Johnson Hall to Lead CalHFA

Tiena Johnson Hall has been named executive director of the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Tiena Johnson Hall
Tiena Johnson Hall

Johnson Hall, a member of CalHFA’s board of directors since November 2014, has served as a senior vice president and manager of community development finance for BBVA Compass Bancshares since October 2014. Earlier in her career, she was vice president and community development manager at Bank of the West, a senior vice president and relationship manager in U.S. Bank’s commercial real estate group, director of housing in the Major Projects Division of the Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department, and project manager for Abode Communities.

She was selected after a nationwide search to replace Tia Boatman Patterson, who left the top post at CalHFA in February to join President Biden’s administration in the Office of Management and Budget.

“I believe CalHFA plays a critical role in the state’s efforts to help Californians find an affordable place to call home,” said Johnson Hall. “My time on the CalHFA board has given me an excellent overview of the organization and the opportunity to help shape some of the agency’s most successful initiatives such as the innovative partnership with Apple, the national award-winning mixed-income rental housing program, the widely used down payment assistance program, and CalHFA’s commitment to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.”

Enterprise Community Developments Appoints SVP

Rob Fossi has been named senior vice president of development at Enterprise Community Development, a leading Mid-Atlantic nonprofit affordable housing provider

Rob Fossi
Rob Fossi

He will utilize his decades of industry experience to manage the real estate development department, including work on new construction, renovations, recapitalizations, and mixed-income projects.

Most recently, Fossi guided the Mid-Atlantic region for The Community Builders (TCB) as senior vice president of real estate. He led TCB’s entry into the Baltimore; Charlotte, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C., markets, with ventures ranging from neighborhood-scale redevelopment to public housing transformation and mixed-income, mixed-use, transit-oriented development.

Prior to joining TCB, Fossi was director of community development at Fannie Mae, where he structured and launched the Urban Deep Dive program and helped coordinate a $4 billion corporate and philanthropic response to the devastating 2005 hurricanes. He previously held a position in senior leadership at Fannie Mae Foundation, during which his team redesigned, restructured, and directed all national and multi-regional housing- and community development-related programs and investments, including grant-making and lending. In another role, Fossi also helped launch the New Orleans LISC program in 1992, and directed those efforts through early 1999. Before opening the New Orleans office, he was a program officer and acting program director of LISC D.C.

At Enterprise, he fills the role that was previously held by Chris LoPiano, who finished a celebrated career with 10 years at Enterprise Community Development and its predecessor entity, Community Preservation and Development Corp.

Weiss Promoted to General Counsel of Millennia Housing Management

Renee B. Weiss has been promoted to general counsel for Millennia Housing Management (MHM), where she will be responsible for all of the organization’s legal affairs and functions, including setting the direction of the legal department, overseeing in-house staff, and managing outside counsel.

Renee B. Weiss
Renee B. Weiss

Additionally, Weiss will continue to provide representation for the company and advise executive members on legal matters.

Prior to being named general counsel, she held the roles of interim general counsel, vice president, assistant general counsel for operations, and associate attorney at MHM. Weiss started her career as an attorney at BakerHostetler and later joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister and DDR Corp.

Affirmed Housing Announces Promotions

Affirmed Housing has promoted Rob Wilkins to vice president, Northern California, and Mellody Lock has been promoted to director of development for the company’s Southern California development pipeline.

Rob Wilkins
Rob Wilkins

Wilkins is tasked with continuing to grow the company’s Northern California presence through the acquisition and development of affordable housing properties in partnership with local communities. After joining Affirmed Housing in October 2018, he led the charge on opening and then managing the Bay Area office in San Jose. He will soon expand the regional team to three members, while receiving operational assistance from Affirmed’s San Diego headquarters. The company’s Bay Area pipeline includes developments in Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties, with further expansion planned in the region.

Mellody Lock
Mellody Lock

Lock manages Affirmed Housing’s Southern California development pipeline, which consists of 12 developments in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. She also oversees the development staff, soon expanding to seven team members. Since joining the company in June 2016 as a project manager focused on acquisitions, underwriting, entitlements, and financing of new developments, Lock has closed eight deals in excess of $300 million in total financing. She has worked on numerous Affirmed Housing projects, including Aria, Bella Vita, Villas on the Park, Della Rosa, Emerson, and Alora.

Overland Property Group Expands Team

Lauren Jensen
Lauren Jensen

Affordable housing developer Overland Property Group announced several personnel moves at the growing company.

Tish Janeczko
Tish Janeczko

Lauren Jensen has been named director of development and will lead the company’s strategic growth in acquisition-rehab projects, additional 4% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) transactions, and new states. She joins OPG from Fairstead. Prior to Fairstead, she was on the development team at The Michaels Organization.

Tish Janeczko will serve as OPG’s construction operations manager as the firm expands its in-house construction firm. Janeczko joins OPG from Gold Crown Properties, where she was the director of operations, facilitating and managing all aspects of development and ownership of its pipeline and portfolio.

April Engstrom
April Engstrom

April Engstrom has been promoted to development associate from senior operations coordinator. Engstrom has grown from an administrative assistant for one of the managing partners to controlling operations and now to a lead role in the expansion of the company’s development division.

Travois Announces Promotions

Travois, a firm that focuses on promoting housing and economic development for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities, has promoted several staff members.

Ashley Bland
Ashley Bland

Ashley Bland has assumed the role of chief operating officer and manages Travois staff in the areas of affordable housing development, design and construction services, asset management and compliance, and economic development in addition to internal teams that handle administrative, communications, and finance responsibilities. A key team member at Travois since 2005, Bland helps craft policies, procedures, and best practices to ensure that the needs of clients, investors, and other stakeholders are met across all areas of business.

Adam Teefey
Adam Teefey

Adam Teefey, previously senior architect, has been promoted to director of design and leads Travois’ architectural team. He has over a decade of experience in the fields of architecture and construction. He assists clients through all phases of the design and construction process. Teefey’s portfolio includes a wide range of project types, from single-family and multifamily residential housing to commercial and community facilities. His designs are both culturally appropriate and energy-efficient as he brings knowledge of the principles of green design to new and rehabilitation projects. He joined Travois in 2015.

Kari Hutchison
Kari Hutchison

Kari Hutchison has been promoted to compliance manager. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the compliance team members, who are responsible for ensuring client properties meet compliance requirements for LIHTC, Section 8, and HOME programs. Hutchison, who joined Travois in 2012 and previously served as senior compliance specialist, tracks deadlines and helps the team to meet investor and state reporting requirements and reviews tenant files to ensure accuracy.

NorthMarq Adds to Affordable Housing Group

NorthMarq continues its growth in multifamily investment sales, adding an affordable housing group in Southern California. John L. Nguyen joins the company as managing director of affordable housing, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the sector.

With more than $1 billion in closed transactions, Nguyen has worked on the sale of Section 8, state agency-financed, and value-add subsidized properties across the country. He will be joined by Jesse Elsanhuty, senior vice president, who has worked in affordable housing sales for more than 10 years. Both previously worked at Colliers and will collaborate with NorthMarq’s affordable housing financing experts across the country.