Conference Speakers and Presenters

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Naomi Klein, Internationally Acclaimed Author, The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Klein is a prolific, award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of The New York Times and international bestseller, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Published worldwide in September 2007, The Shock Doctrine is being translated into 20 languages; its six-minute companion film was a viral phenomenon with over a million downloads. Ms. Klein’s first book, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, was also an international bestseller, and a collection of her work, Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate, was published in 2002. Ms. Klein writes a regular column for The Nation and The Guardian that is syndicated internationally by The New York Times Syndicate. In 2004, her reporting from Iraq for Harper’s Magazine won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism.

Michael Shadow, Ph.D., President, Shadow and Associates

In addition to being a Trainer/Coach in Persuasive Communication and in Political Communication at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington, Dr. Michael Shadow heads the Seattle-based firm of Shadow and Associates, which specializes in public speaking and media preparation for public and private sector leaders. His clients include environmental activists, judges and attorneys, educators, lobbyists, and political and business leaders in Europe, Africa, South America, Canada and the United States. In addition to his private coaching, Dr. Shadow has designed and facilitated over 500 major seminars for executives and public officials. The Wall Street Journal calls Dr. Shadow “the internationally noted speech consultant…a spellbinding speaker.” The Seattle Times calls him “polished and articulate” and the “image meister” who is “one of the most sought after communication coaches in the country.”

Nicole Katherine Sherwood, Director, Perry Rose LLC, Jonathan Rose Companies

Nicole Katherine Sherwood is Director of Perry Rose LLC, the Denver affiliate of Jonathan Rose Companies. The mission of Jonathan Rose Companies and its affiliates is to repair the fabric of communities. The firm collaborates with cities, towns and not-for-profits to plan, develop or acquire environmentally responsible projects, with the objective of creating vibrant, diverse cultural centers with a balance of jobs, housing, open land and mass transit. Along with her colleagues, Ms. Sherwood’s work is dedicated to using real estate development and planning as vehicles to create a more environmentally and socially responsible world.

Debra Schwartz, Director, Program-Related Investments,
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Debra D. Schwartz is Director of Program-related Investments for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation where she oversees a $300-million portfolio of below-market loans and investments used principally by economic development and affordable housing organizations. She also co-leads the Foundation’s $150-million national initiative, Window of Opportunity: Preserving Affordable Rental Housing. Schwartz joined MacArthur in 1995 as Senior Associate to the President. She became a member of the Program on Human and Community Development in 2000 and assumed her current post in 2002. Previously, Schwartz was an investment banker in public finance for John Nuveen & Co. where she structured tax-exempt bond issues for municipalities and nonprofit health care organizations. From 2002 through 2006, she served as one of nine presidential appointees to the US Treasury Department’s Community Development Advisory Board. She is a founding member of the national PRI Makers Network steering committee and frequently speaks at philanthropy-related meetings on the topics of social enterprise, nonprofit sustainability and program-related investments.  Schwartz graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelors degree in history. She earned a Masters degree in finance and nonprofit management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Karen Trilevsky, Founder and CEO, FullBloom Baking Company

Karen Trilevsky is not your average entrepreneur. As founder and CEO of FullBloom Baking Company, Ms. Trilevsky started the company in 1989 with little education under her belt and no money in her wallet, yet she was fueled by a love of baking and her vision for a better future. Once homeless and a high-school dropout, Ms. Trilevsky founded FullBloom as a one-woman, one-oven company that fed pastries to a burgeoning Silicon Valley populace. Since then, FullBloom has blossomed into a multimillion-dollar wholesale baking empire that produces fresh, frozen, par-baked and pre-packed goods for nationwide distribution. FullBloom employs 230 people and is headquartered in a state-of-the-art, 95,000 square-foot facility in Newark, California. Through Ms. Trilevsky’s leadership, the company persists in exemplifying the founding principles on which it was built — a holistic commitment to enriching the lives of its employees while engaging in ecologically responsible and agriculturally sustainable business practices. She empowers her employees and their families with education and opportunity through the Smart Cookies Program. She recently reignited her own educational aspirations, and earned her MDE in Entrepreneurial Management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

 

FOCUS SESSION PRESENTERS

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Janet Abbett, Program Manager, Housing Division at the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. In her 19 years with CTED, she has managed a variety of programs that support low-income families, including weatherization, single-family rehab, individual development accounts, and rural transportation assistance. Since 2004, she has specialized in farmworker housing, focusing primarily on programs and policies to increase and improve the supply of seasonal housing for migrant workers in Washington State.

