NH&RA Annual Meeting (2021) – Virtual

Speaker Biographies

Mahesh Aiyer

Mahesh Aiyer joined Citi Community Capital as a Director in 2015. Prior joining CCC, Mahesh was an Executive Vice President with CommunityBank of Texas, a $3 billion local Texas bank. Prior to joining CommunityBank of Texas, Mahesh held various positions with a number larger regional and national banks in the area of community development and affordable housing. Mahesh has originated over $2 billion of affordable housing debt in the past ten years. Mahesh received his BBA and MBA from the University of Houston. Additionally, Mahesh has been a TAAHP Board member since 2009 and lives in Sugar Land, Texas.

Thom Amdur

Thom joined National Housing & Rehabilitation (NH&RA) in 2004 and currently serves as its President. NH&RA is a national trade association and peer-network for affordable housing and tax credit developers and related professionals including: investors, lenders, public agencies and professional advisers. Thom directs the association’s day-to-day operations including legislative and regulatory advocacy, committee activities, conferences and events, publications, financial management and strategic planning.

Thom also serves as the President of the Tennessee Developers Council, a state-wide trade association for affordable housing developers and professionals active in Tennessee. In 2013 he spearheaded the launch of NH&RA’s Preservation through Energy Efficiency Project, a major educational initiative supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Thom also serves on the Board of Directors for International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology (iCAST). He is also the recipient of the NHP Foundations 2018 Affordable Housing Advocacy Award.

Thom is a frequent speaker at affordable housing, sustainable development and tax credit industry events and has been published in a variety of industry journals including Tax Credit Advisor, Independent Banker, and the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credit Housing. Thom also serves as the Associate Publisher of Tax Credit Advisor, a monthly magazine for tax credit and affordable housing professionals and is an Executive Vice-President at Dworbell Inc., a boutique association management and communications firm in Washington, DC, which provides staffing for NH&RA.

Thom was previously employed at a national lobbying firm with a practice focused on financial services and technology issues. Prior to moving to Washington, Thom worked in media relations in the New York State Assembly and as a research assistant for New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen. Thom graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University with a double major in Political Science and History.

Lucy Arellano Baglieri

Mrs. Arellano Baglieri has 15 years of community development management and strategy experience with a focus on social justice and racial equity. At LIIF, Lucy leads organizational strategy, racial equity, and external affairs. Prior to LIIF, she was Chief Strategy Officer for the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), where she led the organization’s regional and national initiatives. Her work draws on communities’ strengths to respond to economic inequity by employing a holistic approach to wealth, place, and power building. This approach includes direct services, affordable real estate development and preservation, policy and advocacy, equitable CDFI lending, and collective impact networks. She has also led organizational racial equity, strategy, and professional development initiatives. Mrs. Arellano Baglieri is nationally recognized for her leadership in community and organizational capacity building by a range of groups, including the Aspen Institute, Prosperity Now, UnidosUS, and NALCAB. She is an immigrant from Mexico and is natively bilingual in Spanish. Mrs. Arellano Baglieri holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. She is based in San Francisco.

Vincent Randolph Brown

Vincent Randolph Brown is a dynamic business leader with a passion for affecting organizational change. In his role as president of V. Randolph Brown Consulting–a boutique, global management consulting consortium–he leads a cadre of experienced, client-focused dream team members that provide sustainable solutions to top tier clients across a spectrum of industries.

Vincent was a founding partner and managing director of Global Novations, a full- service human capital and talent optimization firm which counted Goldman Sachs as an investor and was acquired by Korn/Ferry International in September 2012. He continues as a senior consultant with Korn/Ferry. He co-authored a bestselling book that helped shape thinking in modern corporate culture about Diversity & Inclusion, entitled The Phoenix Principles: Leveraging Inclusion to Transform Your Company with Janet Butler Reid, Ph.D. Currently, they are preparing to publish their next book on the intersection of diversity and neuroscience entitled Intrinsic Inclusion: Rebooting Our Biased Brain.

Vincent created a number of effective leadership and team-building simulations including GlobalBeads®, WeConnect™, Familiarity, Comfort & Trust™, and Firefighters Challenge. He also helped develop e-learning curricula entitled Dialogue on Diversity which was recognized by AXIEM International for excellence in Interactive Media. Most recently, VRBC entered into a strategic partnership with Rali, a change experience platform that activates group performance, enabling them to design and deploy scalable and sustainable DEI learning experiences and education solutions. In addition, Vincent serves on the Advisory Board for Herrmann International.

