NeighborWorks Names CEO
Marietta Rodriguez has been appointed president and CEO of NeighborWorks America by the organization’s board of directors. Jeffrey Bryson, who has served as interim president and CEO since September, will remain on board until Aug. 17.
Rodriguez has been with NeighborWorks for 20 years. Most recently, she worked as interim senior vice president for national initiatives, where she managed a national downpayment assistance program totaling more than $300 million to support more than 17,800 new homebuyers since 2012. Additionally, she created an innovative business practice, enabling NeighborWorks organizations to operate their homeownership programs sustainably. Participating member organizations increased homeowners by 64% while decreasing service delivery costs by 43% and boosting revenue by 101% more than their own baseline, according to the organization.
In addition, Rodriguez raised more than $10 million to develop and distribute a multimedia foreclosure prevention campaign in conjunction with the Ad Council, resulting in more than $89 million in donated media placements. She also developed and managed a multi-year loan scam alert campaign and formed and managed a coalition of federal enforcement agencies, nonprofits, and local governments focused on sharing information on mortgage scam tactics and community impact.
“NeighborWorks America is pleased to welcome Marietta into her new role,” said Grovetta Gardineer, chair of the NeighborWorks America board of directors and senior deputy comptroller for Compliance and Community Affairs at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “Marietta brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to the position, with a proven record of leadership and accomplishment, and I look forward to working with her in this new role.”
Bryson, who previously served as NeighborWorks America’s general counsel and corporate secretary, has been with organization for 31 years. He plans to retire after the transition.
CBRE Announces Director of Affordable Housing Production
Sarah Garland has joined CBRE Affordable Housing as director, capital markets, affordable housing production.
She will be part of the firm’s Debt & Structured Finance team and will be responsible for supporting origination of affordable and workforce housing debt financing. Garland will be leading an initiative to leverage CBRE’s broad originations platform with CBRE Affordable Housing’s expertise in the regulated multifamily finance market.
Garland joins CBRE from PNC Bank, where she was responsible for affordable housing debt production, specifically focused on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Prior to PNC, she served as Fannie Mae’s national director of multifamily affordable housing.
CBRE Affordable Housing is a specialty group within CBRE Group that combines investment sales, debt and structured finance, and investment banking into a fully integrated service offering for clients in the affordable housing industry. It has closed over $16.2 billion in sales and financing since 2001 and has conducted transactions in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Mercy Housing Southeast Hires Regional Director of Development
H. Granvel Tate III has been named Mercy Housing Southeast’s regional director of real estate development. Tate will supervise the acquisition and development of mixed-income and affordable housing properties in the Southeast.
Before Mercy Housing, Tate was the president and CEO of 1025 Advisors, and his career began at Goldman Sachs in the Financial Institutions Group, where he worked on mergers, acquisitions, and public offerings for banks, insurers, broker/dealers, and asset managers.
Tate has also worked for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, General Growth Properties, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, and Forest City Ratner Co. He is a board member of The Guild, a co-living enterprise in Atlanta, and a member of the Robert Toigo Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing leadership and development opportunities for minorities in finance.
Law Firm Launches Opportunity Zone Group
Sullivan & Worcester has established a dedicated Opportunity Zone practice group, a multidisciplinary team of the firm’s affordable housing, real estate, tax, and corporate attorneys, to guide investors involved in the new federal program.
Opportunity Zones are an economic tool designed to utilize tax incentives to drive long-term growth in low-income urban and rural communities. All 50 states have qualified opportunity zones that received federal approval from the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service.
Firm managing partner Joel Carpenter announced that firm partners Ben Armour (corporate), John Balboni (real estate), Jay Darby (tax), and John Gahan (affordable housing) will be coordinating the efforts of the new practice group.
The team expects to work with clients on all aspects of business strategy, including fund formation and structuring, joint ventures and related-party transactions, tax compliance and investment strategy, development and financing, and Opportunity Zone start-up businesses.
