing finance group, specializing in multi-family real estate ratings. Prior to moving to California, Liz worked at the housing division at the City of Takoma Park, Maryland.
Liz has a B.A. in history from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. in from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Web site: www.wamu.com
Elizabeth Van Benschoten
Senior Vice President, Bank of America
Elizabeth is a Senior Vice President with Bank of America managing multifamily affordable debt products nationally for their Community Development Banking group. Elizabeth and her team develop taxable and tax-exempt construction to perm debt products in addition to administering the Bank’s sponsorship of AHP applications. Bank of America’s Community Development Bank is a division of the Commercial Real Estate Bank. In 2007 Bank of America originated $1.6 Billion in new commitments to support the field of affordable housing. Elizabeth has been with the Bank for five years. Prior to Bank of America, Elizabeth directed corporate and foundation partnerships in support of the Federal government’s National Service initiatives. Elizabeth has an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where she focused on real estate and economic development, and a BA from Brown University. Elizabeth serves on the Advisory Board of UC Berkeley’s Global Social Venture Competition and on the Board of the Management Assistance Group, which supports social justice nonprofits.
James Yacenda
Community Investment Officer, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
Jim Yacenda has been the Community Investment Officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco since 1981, having joined the Bank in 1979. He has helped direct more than $4 billion in special credit and housing subsidies to financial institutions in Arizona, California, and Nevada to assist the financing of community development and affordable, low-income, and special needs housing, working in partnership with the Bank’s more than 300 financial institution shareholders. His department administers the Bank's Affordable Housing, Community Investment, Community Lending and Community Support Programs.
Jim has served on the boards of a number of nonprofit housing and community-based organizations in northern and southern California along with several national community development advisory commissions and task forces. Prior to joining the Bank, he was the founding executive director of La Habra Neighborhood Housing Services.
A graduate of Saint John College in Camarillo, California, Jim has been listed in Banking on Top Bankers and Who's Who in the West and has been honored by a number of organizations including the Pacific Institute for Community Organizations, the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, Assets CAN of California, and by the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Web site: www.fhlbsf.com