Throughout his career, Vincent has partnered with premier organizations to develop and implement diversity strategies, optimize talent, and build high-performing leadership teams who thrive in diverse and inclusive environments. His notable clients have included Bon Secours Mercy Health, MetroHealth, Carolinas Health Care System, Jefferson Health, OhioHealth, Tri-Health, Yale New Haven Health, Procter & Gamble, the NCAA, the NBA, Johnson & Johnson, Limited Brands, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, KeyBank and many others.

Vincent is the proud father of three sons – Steven, Michael, and Adam and grandfather of Kayson, Kylan and Caden. He enjoys serving as a role model for minority entrepreneurs and is engaged in current causes that reach out to disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities.

Brenda Champy

Ms. Champy joined Boston Financial in 2020 as Senior Vice President, Director of Acquisitions. She is responsible for leading the Originations Team, overseeing the Account Managers and collaborating with the Sales and Capital teams.  Prior to joining Boston Financial, Ms. Champy served as Director of Acquisitions at Boston Capital where she was responsible for all affordable housing acquisition activities totaling $8.2 billion in tax credit equity and other various senior positions over 24 years.  Her past real estate experience with Mellon Bank, Sanwa Bank and Shawmut Bank included originating and managing a diversified real estate loan portfolio, restructuring troubled loans and reviewing real estate investment opportunities for domestic and international investors. Ms. Champy earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Massachusetts and received her Chartered Financial Analyst designation (CFA) in 1997.

Maurice Coleman

Maurice Coleman is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Syndicator Management Executive. He is responsible for leading Bank of America’s origination of LIHTC equity through syndication partners. Maurice works with syndicators to find the best financial solutions to create and restore affordable housing and drive economic development opportunities across the country. Prior to this role, Mr. Coleman served as the Senior Relationship Manager and Boston Market Leader where he delivered debt, tax credit equity and permanent financing for multifamilyhousing, charter schools and mixed-use, mixed-income real estate projects throughout the New England, New York and New Jersey markets.

Mr. Coleman joined the Bank of Boston in 1999, where he served as an Investment Officer with the BankBoston Development Company (BBDC) and later, Fleet Development Ventures (FDV), a $250 million private equity and mezzanine finance boutique focused on investing direct equity in women and/or minority owned companies operating in emerging markets nationally. In 2004, Maurice was promoted to Senior Vice President and ManaginDirector of Fleet National Bank’s Community Investment Group (CIG) where he managed a regional team focused oprivate equity, small business lending, retail banking and community development in New York City and northern New Jersey.

Throughout his career, Maurice has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognition including the Crain’s New York Business Journal Rising Stars Award, the Urban Financial Services Coalition Executive of the Year Award, the Black Enterprise “Lincoln Motor Company” Award, the Network Journal Achievement Award, the Boston Herald Most Influential in Business Award, the Boston Chamber of Commerce Ten Outstanding Young Leaders (TOYL) Award, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch “Spirit of Excellence”, “Diverse Leaders” and “Global Diversity and Inclusion” Award.

Mr. Coleman serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of three national Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) — the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) New York, TruFund Financial Services, and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ). For over a decade, Maurice has taught classes and offered lectures on entrepreneurship, small business lending, venture capital, real estate finance, and social enterprise investing at Columbia, Darden and Harvard Business Schools, and he also serves an advisor for the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center at Columbia Business School.

Maurice received his B.A. in History and Economics from Columbia University, MPA from the School of International and Public at Columbia University with a concentration in Public Finance, and he completed the Finance and Management Leadership Program at Columbia Business School. Maurice completed Credit and Capital Markets Training at Bank of Boston and is an alumnus of the Venture Capital Institute (VCI).

Suzie Cope

Suzie Cope is a managing director at Lument based in Colorado. She has extensive experience in affordable and market-rate multifamily financing.

Prior to joining predecessor Hunt Real Estate Capital, Suzie was a senior vice president in the affordable multifamily division of Bellwether Enterprise and Centerline Capital Group, responsible for the institutions’ west coast origination of debt financing activities for affordable multifamily housing. She helped launch and fully develop an affordable housing lending platform that included Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA execution, as well as conduit and bridge lending. Prior to that, Suzie was a senior account manager with Fannie Mae in Los Angeles.

Suzie was named one of Real Estate Forum’s “Women of Influence” in 2020, an honor she also received in 2014. She is a past member of Fannie Mae’s DUS Originator’s Committee. She earned her master’s of real estate development (MRED) at the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s in finance and marketing from Tulane University.

