Twenty-five students who reside in assisted-housing
properties or receive voucher assistance were recently
awarded scholarships funded by donations to the National
Leased Housing Association (NLHA) Education Fund.
NLHA formed the Education Fund in 2007 to raise money
for the sole purpose of encouraging self-sufficiency
through education by providing tuition and related
assistance to eligible students. The fund has four types of
scholarships. The most recent addition is the AIMCO Cares
scholarship that is directed to college-bound applicants.
AIMCO has pledged half of its proceeds from its annual
charity golf outing, which will be held Aug. 2, to the NLHA
Education Fund. The other scholarships are named in memory
of former NLHA members and housing professionals: The Neil
Churchill Scholarship is directed at current undergraduates
(the criteria will be revised this fall for that
scholarship); The Mary Lou Manzie Scholarship is directed
at nontraditional students; and The William Gandert
Scholarship promotes continuing education in any trade or
vocation.
Successful applicants included Trameciea White, a
voucher resident from Memphis who is studying nursing at
the University of Memphis. White, who was awarded an AIMCO
Cares scholarship, excelled in high school and volunteered
at the Union Mission Center and Wonder City Boys and Girls
Club. Another AIMCO Cares winner is Cedric Jones who won
high praise from his teachers for his leadership abilities
and high grades. Jones will study architecture at the
University of California at Berkeley.
The William Gandert Scholarship winners include Kai
Hawkins, a nursing student in Los Angeles who plans to
continue with her schooling to achieve a doctorate in
nursing. A mother of three, she had put her educational
goals on hold to raise her children.
A resident of Houston, Lynn Spriggs is a Sec. 8 voucher
holder who is studying criminal justice at the University
of Houston with the help of a Mary Lou Manzie Scholarship.
Her goal is to help domestic abuse survivors by running a
group home for teens and young adults.
The 21 other winners are highlighted in a PowerPoint
presentation posted at on the Education Fund page along
with additional information.
In other news, Terri Preston, principal at the
nationwide CPA and consulting firm Baker Tilly Virchow
Krause, LLP, has been named NHLA president during its
annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
With 23 years of experience in underwriting and
financing real estate development and 17 years of
experience in compliance with an emphasis on affordable
housing and government-regulated housing, Preston intends
to use her expertise to continue NLHA’s efforts to
preserve the existing stock of federally assisted housing
in a manner that is fair and balanced to owners, tenants,
and the government regulators.
Other officials elected through June 2011 include:
• Alex Sanchez of Santa Clara Housing
Authority as senior vice president;
• Isha Francis of Benchmark Management,
Deloris Sawyer of the Las Vegas Housing Authority, Joe
Caffey of Omni Development, John McMahon of Belmont Housing
Resources, John Bentz of Property Advisory Group, Bob Moss
of Boston Capital, and Carlos Hernandez of Rhode Island
Housing as vice presidents;
• Karen Lally of Davenport Associates as
secretary;
• Rosemarie Harris of AIMCO as
assistant secretary;
• Jennifer O’Neil of Quadel Consulting
as treasurer; and
• Jonette Hahn of Reznick Group as assistant
treasurer.