John Stewart Co. Announces Leadership Moves
The John Stewart Co. (JSCo), the largest manager of affordable housing in California and a leading affordable housing developer in the state, has elevated longtime principals Noah Schwartz, Margaret Miller, and Daniel Levine to new president positions overseeing JSCo’s three primary business units: property management, development, and construction and maintenance services (CMS), and each will manage all day-to-day operations of their respective units.
Jack Gardner, who took over the firm’s operations from founder John Stewart in 2002, will continue to serve as CEO and also as board chair, a position he has held informally since Stewart died in 2020.
Levine and Miller have both worked at JSCo for over 20 years, while Schwartz joined the company in 2013 as its first chief operating officer. Levine is a registered architect and licensed contractor and has led JSCo’s CMS team for 25 years. Miller, who holds a master’s degree in real estate development from Columbia University and has extensive experience in real estate development, is managing all of JSCo’s development activities around the state. And, with a background that includes running a community action agency, a redevelopment agency/housing authority, and one of the largest nonprofit housing organizations in Arizona, Schwartz has brought extensive large-scale organizational leadership experience to the company.
The firm manages over 35,000 units of affordable housing for multiple nonprofit, private, and public sector clients, and has 17 projects in pre-development and construction throughout California totaling over 1,600 units and more than $550 million in construction volume.
Beacon Communities Creates New Executive Position
Longtime Beacon Communities leader Toya Irish will be stepping into a new role Feb. 1. As senior vice president, community relations, she will assume new responsibilities that will leverage her experience working with elected officials, public agencies, resident advisory boards, community groups, and nonprofit partners.
Irish will collaborate with Beacon’s property management and development teams to develop and maintain critical relationships with community leaders and key stakeholders across markets where Beacon has a presence, including Boston, New York City, and the Mid-Atlantic markets. She will also be working to increase Beacon’s achievements engaging minority and women business enterprises.
She joined the Boston-based firm as a property manager in 2006 and has held numerous roles during her tenure, including senior property manager, area manager, assistant regional vice president, and regional vice president. Irish was named a senior vice president in April 2014. She has provided consistent leadership to some of Beacon’s most challenging projects and possesses a vast knowledge of the industry’s most complex financing programs.
Avanath Capital Management Expands Leadership Team
Carly Stevenson has been named executive vice president of property management at Avanath Capital Management, a private real estate investment manager.
She will help expand and bolster the continued success of Avanath’s property management division as the firm continues to acquire and manage new multifamily properties across the nation with a focus on affordable, workforce, and senior housing.
Prior to joining Avanath, Stevenson was president of property management at Mandel Group, a multifamily property management firm based in Milwaukee, where she was responsible for the profitability and operations of its multistate platform. She has also held multiple management positions at AMLI and Waterton Residential.
CHFA Announces Chief Communications and Community Partnerships Officer
Jerilynn Martinez Francis has been promoted to chief communications and community partnerships officer at the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA).
She will serve as a member of CHFA’s executive team, reporting directly to executive director and CEO Cris White, and will continue her leadership of the organization’s communications, public policy, community relations, marketing, and corporate giving functions.
Martinez Francis has more than 20 years of experience in housing policy, communications, and community relations. She joined CHFA in 2007 and has been a member of its leadership team since 2013.
New President Joins Colliers Mortgage
Matthew Rocco has been named president of Colliers Mortgage, the debt financing arm of Colliers.
He brings more than 24 years of experience in commercial real estate financing, investment banking, bond issuance, underwriting, and real estate asset management.
Rocco is chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) as well as a member of the MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance board of governors and several other industry groups.
He will work with the Colliers Mortgage team to further build its business across the country and to secure additional licenses and lenders.
RBC Community Investments Announces Personnel Moves
RBC Community Investments, a leading syndicator of low-income housing and other tax credits, has made a series of promotions and announced a retirement as the firm headed into 2023.