Tonya Curenton Curry

Tonya Cureton Curry has served as the Georgia Department of Community Affair, Deputy Commissioner for Housing and as Deputy Executive Director for the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority from March 1, 2019 to present. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Georgetown University and her Juris Doctor degree from the Howard University School of Law.

Mrs. Curry started her career in state government as Executive Counsel for the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority and later served as Director of Bond Finance and Investments for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. She has served as a faculty member and as a department chair within the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), respectively. Prior to working with TCSG, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Attorney General, Commercial Transactions & Litigation Division, working primarily with the state’s bond issuing authorities.  She was also appointed to serve as the Assistant Commissioner of Securities within the Secretary of State’s Securities and Business Regulation Division. Over the years she has also worked with the Department of Administrative Services and the Office of the Governor.  Prior to joining state government, she served as a Local Government and Community Relations Program Manager for the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games, as a Vice President with Dillon, Read & Co. Inc. and as an Associate with the law firm of Kutak Rock (Atlanta, GA).  She has been licensed to practice law in the State of Georgia since 1990 and maintains her admissions to local, state and federal courts in the Atlanta region.

Curry is active in numerous professional and civic organizations and she has served on several local and regional boards.  She is also a frequent presenter at government and industry focused conferences and an active member of several legal and trade organizations.

Cindy Fang

Cindy Fang, CPA, is a partner in CohnReznick’s Boston office and serves as the firm’s Tax Credit Investment Services (TCIS) Leader. TCIS specializes in providing investment due diligence and other advisory services to institutional investors to help them strategically acquire and manage tax credit investments. Cindy had a broad range of experience serving investor, syndicator, developer, and housing finance agency clients involved in tax credit transactions. She is well-versed in all realms of major investment tax credits, including the low-income housing tax credit, historic, New Markets, and renewable energy tax credits.

In the last 17+ years, she has focused on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of tax incentivized funds on behalf of institutional investors including an evaluation of fund sponsors. She provides advisory services related to equity market conditions, investment options, investment due diligence, transaction structuring, and modelling, as well as industry best practices for underwriting and asset management. Cindy also plays a key role in the firm’s industry research, policy, and regulatory advocacy and thought leadership efforts.

Cindy has co-authored many publications including a series of studies that tracked the performance of housing tax credit investments; and The Community Reinvestment Act and its Effect on Housing Tax Credit Pricing, a report that examined the relationship between housing tax credit pricing and banks investing in geographies under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977.”

Helen Hough Feinberg

Helen Hough Feinberg serves as manager of RBC Capital Market’s Florida Municipal Finance office and Multifamily sector leader nationally. Ms. Feinberg has approximately 30 years’ experience in the affordable housing sector having served as underwriter or placement agent on a wide range of single family and multifamily transactions. Her client base includes state and local housing finance agencies, public housing authorities, developer and non-profits.

Ms. Feinberg graduated from Wake Forest University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in both Economics and Spanish. She is a licensed General Securities Representative, Municipal Securities Principal and General Securities Principal. Ms. Feinberg currently serves as an advisory council member for the Florida Housing Coalition and a board member of the Coalition of Affordable Housing Providers. Ms. Feinberg was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to serve as Chair of the Affordable Housing Study Commission from 2004 through 2007 and previously served as a member of Fannie Mae’s National Advisory Council for a two year term.

Richard M. Froehlich

Richard M. Froehlich is First Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC). After joining HDC as its General Counsel in 2003, Richard has been promoted several times to his current position.  He directs the Corporation’s bond finance and operating activities. Richard is also an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and teaches two courses on affordable housing finance and public finance, respectively.

Richard has been a primary coordinator of HDC’s award-winning preservation efforts that have led to the continued affordability of over 140,000 units of low and middle income housing in New York City.  He has also been a leader in designing and implementing HDC’s participation in Mayor Bill De Blasio’s Housing New York plan to build and preserve 300,000 units of affordable housing in New York City. Richard was a member of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, a self-regulatory organization created under the Federal Securities Act Amendments of 1975 to regulate the municipal finance industry, for a four-year term until October 1, 2018. Richard was also elected to the board of the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies in 2014 and currently serves as its President.

Prior to joining HDC, Richard was a Counsel at the law offices of O’Melveny & Meyers LLP where he was involved in numerous multi-family housing transactions representing equity investors, lenders, credit enhancers and issuers in bond-financed transactions. He is a 1988 graduate of Columbia University School of Law and a 1985 graduate of Columbia University’s Columbia College.”

