The NHP Foundation Names Midwest Regional Director
Veronica Gonzalez has joined The NHP Foundation (NHPF) as regional director of development for the Midwest, working in the organization’s Chicago office.
Gonzalez brings over 20 years of experience managing complex multifamily, mixed-finance redevelopments for public housing authorities, municipalities, and private affordable housing developers to NHPF. In her most recent role, the Chicago native was vice president for real estate development at The Resurrection Project, a local nonprofit development corporation that provides community investment through homeownership, rental housing, and community services throughout the city’s southwest neighborhoods and western suburbs.
Her responsibilities include project conceptualization, predevelopment, deal execution, and project closeout.
State Senate Confirms WHEDA Leader
Members of the Wisconsin Senate unanimously confirmed Joaquín Altoro as executive director of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).
Altoro was appointed WHEDA’s executive director by Gov. Tony Evers, and he also carries the title of CEO through action by WHEDA’s board members.
He brings experience gained from a 28-year career in residential and commercial lending to the agency, including his most recent role as vice president of commercial banking for Town Bank. A former plan commissioner for the city of Milwaukee, Altoro currently serves as a member of the Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, president of the WHEDA Foundation, and board member of Lift Wisconsin, WHEDA’s community development entity. He also sits on the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago Community Investment Advisory Board.
An independent authority governed by members of its board, WHEDA employs about 160 full and part-time staff members. It reported total assets of $2.8 billion for fiscal 2019, including more than $2.2 billion in its portfolio of single-family, multifamily, and other loans and mortgage-backed securities.
Omni New York Appoints VP of Development
Polina Bakhteiarov has been named vice president of development at Omni New York, one of the top owners and developers of affordable housing in the country. She will focus on both rehab and new construction projects in the New York market and beyond.
Prior to joining Omni, Bakhteiarov served as senior vice president of business development at Invest Newark, the economic development corporation for the largest city in New Jersey. She previously established and led the preservation team of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) as director for real estate development, repositioning 62,000 distressed public housing apartments via subsidy conversion to Section 8 in order to raise financing to address $13 billion in unmet capital needs, equaling the largest residential preservation pipeline in the United States. In her three years at NYCHA, Bakhteiarov closed on 5,600 apartments in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens with 11,000 public housing residents and $1.6 billion in total development cost, including the largest single-site Rental Assistance Demonstration transaction of 1,395 units, 4,000 residents, and a $560 million total development cost in Far Rockaway, Queens.
Before relocating to New York in 2016, Bakhteiarov served on the economic development team for the mayor of the District of Columbia. During her four-year tenure with the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, she held myriad roles, including executive director of Great Streets, the District’s commercial revitalization initiative to transform emerging corridors into thriving and inviting neighborhood centers. She joined the government of the District of Columbia as a Capital City Fellow in 2011.
Pennrose Hires Asset Management Executive
Michelle Militello has joined leading affordable housing developer and owner Pennrose as vice president of asset management.
She will focus on maximizing the financial performance and value of the Pennrose portfolio. Militello is responsible for analyzing, measuring, and reporting on property financial and operating metrics and will work closely with the property operations team to improve outcomes.
For the past 10 years, Militello served as vice president of tax credit equity investments for Bank of America, where she was the senior asset manager responsible for approximately 50 direct low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investments. Her 20-plus years of industry experience also includes roles in community development and portfolio management.
National Church Residences Promotes Three to Vice President
Three members of National Church Residence’s development department have been promoted to vice president positions due in part to their role in the organization’s growth over the past five years. In addition, the department is poised for continued growth in fiscal year 2020 and beyond, said organization officials.
Eric Walker has been named vice president of affordable housing. He oversees the origination and finance teams, including leaders in Savannah, Ga.; Austin, Texas; and Columbus, Ohio. While leading a team of affordable housing originators, Walker has overseen a 50% increase in affordable housing applications from 2014 to 2019. In 2018, he led the organization’s successful efforts to secure $7.5 million in Capital Magnet Funds. Walker has been with National Church Residences since 2005.
