Luan Nguyen knows from experience the power of affordable housing.
In search of a better life, his family left Vietnam for the United States when he was 2. During the journey, his mother sold her wedding ring to buy food for her young son. They made it to Michigan, where Nguyen’s father would later join them.
The immigrants stayed with relatives and worked different jobs to make ends meet. When they found affordable housing in Lansing, it was a pivotal moment, providing the family with a place of its own and a foundation for Nguyen to succeed.
After graduating from college with a degree in finance, Nguyen began his career underwriting commercial real estate loans for a bank. In his spare time, he had participated in several volunteer events that made him think about what he was contributing to the community.
That led him to join Cinnaire, a Michigan-based low-income housing tax credit syndicator and community development organization.
“The work that I had been doing was missing a mission component that I cared about,” Nguyen says. “When we finally found affordable housing in Lansing, it was a such a relief. Having our own home meant we could live with dignity and join a community. I know firsthand what people can do given the opportunity. That’s what led me to work in affordable housing and why I have a vested interest in what we do.”
Since joining the company as an assistant asset manager in 2015, he has been promoted several times, recently moving up to asset stabilization expert. His role oversees all aspects of the financial performance, investor reporting, and partner relationships within a portfolio of more than 80 affordable housing communities. He focuses on special assets, forming action plans to stabilize those assets.
Nguyen, 33, has been instrumental in Cinnaire Cares, an employee-driven charitable effort that has raised over $100,000 in funds for community groups. In addition, he has led Cinnaire’s half-million dollar resident relief fund, another philanthropic initiative providing aid to families severely impacted during the pandemic in their footprint.
“My family came across mission-based organizations and people who cared enough to help us with those life necessities,” he says. “To come full circle and work now for an organization like Cinnaire that invests and supports people in similar circumstances is beyond fulfilling for me.”
He has leadership positions with several industry organizations, including the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan and the National Association of State and Local Equity Fund’s Emerging Leaders Group.
Outside of work, Nguyen is an avid fisherman and golfer. His says he strives to be someone his young daughter can model and a man his wife and family can be proud of.