David Godschalk

An attorney and consultant based in Bethesda, MD, David brings 25 years of experience with governments and private companies facilitating investments to create stronger, safer, healthier, and more equitable communities.

David started his legal career in civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he tried fair housing cases, led investigations of public housing authorities, and developed policy. He then spent several years at two national law firms in Washington, DC, advising domestic and foreign governments on affordable housing programs, municipal finance transactions, governance issues, and securities and other regulatory matter, and representing public agencies and private firms in housing, healthcare, and energy transactions.

Following his time in private practice, David served as general counsel for Telesis, a national affordable housing and community development firm. His work there focused on partnering with state and local governments, nonprofits, and community leaders to develop affordable and mixed-income multifamily and single-family housing in highly distressed neighborhoods. He was also president of the company’s New Markets Tax Credit arm, Telesis CDE, which focused on attracting capital to underserved communities with investments in catalytic developments. Most recently, he was general counsel at an impact investing startup focusing on environmental finance and community development, where he led the organization’s equity and justice initiative.

David has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina.

Ethan Handelman

Ethan Handelman is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was appointed in February 2021 by the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Office of Multifamily Housing Programs administers the Federal Housing Administration insurance program for multifamily properties and oversees more than 23,000 assisted properties, including housing for the elderly and persons with disabilities. Approximately 2.6 million families find housing in the Multifamily’ s portfolio of 30,400 properties, which are found in every state and some U.S. territories―urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Prior to joining HUD, Ethan was a Senior Policy Analyst at the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Office of Housing and Community Investment, which oversees the affordable housing mission activities of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. There he wrote the amendments to the housing goals for the Federal Home Loan Banks, worked on the Duty to Serve program, and other affordable housing policies.

Prior to joining FHFA, he spent seven years as Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at the National Housing Conference (NHC), finishing his time as Acting CEO. While at NHC, Ethan directed the policy agenda aimed at ensuring affordable housing for all, led national working groups, spoke, and wrote extensively, and testified before Congress. Ethan also previously led the advisory practice at Recap Real Estate Advisors, assisting public and private-sector clients to understand and shape the affordable housing financial and policy environment. Ethan received his Master of Arts in International Relations from Harvard University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Michigan. He previously served as president of the board of Housing Unlimited, a nonprofit housing provider in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Jennifer Ho

Jennifer Ho is the 7th Commissioner of Minnesota Housing. She has spent much of her career working to end homelessness and connect health and housing. Previously, Jennifer led Hearth Connection, was Deputy Director at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and served as a Senior Advisor at HUD. Jennifer currently serves on the board of the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

Alan Jaffe

Alan is a Managing Director and Head of the Public Finance Housing, Real Estate, and Project Finance Group at Jefferies, the largest independent investment bank in the United States. Over his 20-year career, Alan has worked with developers and state and local HFAs across the country on numerous multifamily financing structures and strategies, as well as single family financing initiatives, military housing, student housing, and tax increment real estate transactions. Alan is a graduate of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at NYU.

Ben Jarvis

Ben Jarvis is Director of Acquisitions for Red Stone Equity Partners, LLC where he is responsible for the origination, acquisition, financial underwriting, partnership structuring, and syndication of affordable housing investments principally in the Midwest region.  Ben has over 16 years of experience in real estate investment and LIHTC syndication.  Prior to joining Red Stone, Ben originated LIHTC investments in the Northeast and Midwest for Boston Capital where he had originated over $900 million in tax credit investments nationwide.

Ben holds a BA from Salve Regina University and a Real Estate Finance Association Certificate in Real Estate Finance from Boston University.

Angela Kelcher

Angela Kelcher is the Director of Affordable Production for Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Mortgage Business. In this position she manages production strategy and deliveries from the nationwide network of approved affordable lenders. The Affordable Channel focuses on properties with recorded rent or income restrictions or other affordability characteristics.

Before joining Fannie Mae in 2004, Angela worked for Bank of America providing construction financing for affordable multifamily properties. She also worked for SunAmerica structuring equity investments in Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties.

Angela has served on the board of the Central Arlington Housing Development Corporation and as an officer on the board of the North Texas Housing Coalition.”

Tim Leonhard

Tim Leonhard joined Berkadia Affordable in 2020 and serves as Senior Managing Director, Mortgage Banking.  Leonhard brings over 22 years of experience in the development and financing of affordable housing and has successfully closed more than $12 billion in affordable housing financing.

Leonhard joined Berkadia from JLL where he served as Senior Managing Director and Leader of the Affordable Housing Group.  Under Leonhard’s leadership, JLL’s Affordable Housing Group was ranked #1 in the country for total affordable loan production by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on several occasions and was consistently ranked in the top 3 with both GSEs annually.