Amy Rosenthal was promoted to vice president of affordable housing. She leads a team of originators responsible for affordable housing development in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Rosenthal, who has been with National Church Residences since 2012, has been a leader in the growth of the organization’s new construction volume.
Together, Walker and Rosenthal have led many complex affordable housing projects and are spearheading one of the nation’s first preservation efforts of a senior affordable community under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) for Project Rental Assistance Contracts (PRAC) conversion program.
Jason Gaulden has advanced to vice president of construction and predevelopment. He oversees the pre-construction and construction teams as well as the relocation staff. He was hired as the senior director of construction and predevelopment in March 2018. Prior to joining National Church Residences, Gaulden held a leadership position at Lifestyle Communities in Columbus.
With 340 communities in 25 states and Puerto Rico, National Church Residences is the nation’s largest nonprofit provider of affordable senior housing and the largest manager of service coordinators. The organization also offers residential senior communities, home and community-based services, as well as permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless and disabled individuals.
BRIDGE Housing Names Vice President of Resource Development
Mary Kelley has joined BRIDGE Housing as vice president of resource development. She will lead the organization’s fundraising to expand resident programs, transform communities, and accelerate production of affordable homes.
Headquartered in San Francisco, BRIDGE is a top nonprofit developer, owner, and manager of affordable housing in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Kelley is a seasoned fundraising professional with more than 20 years of experience raising over $65 million for transformational housing, human service, social justice, education, and human rights programs. She comes to BRIDGE from Mercy Housing California, where she was regional director of major gifts. Among her previous positions, Kelley served as director of leadership philanthropy for GLIDE and leadership development officer for Habitat for Humanity International.
Affirmed Housing Promotes Jimmy Silverwood
Jimmy Silverwood has been promoted to executive vice president at Affirmed Housing in San Diego. As the head of Affirmed’s acquisitions and development team since 2018, he and his team initiated unprecedented growth for the firm with eight construction loan closings totaling over $350 million and 12 land acquisitions totaling $36.5 million, said company officials.
In his new role, he supervises a staff of nine and is involved in various phases of the development process.
Silverwood has worked in the real estate industry since 2010, beginning his career in the construction field as a project engineer and estimator. In 2013, he joined Affirmed Housing as a project manager and quickly grew his knowledge of affordable housing and LIHTC financing. In 2018, he became vice president of acquisitions and development.
Affirmed Housing has financed over $1.4 billion in affordable development, with 4,100 homes completed or underway in 53 communities.
Housing Trust Group Adds Property Management Executives
Housing Trust Group (HTG) has appointed Laura Rodriguez to executive vice president of property management and Debbie McCoy to vice president of property management. Both are based in Miami and will be responsible for overseeing the overall management and operation of the firm’s entire management portfolio.
HTG is an award-winning, full-service developer of multifamily residential communities with over 7,000 affordable and market-rate units throughout Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas and more than 2,000 new apartments in the pipeline.
Rodriguez has over 23 years of experience in the property management industry, previously serving as regional vice president of Alliance Residential, where she was responsible for managing operations of all Florida properties. She also served as regional manager of ZRS Management for 12 years.
McCoy started her property management career in 1988, and in 2004 she went on to serve as regional asset manager of S.E. Residential Group for 11 years. Prior to joining HTG, McCoy served as regional manager of Alliance Residential, where she was responsible for the management, budgeting, and financial review of the company’s multifamily communities throughout Florida.
CHFA Names General Counsel
Heather Schell has been selected to serve as general counsel and assistant secretary of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) after a nationwide search.
Schell joined CHFA in January 2013. Since then, she has provided primary legal counsel for several areas of the organization, including multifamily and business lending, housing tax credit allocation and compliance, and asset management. Most recently, she held the position of senior managing attorney, overseeing the commercial loan closing process for CHFA and supervising the legal department’s staff attorneys and legal support staff. Prior to joining CHFA, Schell worked in private practice, with an emphasis on real estate and bankruptcy law.
As general counsel, Schell will provide direct oversight and governance of CHFA’s enterprise risk, which includes leading the authority’s legal, compliance, information security, and internal audit departments.