Michael Anderson has been with Community Development Network as the Communications Director since October, 2002. The Community Development Network is a trade association of private, nonprofit community development organizations located in Multnomah County, OR. As the Communication Director, Anderson facilitates information sharing between CDN member organizations; publicizes member events, activities, accomplishments and industry news to community stakeholders; and plans and organizes advocacy activities and coalition building with Affordable Housing NOW! and the Housing Alliance. Prior to coming to the Community Development Network, Anderson spent six years working for the Fair Housing Council of Oregon doing outreach, education and enforcement of civil rights laws for housing. He began his work in the housing field in 1994, working as a Floor Manager at the Transition Projects homeless shelter in Portland, OR.

Robin Boyce, Executive Director, Housing Development Center, was appointed as HDC’s Executive Director in January 2005. For five years prior, Boyce was HDC’s Finance Director, overseeing HDC’s financial and human resources systems, as well as providing senior level project management to clients. She has more than 20 years of experience in project financing, construction, project management, housing program management and asset management and has developed over 1,200 units of affordable rental housing. Boyce initiated HDC’s work on asset management, and has presented numerous asset management trainings in Oregon and Washington. Prior to her work with HDC, Robin managed the City of Portland’s rental housing programs at the Portland Development Commission, was a carpenter for five years, a construction manager, and spent several years as a private consultant. She received her bachelor’s degree in Community Services and Public Affairs from the University of Oregon. She joined HDC’s staff in March of 2000.

Mary Jo Braaten, Director of Assisted Living, Housing Authority dba Northeast Washington Housing Solutions, is the Northeast Washington Housing Solutions (NEWS) lead for the Re-entry Housing Pilot Program. Braaten brings over 16 years of public housing experience to re-entry housing. Her experience includes inspections, liaison between landlords, their tenants and the housing authorities, as well as program oversight and supervision. In addition to her RHPP work, she administers Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Drug and Family Court, Shelter Plus Care, HOPWA, TBRA HOME and City HOME. In addition to a B.A. from Eastern Washington University, Braaten has numerous certifications related to housing including Section 8 housing quality standards, public housing management, fair housing, eligibility and intake, interviewing, and fraud control.

Julie Brunner has worked with community land trusts and non-profit housing development since 1995 and since 2002 she has been the Housing Manager for OPAL Community Land Trust on Orcas Island, and a Housing Consultant for Common Ground, a statewide non-profit housing consulting firm. Prior to 2002, Brunner was the Director of Human and Economic Development for the Athens-Clarke County government in Georgia, and held a variety of jobs in community development. She has a Masters’ Degree in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, and a B.A. in International Studies and Economics from Virginia Tech.

Jim Burton with BLIP Design has 16 years of experience in residential, retail, corporate office, and institutional projects. BLIP is an award-winning firm dedicated to Modern “Green” design. The company believes buildings should touch the land lightly, and incorporate energy efficiency, materials & water efficiency, healthy home strategies, and environmental stewardship, with the goal of creating a model for others in how to build in a responsible and sustainable way. They develop imaginative solutions to the functional requirements of a project, combined with the genuine, honest expression of structure and natural materials. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Northwest Eco-Building Guild, Built Green, the USGBC, Cascadia GBC, and Solar Washington. He is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Lisa Byers has been the Executive Director of OPAL Community Land Trust on Orcas Island since January 1996. Prior to OPAL, Byers worked as office manager and land steward for the San Juan County Land Bank, a conservation agency of county government, and in New England for ten years as a manager of historic properties for a large regional history museum. She has M.B.A. in public and non-profit management from Boston University, and a B.A. in American Studies from Vassar College.
Jim Burton, AIA, LEED A.P.