Prior to joining JLL, Leonhard served as Managing Director at MMA Financial, Vice President at Glaser Financial Group, Vice President at Charter Mac, and Project Manager at HRI Properties.

Vicki Lundy Wilbon

Vicki Lundy Wilbon is a Principal and Executive Vice President with The Integral Group LLC (Integral), an Atlanta-based real estate development and investment management firm. In this capacity, she plays a significant role in developing corporate policy and driving execution towards the successful accomplishment of strategic goals. Ms. Wilbon also serves as President of Integral’s Community Development Division. She is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm’s redevelopment initiatives, many executed through public/private partnerships. Integral has distinguished itself in the marketplace by completing some of the nation’s most successful and transformative residential and mixed-use developments through thoughtful and innovative master planning and implementation.

Ms. Wilbon has worked extensively in the Real Estate development industry for over thirty-five years.  Through her experience in “”place-making”” and multi-phased redevelopments, she has managed every aspect of comprehensive development programs, including master planning with community participation, managing public/private partnerships, inspiring creative design, and developing and implementing innovative financing structures.

Ms. Wilbon has mastered the use and layering of federal or other public funds, with private equity, conventional debt, and other funding sources. She has structured and implemented numerous urban revitalization projects and developed strong relationships with institutional debt and equity providers.

Ms. Wilbon serves on the Saint Joseph Health System (Atlanta) Board of Directors, the Georgia State University Honors College Board of Advisors, and the Board of Directors of Reinvestment Fund. She and her husband, Eric, have three adult children and five grandchildren.

Gina Martin

Gina Martin joined the Public Finance group at Stifel in November of 2011 after beginning her career in public finance in 2007 with another public finance firm.  Ms. Martin completes negotiated and private placement transactions with municipal issues, including housing, healthcare, development, transportation, local government, and education institutions across the country.  Ms. Martin is involved in every aspect of the transaction, including the research, marketing, and analysis for the structuring of the bonds.  Ms. Martin’s credit analysis strengths have assisted clients in receiving critical first time credit ratings.  Ms. Martin is also a part of Stifel’s Housing Group working on both single family and multifamily bonds around the country.

Ms. Martin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the Southeast Missouri State University in 2006 and is a Registered Municipal Advisor Representative (Series 50), Municipal Securities Representative (Series 52), Securities Agent (Series 63), and Investment Banking Representative (Series 79) of FINRA.

Arjun Nagarkatti

Mr. Nagarkatti oversees the company’s acquisition, finance/development, construction, and asset management departments and has headed up the firm’s expansion in the California, Texas and Washington affordable housing markets. Mr. Nagarkatti’s expertise in public financing for low-income housing is unmatched, gained through decades of experience in structuring market-rate and affordable housing financing for both residential only and mixed-use communities. He has managed the funding of nearly 100 market-rate, workforce, affordable and student housing developments since 1988. Mr. Nagarkatti holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Kent Neumann

Kent Neumann has been in the affordable housing and healthcare business for more than 22 years.  Mr. Neumann has served as underwriter’s counsel, purchaser’s counsel, bond counsel, lender’s counsel and borrower’s counsel and has also advised issuers and other clients on the legal and financial aspects of a wide range of tax-exempt and taxable financings around the country.  These include publicly offered and privately placed financings using credit enhancement provided by FHA, Ginnie Mae (GNMA), Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Bank, municipal bond insurance, bank letters of credit, insurance company guaranties, as well as unrated and/or uncredit-enhanced bond deals. Many of these transactions have involved multiple-tier financings utilizing senior/subordinated and other complex structures designed to achieve optimal efficiency and savings. These include “50% test” and cash-collateralized bonds as well as loans from Rural Development and HUD / FHA under various programs including 515, 538, 202, 221, 223, 236, 242, Section 8 and HOPE VI.

Mr. Neumann has been one of the most innovative attorneys in his field creating and developing many of the financial structures used today in both housing and healthcare industries. Many of these structures have created millions of dollars in savings while simultaneously providing efficiency in the execution. In addition, Mr. Neumann has a unique level of experience in and knowledge of cashflow modeling, rating agency requirements, credit enhancement programs, financial structures and other critical variables affecting bond financings.

