Affordable Housing Finance is recognizing six rising stars in the industry. All are younger than 40.
This year’s diverse group includes several developers, financing leaders, and the head of an organization that supports affordable housing providers in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
Since 2008, AHF has been honoring young men and women who are building organizations and ushering in new ways of delivering affordable housing. The Young Leader award was created as a way to celebrate and support the development of a new generation of leaders.
This year's Young Leaders are:
Paul Fortino: Senior vice president at Southport Financial Services, he has developed affordable housing in eight states. In his home state of Washington, Fortino serves on the Housing Trust Fund’s Policy Advisory Team;
Mike Hemmens: Western regional director for Citi Community Capital, he has been active in many aspects of financing affordable housing, including providing construction and permanent loans, securing credit enhancements, conducting due diligence, and helping to market securities;
Heather Raspberry: Executive director of Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND), she has been at the helm of the regional membership association that supports affordable housing in the Washington, D.C., metro area for two years and has helped to grow HAND’s sponsorship levels and diversify its membership;
Rachel Rhodes: Regional vice president at National Equity Fund, she has helped finance more than 18,000 affordable housing units throughout the national firm’s 19-state central region;
Dana Trujillo: Housing development director at Skid Row Housing Trust, she manages the operations of the Housing Development Division to meet the Trust’s housing production goals and has helped the nonprofit increase its pipeline and expand its reach from downtown Los Angeles to Los Angeles County; and
Dena Xifaras: Vice president of asset management for Preservation of Affordable Housing, she is responsible for the oversight of the nonprofit’s long-term ownership interests in its real estate portfolio, including approximately 9,000 units and $874 million in asset value.
The 2014 Young Leaders will be honored at AHF Live: The Affordable Housing Developers Summit, which will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Fairmont Millennium Park in Chicago. You also can read more about them in the October issue of AHF.
