Home Forward Names Executive Director
Ivory Mathews has been selected as the next executive director of Home Forward, Oregon’s largest provider of affordable housing.
She has most recently worked as CEO of Columbia Housing in South Carolina and has spent 20 years leading various housing authorities and affordable housing agencies, honing her expertise in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) policy, the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), public housing management, Housing Choice Voucher management, asset management, government relations, housing development finance, and more. Mathews also has completed the coursework in pursuit of her doctorate in public policy and administration.
Ivory Mathews will succeed Michael Buonocore, who announced his resignation in September after 20 years at Home Forward, seven as its executive director.
Mathews will be the first Black woman executive director in the organization’s 80-year history.
Fairstead Appoints Senior Director of Affordable Asset Management
Michelle Militello has joined Fairstead as senior director, affordable asset management, where she is focusing on structuring and growing the affordable team to match the company’s pace of development, announced the company.
Prior to joining Fairstead, Militello most recently served as vice president of asset management at Pennrose, where she maximized the financial performance and value of the developer’s portfolio.
Her 25-plus years of industry experience also includes serving as vice president of tax credit equity investments for Bank of America, where she managed hundreds of multi-investor, proprietary, and direct LIHTC investments.
Fairstead is a national owner, operator, and developer of more than 16,500 low-income, senior, mixed-income, and workforce housing units.
Merchants Capital Announces Co-Leaders of Tax Credit Equity Division
Julie Sharp and Linda Hill have been promoted to executive vice presidents at Merchants Capital. Previously senior vice presidents, they will lead Merchants’ tax credit equity division.
Since launching the division in late 2020, Sharp and Hill have overseen the creation of a robust equity platform with unprecedented growth. In its first full year, the team successfully completed an equity raise of more than $248.3 million in both proprietary and multi-investor funds that will create or preserve more than 3,200 units in 13 states.
Sharp joined Merchants in 2020 after serving at one of the nation’s largest tax credit equity syndicators, where she was involved in raising capital and structuring fund investments valued at more than $1 billion across the U.S. In 2021, she was appointed to the board of directors for the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, a national advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., and is also a board member for the Indiana chapter of the Women’s Affordable Housing Network.
Hill is an accomplished and recognized leader in the industry with a career spanning more than 25 years at two of the nation’s top syndicators and investment platforms. She joined Merchants in April 2021 and is responsible for managing equity relationships with top affordable housing sponsors across the country.
Houston Housing Authority Names President and CEO
David A. Northern Sr. has been appointed president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority, the agency that provides homes and services to more than 60,000 Houston residents.
Northern joins the organization after serving as president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District, the largest housing authority in Alabama. He’s also serving as president of the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association.
Earlier in his career, he was head of the Housing Authority of Champaign County in Illinois, was appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker to the state Housing Task Force, and was elected to the Illinois Housing Council's board of directors.
Boston Financial Announces Chief Credit Officer
Boston Financial Investment Management has announced that chief credit officer Jim Dailey will retire from the firm in June. Noreen Short has joined the firm as deputy chief credit officer and will assume Dailey’s role upon his departure.
Short has more than 20 years of affordable housing experience and joins the firm from Capital One, where she was senior director and head of portfolio management. In this role, she led the portfolio management team responsible for asset management of a $6 billion affordable housing portfolio, ensured adherence to credit policies and portfolio risk monitoring, oversaw monthly and quarterly reporting of key portfolio performance metrics, and was responsible for analyzing and escalating relevant emerging economic and industry trends. She also focused on talent development and strengthening team culture through mentoring and coaching initiatives.
Prior to that, she spent nine years in senior roles on the equity underwriting team at Capital One, during which time she managed 13 client relationships with regional and national syndication partners and underwrote and invested in more than $2 billion in LIHTC multi-fund investments. Short previously worked for five years at MMA Financial, the predecessor to Boston Financial, performing market studies on more than $400 million in both proprietary and multi-fund investments.
In his nearly four-decade career with Boston Financial, Dailey has worked across the low-income housing business, including tax credit acquisitions, corporate fund treasury management, investor sales, and asset management. During the four-month transition period, he will work closely with Short to ensure a seamless transfer of responsibilities.
Nixon Peabody Names Partners
Nixon Peabody’s 2022 partner class includes four new partners in the affordable housing and real estate practice.
Lori Bowman focuses her practice on real estate finance. Based in Rochester, New York, she represents institutional lenders, owners and developers, and other debt providers in commercial real estate lending transactions, including mortgage and mezzanine financing, construction and bridge loans, and project finance projects. She has experience with syndicated, agented, and participated loan transactions, revolving credit facilities, and intercreditor and co-lender agreements. In addition to her finance experience, Bowman represents owners and developers in the acquisition, development, and disposition of real estate.
Matthew Carrigg advises on all aspects of commercial real estate matters and transactions. He has substantial experience with complex financings of affordable housing developments, including tax-exempt bonds, LIHTCs, and other federal, state, and local government subsidies. Based in Rochester, he also advises on all facets of acquisition, disposition, leasing, and mergers and acquisitions. He represents taxpayers and nonprofits on real estate tax appeals and other real property tax matters, and real estate tax exemptions and tax abatements for nonprofits and housing companies.
Alexander Rosso represents real estate developers in transactions involving all aspects of affordable housing development, including the acquisition, financing, construction, and preservation of multifamily housing. This work typically involves mixed financing comprised of equity and debt funding sources, and these projects often receive funding from federal, state, or local programs. His experience closing hundreds of multifamily real estate transactions insured by HUD has given him substantial knowledge and understanding of the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance programs as well as related HUD regulations. Based in Boston, Rosso devotes pro bono time to the Urban Farming Institute, an organization that acquires urban land for farming use, and works with various organizations dedicated to increasing affordable housing.
Julie Hancock Stande represents developers, land owners, and investors in a variety of general real estate and affordable housing transactions. Based in Boston, she assists clients on several aspects of the acquisition and disposition of multifamily properties, including developments financed with LIHTCs and historic tax credits. Stande has deep connections in the Boston affordable housing space through her work with numerous affordable housing developers in the area. She also has worked in the seniors housing sector, particularly through her longtime involvement and work with the National Investment Center, where she previously served on the Future Leaders Council.