Mr. Neumann graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, San Diego, where he received a B.A. degree in Psychology in 1995.  He graduated magna cum laude from Tulane Law School in May 1998 and is a member of both the State Bar of California and the District of Columbia Bar.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

Wade Norris

Wade Norris is a partner at Norris George & Ostrow PLLC. Mr. Norris is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading experts in the field of multifamily housing bond finance. Mr. Norris has over four decades’ experience in over 3,500 tax-exempt multifamily housing and other bond financings totaling over five billion dollars, primarily as Underwriter’s or Purchaser’s Counsel or Special Bond Matters Counsel to the Borrower. Mr. Norris has often played a major role in developing new financing techniques in this area of finance. In the past 10 years, these include development of, among other products, the Country’s largest tax-exempt bond and loan bank private placement program; short-term cash-backed tax-exempt bonds used with FHA, RD and other low-rate taxable loans; the Freddie Tax-Exempt Loan or “TEL” structure; and, most recently, Fannie Mae’s M.TEBs tax-exempt monthly MBS pass-through structure. Mr. Norris’ paper entitled “Introduction to Tax Exempt Multifamily Housing Bonds” is widely regarded as the industry’s leading introductory article on tax exempt multifamily housing bond finance. Mr. Norris is a member of the Georgia State Bar, the Bar of the District of Columbia, the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the American College of Bond Counsel.

Lina Pasquale

Lina is the Director of the Contemplative-Based Resilience Project at the Garrison Institute. She is a mission-driven senior and executive leader with over two decades tenure in the social and human services sector, she has expertise in advancing traumatic stress theory into practice across multiple service industries. She has worked in non-profit and government agencies utilizing a strengths-based and resiliency-centered approach to promote well-being, health and social-emotional learning. Lina holds graduate degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and the New School for Social Research.

Milton Pratt

As Executive Vice President, Milton R. Pratt Jr. leads a team of developers involved in the revitalization of communities and the creation and preservation of affordable housing along the East coast from Philadelphia to Florida as well as several Gulf States, California, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to joining The Michaels Organization in 2005, Mr. Pratt served as the Region III Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he was the Department’s principal liaison to Congressional members, mayors, city managers, state and local elected officials, and a wide cross section of HUD clients in the Mid-Atlantic region, for five states and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Pratt earned his BA in Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Planning from West Chester University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association and is a past officer of the MARC NAHRO chapter of The National Association of Housing and Rehabilitation Officials. He has also served on various other boards, including for the Philadelphia Chapters of the National Association of Home Builders, the Cheyney University Foundation and the Kappa Alpha Psi Alumni Fraternity. He was also a member of Neighborhoods Now and served on the Board of Trustees for West Chester University Foundation. He has received a Public Housing Managers Certification from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.

Matt Reilein

Since June 2019, Matt Reilein has been the President and CEO of National Equity Fund, Inc. (NEF), the nation’s leading nonprofit syndicator of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and investor in affordable housing. He leads a team of 150 industry experts who work closely with investors, developers, policymakers and community-based organizations to create and preserve affordable housing across the country. Over the last three decades, NEF has invested more than $17 billion to fuel nearly 2,800 developments, 190,000 affordable homes, and 215,000 jobs. Currently, NEF has $14 billion of assets under management, consisting of over 1,470 properties and approximately 115,000 units of affordable housing across the country.

Previously, Matt was Managing Director of Community Development Banking at JPMorgan Chase overseeing the bank’s New Markets Tax Credit program, relationships with CDFIs, and structured finance for community development investments. Before joining NEF, he was the Head of Impact Investing and Managing Director at O’Brien-Staley Partners, and Head of Community Development at Cresset Partners.

Matt is the Board Chair of the Chicago Community Loan Fund, and serves on the Boards of the Metropolitan Planning Council, Timeline Theatre and the Georgetown University Alumni Association. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Matt was a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow in 2011 and was one of Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40” in 2013. Matt lives in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Jonathan Rose

Jonathan F.P. Rose’s business, public policy, teaching, writing and not-for-profit work focuses on creating more environmentally, socially and economically just and resilient cities. In 1989, Mr. Rose founded Jonathan Rose Companies LLC, a multi-disciplinary real estate development, planning, project management, and investment firm, to address the challenges of the 21st century. Jonathan has led the firm’s vision, program and growth, developing award winning new projects, investment funds and city plans to model solutions integrating the issues of affordable housing, community development, culture and the environment. The firm is one of the largest acquirers of affordable and mixed income housing in the nation.

The firm’s innovative work has won awards from a wide range of notable organizations including: the Urban Land Institute, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Architects. Mr. Rose also advises global cities on planning, affordable housing, environmental, and social issues.