Karen Carlson has several years of experience in the banking and mortgage lending industry. She administers the down payment assistance and special programs for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Carlson trains lenders, realtors and non-profit agencies on the Commission’s programs and works with agencies statewide on affordable housing issues. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and sits on several non-profit boards, including Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County and the Kitsap Housing Coalition.

Susan Camerer and her husband founded in 1990 Vision House with a personal donation of $800 and a lot of faith. In the beginning they ran the agency out of the basement of their home in Renton. The vision came after viewing a made-for-television movie about a single mother who, through a series of events that were no fault of her own, became homeless. Vision House now operates four facilities (two complexes for homeless families and two homes for men in recovery of drug and alcohol addiction), and a licensed child care facility for 70 children. The agency currently has a 50-member staff and has has served more than 550 men, women and children. For the past three years, 100% of Vision House families have transitioned to permanent housing. Camerer and Vision House have constructed 3 projects in partnership with the Master Builders Care Foundation. An additional facility is now nearing completion.

Michelle Connor, Sr. Vice President – Policy, currently is responsible for guiding the strategic direction of the Cascade Land Conservancy’s policies and community affairs. Since 1994, Connor has been key in raising the Cascade Land Conservancy to national prominence with its development of bold, innovative and successful conservation strategies. She has been instrumental in the conservation and stewardship thousands of acres of critical resource lands throughout Washington State. She has served the organization in various capacities prior to her current role. Most recently she was Vice President of the Cascade Agenda Program and before that she served as Vice President of Conservation Programs, overseeing transactions, stewardship and special projects. Connor is a third generation Washingtonian, receiving a Masters of Science degree from the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington and her bachelor’s degree from the Evergreen State College.

Theresa Cross is a Health Educator at Clark County Public Health, working in tobacco prevention since 1993. She is part of the Portland-Vancouver Metro Area Smokefree Housing Project, whose mission is to reduce renters' exposure to secondhand smoke by increasing the number of multi-unit properties with no-smoking policies. She has a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from Oregon State University, and a Master of Science degree in Community Health Education from Portland State University. She completed academic requirements and a traineeship at Oregon Health and Sciences University, and is a Registered Dietitian.

Ishbel Dickens is a staff attorney at Columbia Legal Services. Ishbel has been an advocate for manufactured home owners for twenty years and specifically went to law school to become an even stronger advocate for people who own their homes but not the land under them. Dickens has traveled extensively throughout Washington meeting with manufactured home owners and educating them about their rights under the Manufactured/mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act (RCW 59.20) and helping them form home owners’ associations with a view to preserving their manufactured housing communities. Dickens is working with two homeowners’ associations who are in the process of purchasing their communities as cooperatives. She is also involved in policy changes at the local and state levels that will help manufactured homeowners preserve their lifestyle choice. Dickens has provided trainings both locally and nationally on manufactured housing community preservation. She had an article published in Clearinghouse Review, a national poverty law and policy journal and was awarded a WSHFC “Friend of Housing” Award in 2007. Dickens has been accepted to the Achieving Excellence program run by Harvard’s Kennedy School and she hopes to move manufactured housing in Washington to the next level as a result of her attendance in this program. Dickens welcomes calls from manufactured home owners, policy and decision-makers about ways to help maintain and preserve manufactured housing communities in Washington.

Rachel Bogardus Drew is a research analyst at the Joint Center for Housing Studies. Her research covers a broad range of topics, including rental and multifamily housing, mortgage market and home buying trends, housing affordability, and the housing patterns and challenges of women. She is also project manager and co-author of the Center’s annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report, and lead researcher on the America’s Rental Housing series. Drew also co-authored a chapter in the book Revisiting Rental Housing (Belsky and Retsinas, eds.). She has produced works for publication by Shelterforce, the Harvard Generations Policy Journal, and the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, and been cited widely in the media including USA Today, Business Week, NPR, the Boston Globe, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Drew has given presentations on housing issues at over a dozen meetings and conferences.

