Fitzgerald to Lead Wells Fargo’s Housing Philanthropy
Eileen Fitzgerald has been appointed head of Wells Fargo’s housing affordability philanthropy.
She will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies aimed at strengthening housing affordability in the United States. Fitzgerald will lead housing affordability grant making, collaborative efforts with nonprofits, and initiatives intended to strengthen the national housing affordability movement.
She begins work Sept. 30 and will report to Brandee McHale, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation.
The move comes after Wells Fargo recently announced that it is committing $1 billion in philanthropy to help address the nation’s housing affordability crisis.
Fitzgerald has more than 25 years of experience in housing and community development. Since 2014, she has been president and CEO of Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, a collaborative of nonprofits that collectively own and operate more than 140,000 affordable rental homes across the country.
Previously, Fitzgerald was CEO and COO of NeighborWorks® America. Before that, she worked at the Fannie Mae Foundation and was chief investment officer for single family at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. She’s also worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service and with the Virginia and Maryland state governments.
Hamernik Joins Nevada HAND
Audra Hamernik has been named president and CEO of Nevada HAND, the state’s largest nonprofit provider of affordable rental housing with more than 4,100 apartment homes serving more than 7,300 children, adults, and seniors.
She will succeed CEO and founder Mike Mullin, who is retiring at the end of August after 26 years with the organization.
Hamernik was most recently the executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, leading a 300-person team to expand housing opportunities throughout the state. She has also served as principal of A. Hamernik & Associates, leading the company’s work in affordable housing finance, and as executive director of Bluestem Housing Partners, a nonprofit housing developer.
The NRP Group Adds to Northeast Team
Samantha Hennessey, an experienced affordable housing developer in New Jersey, has joined The NRP Group to help the firm accelerate development in the Northeast.
For more than a decade, she worked as project coordinator at Community Investment Strategies, where she had direct involvement in the development, construction, and management of more than 2,000 affordable homes throughout New Jersey. Hennessey also serves on the board of the Affordable Housing Professionals of New Jersey.
In her new role, she will leverage her experience in all aspects of project development, including due diligence, land closings, financial underwriting, permitting, architectural and engineering design, grant writing, RFP submissions, construction administration, and professional oversight..
Nixon Peabody Expands Affordable Housing Practice
Richard Shore and Abigail Patterson have joined the affordable housing and real estate practice at the Nixon Peabody law firm.
Shore, a senior associate, focuses his practice on complex commercial disputes and regulatory compliance, with a particular interest in real estate and cooperative and condominium law. He previously served as assistant attorney general in the enforcement section of the Real Estate Finance Bureau at the New York State Attorney General’s Office and has extensive experience with the Martin Act—New York’s blue sky law, the New York Executive Law, and rent stabilization laws.
Patterson, an associate, focuses her practice representing nonprofit and for-profit owners and developers of affordable housing in all aspects of the development process, from acquisition and construction loan closings to operations and regulatory matters. She previously served as the general counsel for the Housing Partnership Development Corp.
CPC Names VP, Mortgage Officer
Jaime Tuozzolo has joined the Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) as vice president, mortgage officer, in Syracuse, N.Y. She will be responsible for sourcing and originating business in the region across all loan products as well as actively monitoring projects through construction and conversion.
Tuozzolo brings to CPC roughly 20 years of experience in real estate finance, as both a lender and as part of a development company. Most recently, she was a senior relationship manager and vice president at KeyBank, where she was part of the community development lending team in the Northeast. Prior to that, Tuozzolo worked at First Niagara Bank in Syracuse, where she oversaw a CRE portfolio of more than $200 million.
Bellwether Enterprise Announces Nashville Office
Bellwether Enterprise, the commercial and multifamily mortgage banking subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment, will open a Nashville, Tenn., this fall.
Brittney Rowe, assistant vice president, and Jeremy Chism, senior vice president, will open the office, which will be active in financing for all major property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, and retail. It will also aim to expand Bellwether’s work in financing senior housing.
The national firm said the move expands on its presence and relationships built by its Memphis office.
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna Adds to Team
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna has announced that Brian E. Lawlor has joined the firm as “of counsel.”
Lawlor is part of the real estate practice group, where his practice will focus on affordable housing and housing finance. During his career, he has held many leadership roles at several government housing agencies, including commissioner and CEO of New York state’s housing agencies, assistant secretary to the governor for housing under former New York governor Mario M. Cuomo, general counsel for the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corp., and the city of New Orleans’s director of housing policy and community development in the administration of former mayor Mitch. Landrieu.
Lawlor represents private developers and nonprofit corporations as well as advises state and local governments across the county in affordable housing and neighborhood development, construction, operation and planning, and in formulating and implementing disaster recovery strategies.
Based in Albany, N.Y., the firm is the capital region’s largest law firm.
WinnResidential Appoints Five VPs
WinnResidential, the property management arm of multifamily property developer and manager WinnCompanies, has appointed five multifamily property management veterans to vice president roles.
Choni Wilcox joins the team as executive vice president in the Mid-Atlantic region of the WinnResidential portfolio. She brings more than three decades of experience to the role. Wilcox previously oversaw operations as executive vice president with Edgewood Management and Vantage Management and spent 14 years in a variety of positions at Bozzuto Group.
Kareem Slater joins the team as senior vice president, overseeing property operations of WinnResidential’s Mid-Atlantic region. The portfolio includes conventional, affordable, and subsidized housing programs. He joins the company from LEDIC Realty Co., where he spent six years and held managing director and executive vice president positions. He has also held property management roles at Columbia Residential, Corcoran Jennison, and The Medallion Group.
Barbara Breton has been named divisional vice president in the Western region of the WinnResidential portfolio, which includes California and Arizona. She brings more than 30 years of experience in property management and recently served as senior director of affordable housing operations for the Irvine Co., overseeing 5,800 units across California.
Sabrin Basile joins the team as regional vice president overseeing property operations of the New York City region of the WinnResidential portfolio. She joins the company from Related Management Co., where she spent 15 years, most recently as regional vice president. She has also held property management roles at Congress Management, National Housing Partners Management, AIMCO, and Corcoran Jennison.
Kristina Gabehart has been appointed regional vice president overseeing property operations of WinnResidential’s New York region (excluding New York City). The portfolio includes conventional, affordable, and subsidized housing programs in Albany, Malone, Rochester, and other cities. She joins the company from LEDIC Management Group, where she spent 14 years and was recently area manager. She has held property management roles at Van Roy Properties, AIMCO, and Lipton Group.
