Homes for America Names President and CEO
Kathy Ebner has become president and CEO of Homes for America (HFA) in Annapolis, Md.
She has been with the nonprofit affordable housing development firm since 1998, serving in several capacities. Ebner began her career with HFA serving as manager of homeownership programs, subsequently was a development director, and was most recently vice president overseeing asset management. In addition to her work with HFA, Ebner has also worked in real estate and for a nonprofit foundation in Richmond, Va.
A native of Annapolis, Ebner has deep community roots, serving on numerous local nonprofit boards and committees, including serving as president of the Annapolis Junior League and vice president of Anne Arundel Community Services. HFA, founded in 1994, has developed and owns 75 affordable rental communities with over 6,000 units in four states.
Better Housing Coalition Names VP and COO
Monique Johnson has been named vice president and COO of the Better Housing Coalition (BHC) in Richmond, Va. Johnson is responsible for improving processes and gaining efficiencies in the nonprofit organization’s operations.
Prior to joining BHC, Johnson was a senior loan officer for Virginia Community Capital and served on the board of directors of BHC and BHCM (BHC’s property management board). In her previous careers, Johnson has worked as a senior community housing officer with the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA); as the director of real estate development at Highland Park Community Development Corp.; and as a senior project manager at BHC.
Johnson serves as an adjunct professor in the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been recognized by Style Weekly as one of the Top 40 Under 40 and as an Affordable Housing Finance magazine Young Leader.
Since 1988, BHC has revitalized several historic communities and developed new ones in Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Petersburg. Its portfolio includes the development and operation of 15 multifamily rental communities—eight of which are for low-income seniors—with 1,500 rental units and 200 new or renovated single-family homes sold to first-time home buyers.
Jonathan Rose Cos. Hires CFO
Michael Arman has been named CFO of the Jonathan Rose Cos., a leading green real estate development, investment, and project management firm. In addition to his responsibilities as CFO, he will oversee the firm’s investment funds.
Most recently, Arman served as CFO of Procida Funding, a private equity mortgage fund. Prior to Procida, Arman was a founding member and managing director of Hudson Realty Capital, a private equity real estate firm.
CREA Names Chairman
Gary D. Rodney has been named chairman of CREA. In this newly created position, he will be responsible for working with Jeffrey A. Whiting, president and CEO, as well as other key personnel to shape and execute the direction of the company.
Prior to joining CREA, Rodney served as president of the New York City Housing Development Corp. (HDC), one of the nation's most active housing finance agencies and the largest municipal issuer of mortgage revenue bonds for affordable multifamily housing. As HDC president, Rodney oversaw an agency that manages approximately $14 billion of assets, including a multifamily portfolio of over 190,000 units and approximately $10 billion in mortgage loans.
CREA is a low-income housing tax credit syndicator headquartered in Indianapolis. CREA has raised over $3.5 billion in equity from its investors and manages funds on their behalf.
TCAM Opens Washington, D.C., Office
TCAM has opened a Washington, D.C., office, which expands the company’s ability to serve a growing list of clients in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The office has been opened by Kriszen Williams, who brings over 12 years of real estate finance and affordable housing experience. Prior to TCAM, she worked at a nonprofit affordable housing real estate investment trust, where she served as a director, managing capital calls for property acquisitions and leading investor reporting and communication of financial performance and impact metrics to stakeholders. Williams initially helped to lead the development of the underwriting, asset management, and reporting standards of the organization in addition to designing and performing initial cash flow modeling to help procure and close on institutional debt and equity. She previously worked for commercial real estate firms as a senior financial analyst and research specialist.
Headquartered in Boston, TCAM provides services to capital providers in the affordable housing industry, including owners, investors, guarantors, and state and local housing agencies. TCAM’s services touch 1,332 properties comprising 172,000 apartment units in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, representing in excess of $3 billion of client capital.
DSHA Announces Housing Finance Director
Vanessa McCall has joined the agency the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) as director of housing finance.
She will oversee operations of the housing finance division, which finances low-rate mortgage loans and administers tax credits and downpayment assistance.
A Philadelphia native, she previously worked in the credit union industry and is the former CEO of Newport Site Credit Union and a former board member of Del-One Federal Credit Union.
Dominium Hires Development Staff Associate
Marena Janke has been hired by Dominium, a leading apartment development and management company, as a development staff associate at its Plymouth, Minn., headquarters.
In her new role, Janke will assist project partners with new project development, acquisition, and financing of multifamily properties. She will be responsible for executing market and acquisition analysis, financial modeling, underwriting, and preparing financing and equity packages.
Prior to being hired at Dominium, Janke was a development intern at the company.
DCHFA Rebrands Public Finance Division, Makes Appointments
Christopher E. Donald has been named director of multifamily lending and neighborhood investments (formerly the public finance department) at the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA). It is the first appointment of fiscal 2017 by Todd A. Lee, who was recently named executive director.
Donald will manage the day-to-day operations of his department. During fiscal 2016, the unit financed 14 developments, which will result in the production or preservation of 2,090 affordable units for D.C. residents.
Donald brings over 15 years of experience in real estate finance, community building, project development, land entitlement, and construction. He has entitled over 1 million square feet of mixed-income, transit-oriented, and amenity-rich housing. Donald is also skilled in structuring low-income housing, historic, and New Markets tax credits. He has completed over $1 billion in real estate financing during the course of his career and renovated over 1,000 multifamily units.
Prior to joining DCHFA, Donald served as the principal and co-founder of The Leidesdorff Group (TLG), a diversified real estate advisory firm focused on the regeneration of urban communities within the Mid-Atlantic region. As a principal of TLG, Donald focused on distressed and disinvested urban communities.
In another move, Pi Tao Hsu has been named treasurer. She is responsible for leading financial analysis, reporting and management of a portfolio comprised of various debt securities, investments, and derivatives. In addition, Hsu supports the CFO in preparing forecasting assumptions, underlying budget decisions, and strategic decisions aimed at expanding the agency’s business opportunities.
Most recently, she served as the director of financial planning at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