Prior to joining Harvard, Drew worked at National Economic Research Associates in San Francisco as an Analyst in the Telecommunications Regulatory Group, and before that as an Economic Analyst in the Antitrust Practice at Foley and Lardner in Washington D.C. She has a BA in Economics and Mathematics from Dartmouth College.

John Driscoll, Vice President of Operations and Programs, since January 2002. He served in the U.S. Army from 1970-1980, including a tour as an air-evac medic and platoon sergeant with the 575th Medical Detachment during the Vietnam War. After returning from Vietnam, he served as the senior clinical specialist on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., from 1973-1980. Driscoll graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and spent the next 13 years as a group newspaper editor for the Chesapeake Publishing Corporation. As a journalism student intern in 1987, he wrote a series on homeless veterans living on the streets of the nation’s capital which was submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration in two categories by Chesapeake Publishing. His expose on the widespread use of chemicals used in the manufacture of Agent Orange throughout the United States until 1984 – 12 years after its use was banned in Vietnam – also received considerable attention.

Significant publishing credits while working with NCHV, in partnership with the Department of Labor-Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), include “Planning for Your Release, A Guide for Incarcerated Veterans,” which has been distributed to more than 16,000 employment specialists, transition assistance counselors, and incarcerated veterans; “Assistance Guide for Employment Specialists Helping Homeless Veterans,” the primary DOL-VETS training manual for homeless assistance providers; and the “HVRP Best Practices Project,” a study of 36 community-based programs cited for exemplary performance in helping formerly homeless veterans prepare for and obtain steady, gainful employment and successfully transition from homelessness to independent living. He is responsible for the development of the NCHV website (www.nchv.org) into the most comprehensive homeless veteran assistance on-line resource in the nation, providing information and service referrals to more than 65,000 visitors each month.

Mark Ellerbrook is the Homeownership Program Manager for the City of Seattle Office of Housing. In addition, he heads up the City’s efforts on employer assisted housing, which are presently focused on working with employers, government officials, and state legislators to pass legislation creating a tax credit for employer assisted housing. Prior to working for the Office of Housing, Ellerbrook worked for Impact Capital, a community development financial institution and also served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica.

Valerie Fletcher is Executive Director of the Institute for Human Centered Design, an international educational non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and founded in 1978. The mission is to advance the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities. Design includes the spectrum of design disciplines from urban design, architecture and landscape architecture to product and information design. They’ve hosted or co-hosted five international conferences on Universal Design since 1998. Prior to 2008, the Institute was known as Adaptive Environments. Fletcher currently oversees projects ranging from universal design at the urban scale, in public transit, in mixed use development and in residential and school design. She is a Special Advisor to TOTO Ltd. and to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. She lectures and writes internationally. Fletcher’s career has been divided between design and public mental health. She was founder and principal of Fletcher Studio Design. As Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health in Massachusetts, she oversaw the participatory planning process that redirected $74m from institutional care to community support systems. Fletcher has a masters degree in ethics and public policy from Harvard University. The Boston Society of Architects awarded her the Women in Design award in 2005.

Kat Gjovik is the former Director of the Community Housing Coalition of Bainbridge Island and an advocate for inclusive zoning and community land trusts as part of a comprehensive approach to preserve and create diverse housing. With a master’s degree in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University Seattle, Gjovik is dedicated to building community through strategic, integrated and grassroots approaches. She currently works with author and futurist, David Korten as the director of outreach and communication for the national Great Turning Initiative, and is an active member of the board of Sustainable Bainbridge.

Carl Guardino, President & CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, is one of Silicon Valley’s most distinguished business and community leaders, and the President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy trade association that represents more than 200 of Silicon Valley’s most respected companies. In February 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Guardino to a four-year term on the California Transportation Commission. He also serves on numerous other boards and is actively involved in a wide range of community organizations and projects. Guardino has been the chief executive of the Leadership Group since 1997. He previously served as a vice president with the organization between 1991 and 1995. As a housing advocate, he co-created the Housing Trust Fund, which has helped 6,200 families afford homes in high-cost Silicon Valley by raising more than $32 million in voluntary contributions. He also co-managed Prop. 46, the statewide Housing Bond, in 2002 and co-chaired Prop 1-C, the November 2006 statewide Housing Bond. Guardino was born and raised in San Jose and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from San Jose State University, where he is a Distinguished Alumnus.