Berkadia’s Affordable Housing Adds to Team
Berkadia’s Affordable Housing team announced that Christopher Schanbacher has been named construction risk manager. He brings over 15 years of experience in construction risk management and environmental remediation to the group.
The new role will enhance Berkadia’s preclosing and post-closing construction monitoring efforts, allowing for quick identification and mitigation of risk and will position properties for successful completion. Schanbacher is the primary contact for all construction consultants and will be responsible for reviewing and analyzing construction and environmental due diligence for all proposed investments, according to company officials.
In addition, he will work with the asset management team to anticipate, identify, and resolve construction issues. Prior to joining Berkadia, Schanbacher served as a project manager in the construction risk management division at HillmannConsulting.
Bridge Investment Group Names Managing Director of ESG and Sustainability
Matthew Jensen has been named managing director of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and sustainability at Bridge Investment Group.
Jensen is a partner at Bridge, and previously served as COO of fund operations at the firm. In his new role, he will lead the company’s ESG steering committee in setting targets for and promoting ESG initiatives, collaboration, and engagement in areas that are important to Bridge stakeholders, including investors and tenants.
Bridge is a privately held real estate investment management firm with more than $20.1 billion in assets under management.
WNC Announces Addition of SVP of Capital Markets, Preservation Funds
Richard Bennion has been named senior vice president of capital markets, preservation equity funds, at WNC, a national housing tax credit syndicator and investor in real estate and community development initiatives.
He joins the company after spending 12 years with Carmel Partners, a real estate investment management firm that focuses on U.S. multifamily development, renovation, and debt. Ultimately serving as a senior vice president in investor relations, he helped raise more than $2.8 billion of equity for sector-specific, closed-end real estate funds that sought to deliver value-add returns through multifamily investments. Bennion helped successfully market and close three funds between 2011 and 2018.
Previously, he worked with HG Capital and The Carlyle Group.
Dominium Announces New Hires
Dominium, a leading owner, developer, and manager of apartment communities nationwide, announced the recent addition of several team members.
Adam Brookins has joined the company as a construction project manager in the firm’s home office in Plymouth, Minn. He is responsible for leading construction management activities and providing project management leadership for multiple projects. Additionally, he will ensure that all internal and external stakeholders receive open and prompt communication of goals, objectives, and timelines. Brookins brings 15-plus years of experience as a general contractor, subcontractor, distributor, and manufacturer. Previously, he was a business manager at Kasota Stone Fabricators and chief operations officer at Hoffman Weber Construction.
Leigh Janovsky has been named a senior tax accountant in the Plymouth office. She is responsible for supporting the tax manager in all aspects and is in charge of supporting all tax matters relating to the company and its owners. Additionally, Janovsky will prepare federal, state, and local returns for business entities along with supporting work papers necessary to complete the returns. Janovsky brings years of experience as a senior tax associate at RSM US.
Adam Armstrong has joined Dominium as a portfolio analyst in the firm’s home office. He is responsible for evaluating the physical product and operations of a portfolio of apartment communities to maximize long-term value. Additionally, he will assist with significant events such as refinancing, sales, or resyndications.
Troy Guelich has been hired as an asset manager. He is responsible for evaluating the physical product and operations of a diverse portfolio of apartment communities consisting of luxury, affordable, tax credit, and subsidized communities to maximize long-term value. Additionally, he will be reviewing and preparing reports involving financial, physical and operational performance monitoring. He resides in Arizona.
Chase Matter has been named a property accountant in the Plymouth office. He is responsible for all day-to-day accounting activities of approximately 12 to 16 properties in his assigned portfolio. Additionally, he will be communicating regularly with staff, agencies, and lenders for the success and profitability of each property. Matter brought experience as a community director at The Club at Heritage.
Pamela Breunig has joined Dominium as a recruiting supervisor in its home office. Breunig is responsible for overseeing Dominium’s site recruiting process, including partnering with on-site managers in 22-plus states. She is also responsible for approving and publishing opportunities, candidate sourcing, and supervising two recruiting coordinators. Breunig brings years of experience as a staff planning coordinator and HR generalist for IKEA.
