Skid Row Housing Trust Appoints CEO
Sierra Atilano has been named CEO of Skid Row Housing Trust in Los Angeles.
She moves up to the post after serving as chief real estate officer at the Trust. Since joining the organization in 2016, Atilano has overseen the successful completion of four real estate development projects and led the team through a change management process.
Overall, she has more than 25 years of experience in multiple facets of real estate, including development, portfolio management, property management, finance, and construction. She has developed over 2,000 apartment homes in 17 cities across three states as well as five luxury single-family estates and 1 million square feet of commercial retail. Her experience includes positions at Lincoln Property Co., Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., and AMCAL Multi-Housing.
Beacon Communities Names Senior Vice President
Aviva Rothman-Shore has joined Beacon Communities in the newly created role of senior vice president, community engagement. Most recently, she served as deputy director, program and strategy, at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), where she led the public information campaign for the Eviction Diversion Initiative and directed change management through stakeholder relationships, communications, and training. Prior to her time at DHCD, she held several leadership roles within the Community Life team at The Community Builders.
At Beacon, Rothman-Shore will be responsible for the creation and execution of the company’s community engagement strategy, including supporting best-in-class resident services, developing partnerships and programs, and measuring and driving outcomes across Beacon’s portfolio. In addition, she will oversee the Beacon Communities Charitable Fund, generating fundraising opportunities, and overseeing the Tierney Learning Center.
Boston-based Beacon Communities is a privately owned real estate firm that develops, acquires, invests in, and manages a wide range of multifamily housing. Its portfolio includes affordable, market-rate, and mixed-income housing.
Michaels Announces Vice President of Development
Rosa Estrada has been named vice president of development at Michaels, a national leader in residential real estate offering full-service capabilities in development, property management, construction, and investment.
She brings more than 20 years of progressive urban planning, placemaking, and mission-driven affordable development experience to the company. Estrada’s areas of expertise include real estate finance and development; complex large multi-phase, mixed-use developments; transit-oriented development; stakeholder engagement; partnership development; and project and relationship management.
Prior to joining Michaels, Estrada spent five years with Wesley Housing, where she served as director of real estate development, responsible for managing a team of developers through development concept, acquisition, entitlements, underwriting, design, and construction closing of 350 units worth $133 million.
Earlier, she was the principal and founder of The Strada Group, a housing advisory services firm, and worked with Pennrose and The Community Builders. She is a former assistant commissioner for development for Baltimore Housing and one of the original HOPE VI staff professionals at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
NAHRO Appoints CEO
Mark Thiele has been appointed CEO of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). He will assume the top post May 2.
Thiele recently served as interim CEO of the Houston Housing Authority, one of the nation’s largest and highest performing public housing agencies.
He brings expertise working in housing and community development, from critical programs such as public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers to newer initiatives such as Moving to Work and the Rental Assistance Demonstration. As a longtime leader in both the Southwest Regional Council of NAHRO and Texas NAHRO, he has worked extensively with small, midsize, and rural housing agencies, and is familiar with and committed to helping meet their unique needs.
Thiele takes the reins of NAHRO after previous CEO Adrianne Todman was named HUD deputy secretary.
Louisiana Housing Corp. Selects Executive Director
Joshua G. Hollins has been named executive director of the Louisiana Housing Corp. (LHC) after a search committee narrowed the field of 93 candidates to three finalists.
He brings to LHC significant experience in personnel management, external affairs, finance and investment structures, and executive leadership. As vice president of public financing at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., he has completed a diverse range of municipal and housing bond transactions that total almost $1 billion. Earlier, as executive counsel and chief of staff at the state Department of Transportation and Development, he oversaw the internal audit and innovative procurement efforts for the department, served as chief in-house counsel on the first transportation public-private partnership in Louisiana, and represented the department in legislative and administrative hearings.
Hurst Expands Role at Wallick Communities
Layne Hurst has been appointed regional vice president, affordable housing operations—strategic growth, at Wallick Communities, a leading affordable housing and senior living company.
In this newly created position, he will optimize strategies and processes to ensure successful onboarding and revenue generation, with new construction, acquisitions, acquisition-rehab, and third-party opportunities. His responsibilities will include regulatory compliance, long-term viability and success, and revenue generation. Hurst will oversee analysis and monitoring from concept through the acquisition, rehabilitation, construction, and onboarding phases.
He joined the firm in 2016 as a regional manager and recently served as regional vice president of affordable housing operations. Additionally, Hurst has held leadership positions as part of multiple company projects, including the redevelopment of Wallick’s associate onboarding and training programs as well as participating in updates to the company’s strategic plan.
Headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, Wallick manages 190 affordable and senior communities across the Midwest, having developed and built more than 400 communities through its history.
LIIF Announces Appointments
The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) has named Denise Noel as general counsel and executive vice president and Panagiota Mahendru as chief financial officer and executive vice president for the national nonprofit organization.
Noel will oversee LIIF’s corporate and board governance, legal matters, and risk management functions. In addition, as general counsel, she will chair LIIF’s internal loan committee. Noel brings extensive knowledge of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) industry as she previously served as legal counsel to the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund, where she managed a range of high-level responsibilities, including the implementation of the bond guarantee program. She will be based in LIIF’s Washington, D.C., office.