Jon Hall is a senior associate and sustainable building advisor specializing in urban, mixed use, affordable, and sustainable projects at GGLO, a multi-disciplinary architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning firm. His background in multi-family, mixed-use, and retail developments is extensive. Hall is very focused on the quality and durability of a project from early design studies and carries this sensibility about entitlements, detailing, budget constraint, constructability, and schedule through the process, bringing the project along in a creative yet pragmatic way. He has well-established relationships with project consultants, contractors, and clients alike. In addition, his work on retail projects gives him an important perspective for mixed-use developments, realizing that each component of the project must be successful on its own to make the project prosperous as a whole. Thanks to Hall’s thoroughness, he has been highly successful during development of a number of the firm’s more visible urban, sustainable projects such as Broadway Crossing, University Village, Alcyone, and Cabrini First Hill Apartments.

Colleen Hermann-Franzen is the Smokefree Housing Manager for the American Lung Association of Oregon. ALAO is a founding member of the Portland-Vancouver Metro Area Smokefree Housing Project, whose mission is to reduce renters’ exposure to secondhand smoke. In her role, Colleen regularly assists landlords and property management companies in converting their properties to smoke-free environments. Colleen has presented smokefree housing information to a variety of audiences including public health advocates, market-rate landlords, and affordable housing providers. In every setting, Colleen strives to promote both the business and health incentives of a no-smoking policy in multi-unit housing.

Sarah Karlinsky, Policy Director, SPUR, San Francisco Planning _ Urban Research Association, has served as SPUR’s Policy Director since 2005. She is responsible for managing SPUR’s housing, community planning, regional planning and disaster planning work and for coordinating SPUR’s policy efforts. Prior to joining SPUR, Karlinsky developed affordable housing throughout the Bay Area with Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition (MPHC), one of the largest non-profit developers of affordable housing in the Bay Area. Sarah is a board member of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC) and has taught land use planning at San Francisco State University. She is the author of “Smart Growth and Community Development Corporations: Putting Policy into Practice,” published by the National Reinvestment Corporation and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Karlinsky began her career teaching urban planning to middle school students as a Teach for America Corps Member in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Urban Planning from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and her BA in History from Columbia University.

Michelle Kaufmann, AIA, LEED® AP, Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Founder + Chairman, founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs in 2002. Growing up in Iowa, Kaufmann has always had a deep understanding of the relationship between humankind and the environment. This awareness is engrained in all that she does. She believes that how we develop our landscape is such an integral part of our culture and that what we build, and how we build, should improve the environment rather than harm it.

In 2002, she founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs and began the crusade to make thoughtful, sustainable design accessible to all. A leader in the green design community, Kaufmann's commitment to sustainable living and design remains constant throughout all of her work including her thoughtful, sustainable home designs the Glidehouse™, Sunset Breezehouse™, mkSolaire™, and mkLotus™, as well as through designing custom homes and holistic, green communities.

Kaufmann's work is widely published, and her homes have been showcased in a number of museums including the National Building Museum, the Vancouver Art Center, and MOCA in Los Angeles. MKD was listed as one of "The Green 50" by INC magazine, and Michelle Kaufmann was listed as one of the top 100 people Who Matter Now by Business 2.0 magazine. Kaufmann received her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, and her Masters from Princeton University. She has been a lecturer and keynote speaker for numerous events, and has taught at Iowa State University and Woodbury University. Prior to founding Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Kaufmann was an Associate with Frank O. Gehry.

Melanie Lilliston, MPA, Director, Technical Assistance Center and Finance, came to NCHV in May 2004 from America’s Promise–The Alliance for Youth. At NCHV, Lilliston is responsible for managing the programs and resources the organization provides under technical assistance grants awarded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor-Veterans Employment and Training Service.