Roslyn Poznansky has retired after 13 years as director, asset risk management, in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office. She joined RBC with 18 years of experience practicing law in the tax credit and real estate industry. Poznansky has been a key player in resolving the issues that occur over the course of the partnership life cycle and has facilitated a significant number of dispositions. In addition, she has served as a mentor to many on the community investments platform over the years and has been a valuable source of experience and a wealth of information.
Nancy Amstadt has been promoted to managing director, head of sales management, and is located in the Cleveland office. She supervises equity sales and legal processes of closing investor funds and transactions into RBC’s investor funds. In addition, she co-manages RBC’s Community Investments’ strategy for state tax credit investments. Amstadt joined RBC in 2012 as an associate director, senior counsel, providing legal advice and business support for RBC Community Investments, and was promoted to director in 2017. She serves as a board member of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.
Zack Tabak has been promoted to managing director, development risk management. He is located in Miami and joined RBC in late 2006. As head of development risk management, he leads a team that is responsible for the construction underwriting and risk management, from origination to substantial completion, of low-income housing and renewable energy tax credit investments.
Elizabeth Dziak has been promoted to director, asset management operations, and is located in the Cleveland office. She is responsible for monitoring the RBC Community Investments’ portfolio to ensure that properties are in compliance with various state and federal funding programs, including housing tax credits, Section 8, and HOME, as well as with RBC Community Investments’ partnership insurance requirements. In addition, Dziak is project manager for the asset management database in which her role includes the design, testing, and implementation of new reports, as well as overseeing the quality control of the data.
Senka Svilar has been promoted to director, stabilized asset management, and is located in the Cleveland office. Prior to this, she served as vice president-regional manager, stabilized asset management, since 2019; and vice president, asset risk manager, since 2005, after originally joining the firm as an associate—asset manager in 2003. Svilar works with the head of stabilized asset management to manage the team's efforts to provide consistent, creative, and proactive oversight of property operations from stabilization through disposition resulting in maximized investment return and minimized investment risk for the assigned portfolio.
Jeremy Rivera has been promoted to director, financial management, and is located in the Cleveland office. He manages the reporting and administration of the firm’s $2.2 billion, 3.2-gigawatt renewable energy tax credit portfolio, $1.8 billion affordable housing tax credit portfolio, and RBC’s direct investment program. He joined RBC in 2006 as a financial analyst responsible for financial reporting functions of RBC and its various tax credit partnerships on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
Tim Lane has been promoted to vice president, financial management, and is located in the Cleveland office. He joined RBC in 2010 as a fund analyst and has been responsible for overseeing a portfolio of investments of $3.2 billion in tax credit equity in 298 developments. In addition, he is the administrator of the fund management database, including the investor portal, and spearheads the training program for analysts.
Bethany Hailey has been promoted to vice president, stabilized asset manager, and is located in the Charlotte office. She joined RBC in 2015 as an asset management analyst to support the stabilized asset management team in oversight of property operations from lease-up to stabilization, in addition to managing a small portfolio of properties. Hailey was promoted to associate, stabilized asset manager, in 2018, where she has managed and will continue to manage a portfolio of 50-plus properties.
George Giannopoulos has been promoted to vice president, renewables investment, and is located in the New York office. He joined RBC in 2016 as an investment analyst and was promoted to an associate focused on the financial structuring, execution, and transaction management of RBC’s direct investments and syndicated renewable energy tax credit transactions. Giannopoulos and his team have executed and raised over $2.2 billion in tax equity.
Ama Sarpong has been promoted to vice president, stabilized asset manager, and is located in the Charlotte office. She joined RBC in 2018 as an associate, where she has managed and continues to manage a portfolio of 50-plus real estate assets. Sarpong brings a depth of experience, forward thinking, and energy to her role, having worked in the affordable and mixed-income nonprofit housing sector earlier in her career.
Emily McLaughlin has been promoted to vice president, stabilized asset manager, and is located in the Denver office. She joined RBC as an associate in 2018 and is responsible for maintaining a portfolio of real estate assets invested through the housing tax credit program.