Mr. Rose’s book on how to create resilient cities, The Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life, was published by Harper Wave in 2016, and won the 2017 PROSE Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work by a Trade Publisher. After His Majesty The King of Bhutan read the book, Mr. Rose became an advisor for the Government of Bhutan on its urban planning and other issues.

Mr. Rose frequently lectures at graduate schools of business, environment and architecture on affordable housing, community development, smart growth and the environment. In 2015, he held the Yale School of Architecture’s Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Architectural Fellowship.

Mr. Rose has testified before U.S. Senate and House Committees on housing, infrastructure and environmental issues, and served as an Advisor to the White House Office of Urban Affairs. He currently serves on the Second District Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Mr. Rose is a Trustee of Enterprise Community Partners and The Capital Institute. He and his wife Diana Calthorpe Rose are the co-founders of the Garrison Institute and he serves as Chair on its Board. The Institute connects inner transformation with outer solutions to relieve suffering in the fields of trauma, education and the environment. He serves on the Yale School of Environment’s Leadership Council, the board of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, the advisory board of the JPB Foundation and the external advisory board of the Dalio Center for Health Justice.

He is an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects and Honorary Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mr. Rose chaired the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Blue Ribbon Sustainability Commission, which developed the nation’s first green transit plan, and was a commissioner on Governor Cuomo’s NYS 2100 Commission, tasked with identifying strategies for the long-term resilience of New York State’s infrastructure post-Hurricane Sandy.

Mr. Rose graduated from Yale University in 1974 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy, and received a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980. Mr. Rose plays bass and harmonica in the jazz/blues/raga band Jog Blues.

Brooke Shorett

Brooke Shorett joined Vitus in 2016 and serves as a Director of Development Management. During her time at Vitus, she has overseen over $260 million in acquisitions and coordinated $170 million in low-income housing tax credit syndications. Brooke holds a Bachelor of Science from Duke University and a Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) from the University of Washington.

Jim Spound

James Spound is President of R4 Capital Funding since its establishment in 2016. R4 Capital Funding, the mortgage lending platform of R4 Capital, has sponsored and services $1 billion of tax-exempt debt on behalf of the firm’s institutional investors.

Previously, Mr. Spound served as President of Red Stone Tax Exempt Funding, which he joined in September 2011 to help recapitalize and reestablish that firm’s bond practice following the financial crisis. Under his leadership, the company provided financing for approximately 12,000 affordable housing units in 21 states, representing nearly $700 million of tax-exempt bond acquisitions. Prior to that, Mr. Spound was a Senior Managing Director at Centerline Capital Group (fka CharterMac and Related Capital Company) and co-head of its commercial real estate division. Mr. Spound helped establish Centerline’s affordable housing lending practices including a direct purchase program for tax-exempt bonds that originated in excess of $2.8 billion of financings between 1998 and 2008, and led Centerline’s expansion into GSE lending for affordable housing in which it also became a market leader. Mr. Spound also spent eight years as a public finance banker at Merrill Lynch & Co. and a predecessor firm of Wells Fargo Securities, was senior real estate consultant at Kenneth Leventhal & Company and a project manager at New York City’s Economic Development Corporation.

Mr. Spound is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and a Master of Science in Management from the Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Caroline Vary

Caroline Vary joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2007 and has over 25 years of experience in the construction and real estate industries. She is a Partner and the Managing Director of Asset Management for Jonathan Rose Companies and is responsible for 4.5 million sf. of commercial and residential properties, including new construction and green retrofits. Ms. Vary has overseen the decade long development of Metro Green adjacent to the Stamford Transportation Center. Under the direction of Ms. Vary, Jonathan Rose Companies received the E.P.A’s Environmental Merit Award for Outstanding Achievements in Preserving New England’s environment. Ms. Vary holds a BARCH in Architecture and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She holds Broker’s Licenses in NY and CT, and is a founding member of the Stamford2030 District and a member of the Regional Plan Association Connecticut Committee.

Jacqueline Waggoner

Jacqueline Waggoner is president, Solutions Division, for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. She leads a team of over 300 talented Enterprisers across the country, driving Enterprise’s programmatic, policy and advisory work in alignment with our strategic priorities: Increase Housing Supply, Advance Racial Equity, and Build Upward Mobility and Resilience.

Prior to her promotion to president in October 2020, Jacqueline was vice president and Southern California market leader. She led Enterprise’s affordable housing, community development, investment and strategic programs serving the state’s Central Coast to San Diego, with particular focus to the Los Angeles region.