As Technical Assistance Center Director, Lilliston conducts training workshops, teleconferences and individual consultations in the areas of proposal writing, federal grants management, cost allocation and fiscal management. She also works with other national and local organizations in an effort to increase resources for homeless veteran service providers throughout the country. Her work under the technical assistance grants has established a resource center that handles more than 18,000 requests for assistance each year.

Mike Lowry was elected to the King County Council in 1975 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, where he served until 1989. After leaving Congress, he was elected the governor of Washington State in 1992, serving until 1996. In 1989, he and former Governor Daniel J. Evans, in a historic bipartisan effort, founded the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP). The WWRP has funded 922 parks, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation projects over the last 17 years. Today, Governor Lowry remains active in affordable housing issues, and he continues to co-chair the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition along with former Governor Evans.

Erika Malone, executive director of the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition, has worked with CLTs in the region for over nine years. As the Programs Director at Kulshan Community Land Trust for the last seven years she has conducted program and project design, worked directly with homebuyers and overseen the financial aspects of new construction projects. She believes that CLTs are elegantly designed to allow community control of land, combat the forces of displacement and gentrification and stregthen whole communities. Appropriate residential development affordable at the wages of the jobs nearby is necessary for a clean environment and sustainable quality of life. She is excited by the momentum that the CLT approach continues to gain regionally and nationally. She is a native of Washington State, a CLT homeowner and a welder.

Marty Miller, Executive Director, has been a valuable member of Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing (ORFH) since 1993 and has directly participated in the development of over 500 units in rural Washington State serving approximately 2,500 farmworkers and other low-income rural residents. Miller became ORFH’s Executive Director in 2004 after serving as the Director of Housing Development. Miller is a strong advocate at the federal, state and local level and works to bring positive change to policy issues affecting farmworkers and their families. Miller is a member of the National Rural Housing Coalition's Board of Directors and serves on their Farmworker Housing Committee. He is also a contributing member of the National Farmworker Housing Directors’ Association. He participates on the State of Washington’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board, Subcommittee on Farmworker Housing in addition to the Policy Advisory Team of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and represents ORFH as member of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance.

Marjorie Neff has been a manufactured homeowner since 2000 and planned to retire from a long career in nursing in 2007 to enjoy a relaxing retirement in the home of her dreams. Unfortunately a notice that her manufactured housing community would be closing in 12 months soon put paid to dreams of relaxation and Neff suddenly found herself leading the charge to save not only her home but those of her neighbors and friends in College Street Mobile Home Park. Neff will talk about the struggles and perseverance it took to pull all the pieces together so that she and her friends and neighbors are now the proud owners of Hidden Village (formerly College Street Mobile Home Park). She will explain the process involved to form a homeowner’s association/cooperative and how together with experts in the field she now has peace of mind that her home and her community have been preserved as affordable homeownership for at least the next 40 years.

Sheri Newbold is a residential architect in Seattle, where she has worked for ten years. She started her architecture firm, live-work-play seven years ago. Her sustainable designs fit the owners of the project and its surrounding neighborhood. Prior to moving to Seattle in 1994, she lived and studied design in Chicago, and is originally from Virginia.

Sara Nikolic, Urban Strategies Director, is heading up Futurewise’s Urban Development Program. She advocates for policies to create a more livable Central Puget Sound region—one that is sustainable, affordable, vibrant and complete--with a focus on creating more transit-oriented development in our region. Prior to Futurewise, Nikolic worked for American Farmland Trust for nearly four years, first as its Ohio State Director, and later as a consultant to its Ohio and Pacific Northwest Offices. As a native of the City of Chicago, She is passionate about creating strong urban communities. She holds an M.S. in environmental policy from the Ohio State University.

Molly Onkka, Program Coordinator, Re-entry Housing Pilot Project, Washington Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, is the Program Coordinator for the Re-entry Housing Pilot Program with the Washington Department of Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED). She has direct service, case management, and program development experience with psychiatric clients with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and substance abuse programs for recently incarcerated pregnant women. As a private business owner, Onkka also worked with Washington State workers' compensation completing employability assessments and retraining planning for individuals with a wide variety of physical and psychological disabilities. She has a bachelor of arts in Psychology from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and a masters of science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Minnesota State University.