Based in the organization’s New York office, Mahendru will provide strategic leadership for the fiscal infrastructure that supports LIIF’s programs, business activities, and the organization’s growth as CFO. She brings more than 20 years of global hands-on experience building and leading finance teams in for-profit and nonprofit companies.
Previously, Mahendru held the CFO role at the Center for Employment Opportunities, a national nonprofit with over 6,300 employees operating in 31 cities and 12 states providing comprehensive employment services to thousands of individuals who have recently returned home from incarceration. She also worked at Housing Works, a nonprofit addressing AIDS and homelessness with a diversified revenue model in the areas of housing, health, and retail. Mahendru will join LIIF at a pivotal time as the organization’s total assets under management exceed $1.8 billion on a consolidated basis and its early child care and education business has doubled in size.
Maya Wiley Becomes Adviser at Pembrook
Civil rights attorney and recent New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley has been named a senior adviser on Pembrook Capital Management’s efforts to address racial and economic inequality through its affordable housing lending business, announced the company.
Wiley founded the Center for Social Inclusion, a national policy strategy organization focused on dismantling structural racialization in the areas of environment, broadband, food systems, urban resilience, education, and communications, heading the organization for more than a decade. She also served as counsel to former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and has been a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Earlier in her career, Wiley worked for several nonprofits advocating social change, including the NAACP and Open Society Institute, and served as a federal judicial clerk and prosecutor.
Pembrook is a real estate investment manager that provides financing throughout the capital structure. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the firm has originated or participated in investments totaling over $1.5 billion, in transactions with total capitalization of $4.3 billion, since it began investing in 2007.
NewPoint Expands Sun Belt Lending Expertise
Marc Cesare has joined NewPoint Real Estate Capital’s production team as a managing director based in the firm’s Dallas area office. He will focus on conventional multifamily and affordable housing lending throughout the Sun Belt and beyond.
Before joining NewPoint, Cesare was with Truist, where he originated real estate financing transactions valued at approximately $4 billion across Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Housing Administration/HUD, and bridge loan programs. His experience encompasses lead roles for underwriting affordable housing properties, including 4% bond transactions, Section 8 assets, and managing layers of subordinate financing. Cesare has spent his entire 20-plus-year career in the multifamily lending arena. He began as a credit analyst and was a chief underwriter before shifting his focus to production.
NewPoint is a commercial real estate finance company delivering lending solutions to investors of multifamily, affordable housing, seniors housing, health care, and manufactured housing properties nationwide.
Standard Communities Announces Promotions, New Hires
Standard Communities, a leading national affordable housing investor and developer, announced seven promotions and new hires, reflecting robust growth in its business.
Craig Marschke has been elevated to vice president of construction services. He previously served as director. Based in the Washington, D.C., region, Marschke leads the firm’s construction team in all aspects of renovation and capital improvement programs nationwide. He has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry as a general contractor and owner/developer. Marschke joined Standard in 2015 and has completed over 65 construction projects with individual budgets ranging over $30 million. Prior to joining the company, he was a senior construction manager for Home Properties’ Northeast operations.
Tim Bourassa has been promoted to senior director, acquisitions and underwriting. Previously, he was director. Based in New York, Bourassa leads the Standard Communities underwriting and acquisitions team, focused on directing and reviewing the underwriting, due diligence, and closing transactions. Since joining the company in 2016, he has been involved in the acquisition and underwriting of over 55 deals with a total capitalization of over $2.5 billion. Prior to joining Standard Communities, Bourassa served on the equity capital markets team at HSBC Securities.
Patrick Lyons has been promoted to director of construction services. He previously served as construction manager. Based in Orange County, California, Lyons oversees the West Coast and Midwest construction teams, including all construction-related aspects of Standard Communities’ renovations, development, and acquisitions in those regions. He has over 10 years of experience in the construction industry, on both the general contractor and owner/developer sides. Prior to joining Standard Communities, Lyons worked as a project manager for U.W. Marx Construction.
Jessica O’Connor has joined the company as human resources business partner in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for talent acquisition and development, performance management, coaching and mentoring, and change management. O’Connor has 15 years of experience in human resources in various industries, including the construction/property management, technology, health care, and nonprofit sectors.
Aaron Thomas has been named chief of staff, based in Los Angeles. He previously served as president and CEO of Accelerator for America, a national nonprofit co-founded by Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti in 2017. Guided by a network of mayors, labor leaders, corporate CEOs, and nonprofit executives from across the country, the Accelerator develops solutions to economic insecurity for more than 70 cities nationwide. Previously, Thomas worked in investment banking, trading equity derivatives and facilitating middle-market equity transactions.
Kate Bowers has joined Standard Communities as senior director of corporate communications in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the firm, she spent over 10 years with award-winning PR agency Weinberg Harris & Associates, most recently as vice president, public relations and client services. Bowers has extensive experience developing successful corporate communications and brand management strategies for numerous national multifamily real estate companies.
Russ Peterson has been named senior director of asset management, working out of the Charleston, South Carolina, office. With more than 33 years of multifamily property management work, he brings deep experience in managing conventional, LIHTC, value-add, lease-ups, pre-development, mixed-use, HUD, and office assets. Prior to joining Standard Communities, Peterson was the owner and principal broker of RPC, a business consulting firm specializing in multifamily assets.
Based in New York and Los Angeles, Standard Communities has a national portfolio of approximately 13,700 apartment units and has completed more than $3.6 billion of affordable housing acquisitions and rehabilitations nationwide.