Jacqueline started with Enterprise in 2005. During her tenure, she has deployed capital, intellectual resources and capacity building tools to achieve Enterprise’s strategic and production goals, leading to more than $1.3 billion in Enterprise investments locally. With her experience in commercial real estate lending spanning more than 24 years, she has worked with the city of Los Angeles, banks and nonprofit developer partners to create local funds for affordable housing, advocate for low-income families and advance Enterprise’s vision of providing affordable homes in vibrant communities.

She serves vice chair on the 10-member Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission, the agency’s governing board, and was appointed by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. She serves as chair of LAHSA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness, which produced a ground-breaking report with 67 recommendations to advance equity and eliminate disparities. Jacqueline is a board member for the Los Angeles Business Council and serves on the board of governors for the California Housing Consortium. Jacqueline additionally serves on the Committee for a Greater LA, a diverse group of civic and community leaders focused on a just pandemic recovery plan. Prior to joining Enterprise, Jacqueline was vice president of Wells Fargo’s Community Banking Real Estate Group. A Los Angeles native, she has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in urban planning from UCLA.

Sherry Wang

Sherry is co-head of the Urban Investment Group (UIG) within the Asset Management Division (AMD) at Goldman Sachs. She serves as a member of the Urban Investment Group Investment Committee and as a member of the Sustainable Finance Group Steering Group.

Established in 2001, UIG is a domestic, multi-asset investing and lending business that has committed more than $10 billion to community and economic development investments, serving as a catalyst in the revitalization of underserved, predominantly minority communities.

Previously, Sherry worked in the Investment Banking Division. She joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2007 and was named managing director in 2017.
Sherry serves on the New York Advisory Board of Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit organization focused on improving low-income communities.
Sherry earned a BA in Mathematics and Economics, magna cum laude, from Yale University in 2007.

Cris White

Cris has been with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for 32 years serving in various capacities related to affordable housing and economic development. He has served since 2010 as the Executive Director and CEO.

In its 47-year history, CHFA has invested more than $25 billion to support affordable housing and community development throughout Colorado. In that time, CHFA’s resources have helped more than 132,000 Coloradans achieve their dreams of homeownership, over 73,000 affordable rental housing units be developed or preserved and provided homebuyer education to over 172,000 households. CHFA has also provided financing programs to support over 7,200 small businesses, which have created or retained more than 77,000 jobs.

Cris has served on the Executive Committee of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, Mayor Hickenlooper’s and Mayor Hancock’s Denver Housing Plan Task Forces, and the Colorado Legislature’s Long-term Fiscal Stability Commission. He most recently served on the Board of Directors of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, as Chair of the Board of Directors for Housing Colorado and the Denver Regional Council of Government’s SCI Executive Committee. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver and on the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Community Advisory Council.

Cris earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Business from Regis University in 1988.

Stephen Whyte

Stephen Whyte is the founder and managing director of Vitus Group. He is a nationally recognized expert on affordable housing and a leader in the preservation and redevelopment of the nation’s existing affordable housing stock. Under his leadership, Vitus has developed and continues to own more than 10,000 affordable multi-family units across 21 states. Mr. Whyte has spent more than 20 years at the forefront of complex transactions involving public and private partnerships, specialized funding sources, and multi-layered regulations. He takes much satisfaction in guiding Vitus’ new and innovative approaches to developing affordable housing, including sustainable development principles, alternative energy strategies, and the use of technology to increase value and improve efficiency. Mr. Whyte is former chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Affordable/Workforce Housing Council and frequently speaks at housing conferences throughout the country. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in economics and history, and serves on the board of the Seattle Symphony.

Holly Wiedemann

Holly Wiedemann, a native Lexingtonian, is the founder, owner and President of AU Associates, Inc. AU was founded in 1990 on the principles of adaptive use and focuses on opportunities for urban infill as well as the revitalization of existing structures. AU also includes a Property Management component that manages all the developments that AU creates. Holly’s firm has developed an extensive portfolio in Kentucky and West Virginia. Developments range from the adaptive re-use of historic buildings to new construction urban infill. The majority of the portfolio is focused primarily upon family and senior affordable housing, but also includes mixed income, mixed use and commercial properties.

Most recent projects include the award winning Fayette County Courthouse, Parkside 1, 2 and 3 in Lexington, and Recovery Point in Charleston, West Virginia. Currently underway is Victory Point, an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) affordable housing for veterans at the VA Hospital, and Meadowthorpe Landing, affordable housing for seniors.

She serves on multiple boards, including Lexington Civic Center/Rupp, The Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, National Housing & Rehabilitation Association, the Triangle Foundation and Fayette Alliance.