Beacon Communities Names Senior Leaders
Ben Phillips has been appointed senior vice for development at Beacon Communities. He will provide leadership focused on new business development, integration, and cross-departmental functions in new and expanding markets.
Phillips recently helped launch Develop Detroit, a high-capacity nonprofit real estate firm focused on inclusive neighborhood development, serving as vice president of real estate. Previously, he worked for several nonprofit home builders and developers of affordable housing and cooperatives, including serving as the market leader for Mercy Housing in Southern California and the Southeast.
Alessandra de Vaca has been named executive vice president of human resources at Beacon. She brings 35 years of HR expertise as well as in-depth industry knowledge.
De Vaca will focus on further development and the implementation of Beacon’s talent management strategies, including learning and development. She recently served as executive vice president of human resources at WinnCompanies. Prior to that, she was chief administrative officer at Hebrew SeniorLife.
RIHousing Names Deputy Executive Director
James Comer has joined RIHousing as deputy executive director. He brings extensive experience in strategic planning, property management, and affordable housing finance to the state housing finance agency
Comer most recently served as executive director of Women’s Development Corp., a Rhode Island-based community development corporation.
He previously worked in RIHousing’s development division, prior to continuing his career in several senior-level positions during his almost 25 years in the housing industry. Prior to joining WDC, Comer served as director of operations at the Cambridge Housing Authority in Massachusetts, where he was responsible for the management, maintenance, and tenant selection for 2,700-plus units and oversaw the redevelopment of six large developments totaling $175 million in improvements.
In his new role, Comer will have oversight of all federal programs at RIHousing, working closely with agency directors to administer, adapt, and develop programs that respond to the rapidly changing nature of affordable housing and Rhode Islanders’ needs. He will work closely with senior leadership to strategically identify and implement housing finance initiatives that help expand and diversify RIHousing’s programs.
RBC Community Investments Announces Promotions
RBC Community Investments has announced several promotions at the company.
Lauren Dwyer has been promoted to director, head of stabilized asset management, and is responsible for a portfolio of stabilized properties and management of a group of asset management staff. She joined RBC in June 2006 as an asset management analyst and progressed her career as an associate and vice president. She has been part of the asset management leadership team since 2011.
John Galfione has been promoted to director, investment manager, on the syndications team with a focus on structuring and closing lower-tier investments in the western United States. He has origination coverage responsibilities for eight states and tribal housing investments. Prior to joining RBC in 2007, Galfione was a development manager with an affordable housing developer based in Washington, D.C.
Harry Tepper has been promoted to director, investment manager, to focus on structuring and closing lower-tier investments. He also maintains responsibility for RBC’s program with the Housing Authority Insurance (HAI) Group and originates investments with public housing authorities and several large developer clients. Tepper joined RBC in 2008 as an investment analyst on the syndications team and was promoted to vice president, investment manager, in 2010. Prior to joining RBC, he was an acquisition associate with another syndication firm for several years, along with six years of finance and banking experience.
Senka Svilar was promoted to vice president, regional manager of stabilized asset management, in 2019. She joined RBC in 2003 and progressively grew her career and responsibilities through her roles as vice president, asset risk manager, and associate, asset manager. Prior to joining RBC, Svilar worked for a nonprofit affordable housing developer as an acquisition manager responsible for acquiring scattered-site properties for LIHTC developments. She has over 30 years of real estate experience including brokerage, appraisal, property management, and development.
Erin Mastrangelo has been with RBC since 2011 and was recently promoted to vice president of equity sales with a focus on providing service to investor clients during the sales, underwriting, and fund closing process. Prior to joining RBC, she spent 10 years with a privately owned, full-service commercial mortgage banking firm in research and financial analyst roles.
Chetan Patel has been with RBC since 2015 and was recently promoted to vice president, asset manager. Prior to joining RBC, Patel had over eight years of experience in fund management and investment analysis roles with another syndication firm, and additional experience in commercial real estate and structured finance.
Maura Reddington has been promoted to vice president, investment diligence manager. She originally joined RBC in 2011 and has continued to assume greater responsibility after holding previous roles, including associate, syndication specialist, and investment diligence specialist. Prior to joining RBC, Reddington attained 14 years of real estate and paralegal experience, working as a property and contract manager in the commercial real estate development industry in Charlotte, N.C.
Urban Institute Names Director of State and Local Housing Policy
Monique King-Viehland, former executive director of the Los Angeles County Development Authority, has joined the Urban Institute as director of state and local housing policy, a new position.
She will lead efforts to catalyze the Urban Institute’s housing policy expertise into actionable strategies for, and with, state and local housing leaders. Her portfolio will extend across the organization, encompassing a range of housing policy areas from homelessness and affordable housing to zoning reform, homeownership, and housing finance.
King-Viehland has nearly 20 years of experience in housing, community, and economic development. At the Los Angeles County Development Authority, she managed more than 580 full-time employees and an annual budget of over $600 million. During her tenure as executive director, she oversaw a tenfold increase in the number of affordable and supportive housing units funded and a more than doubling of rental voucher commitments for supportive housing developments, while providing housing assistance to hundreds of thousands and much-needed homes to thousands annually. She led the agency through a significant transformation, including the merger of the Community Development Commission and Housing Authority into a unified agency. The agency also embraced a new vision: ending generational poverty and homelessness, encouraging community development, and empowering Los Angeles County residents and businesses to reach their full potential.
Before joining the agency in 2015, King-Viehland was director of the Department of Housing and Economic Development for Trenton, N.J.
The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people’s lives and strengthen communities.
Audubon Enterprises Adds to Team
Robert Moses has joined Audubon Enterprises, a Washington, D.C.-based financial advisory firm focused on public-private real estate development, as a development associate.
Moses has worked in affordable housing since 2014. Prior to joining Audubon, he worked as an acquisitions manager at Raymond James Tax Credit Funds (RJTCF), where he was responsible for leading the diligence process for LIHTC developments in the Northeast. Before that, Moses was a member of RJTCF’s feasibility department as an acquisitions analyst. As an analyst, he prepared investment analyses for 30 multifamily developments totaling over 3,000 units and $360 million of equity invested. Additionally, Moses received the 2015 Analyst of the Year award, which is awarded to the top first-year analyst.
Since 2015 Audubon has closed over $700 million of development financing to support the production and preservation of 2,700-plus units of mixed-income housing, including 13 tax credit transactions across multiple jurisdictions.