Julie Peterson works on behalf of the not-for-profit organization, Washington Association of Housing and Services for the Aging (WAHSA), to advance the housing and services needs of our state's seniors. She works with Washington’s congressional delegation, state legislators, county planning officials and other housing advocates to raise the level of awareness, and the need, for significant funding for the development of new affordable senior housing units and the renovation or replacement of existing senior housing units. As the Director of Senior Living and Community Services, Peterson also works in the areas of home and community based services and both affordable and subsidized senior housing; researches and analyzes legislative and regulatory policies and initiatives to determine their impact on mission-driven and not-for-profit providers of care and services; and advocates on behalf of these providers at regional, state and federal legislative and regulatory forums.
For the past six years, she has been responsible for advancing Assisted Living and Nursing Home policies for WAHSA’s long term care providers, monitoring state and federal regulatory issues in both areas, and lobbying our agencies and legislators to affect public policy changes. She has received certification as a Certified Aging Services Professional from the University of North Texas, affiliated with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Peterson holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Washington, served four years as an elected official on the Kent City Council, and has been active on various boards and with community service organizations.

Melissa Peterson has worked for the past three years as a Program Officer with Enterprise Community Partners in Portland, Oregon, coordinating the Green Communities Initiative in the Pacific Northwest region. Within this capacity, she has had the opportunity to work with affordable housing development teams in strategically incorporating green design features into their project. Additionally, she has facilitated collaboration and coordination between housing and environmental entities throughout the region. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Cascadia Green Building Council.

Before coming to Enterprise, Peterson was involved in the field of sustainability in various capacities, including teaching biological and environmental courses, working within the field of Geographic Information Systems, and volunteering for community-based organizations. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from Messiah College in Pennsylvania and a Masters’ in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University. She is also a LEED Accredited Professional. In her work and play, she seeks to celebrate natural spaces and promote social and environmental equity for communities around the world.

LaKesha Pope is a Youth Policy and Program Analyst for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Prior to joining the Alliance, Pope worked at Public Strategies, Inc. in government relations to provide client support in the areas of media strategy, market research, project management and legislative affairs. She was also responsible for program development for various statewide Governors’ Conferences for Women. Ms. Pope served two terms as the Points of Light Foundation Youth Engaged in Service Ambassador for Texas. As the youth spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, she developed and facilitated trainings nationwide and managed a statewide youth service council that implemented thousands of volunteer service hours throughout Texas. Pope has a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs with a Concentration in Nonprofit Management. While pursuing her graduate degree, she worked at the Children’s Defense Fund, where she provided analysis of national and state policies on child and youth development. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Xavier University in Louisiana.

Paul Purcell, Founder and President, began work in housing in 1986 as Vice President of Finance and Administration for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. He became responsible for financing tax credit and other housing development for the Archdiocesan Housing Authority (AHA). He left AHA to begin Beacon Development Group. During the past 20 years, he has developed over $300 million of housing, office, and mixed-use developments. Purcell received the Washington State Housing Finance Commission Friend of Housing Award 2004 in recognition of his "dedication and commitment to affordable housing." He has served on the Governor's Task Force on Financing Senior Housing, the Joint Committee on Farm Worker Housing, and the Policy Advisory Team for Housing. Currently, he is a member of the Housing Development Consortium Board of Directors. In April 2005 Purcell was appointed by Governor Gregoire to the Office of Governor's Affordable Housing Advisory Board. He holds a Master in Public Administration from Seattle University.

Joanne Quinn, Asset Management Sustainability Specialist with Office of Housing in Seattle. Over the last 29 years, Quinn has held leadership positions with the non-profit Plymouth Housing Group and the Public Development Authorities’ Pike Place Market and Capitol Hill Housing. Her work with these organizations helped preserve and build over 1,400 units of affordable housing for the neediest individuals and families in the Seattle community. She is committed to high quality and affordable housing for all people. Her expertise in the development and property management of affordable housing is highly valued in her community. Quinn was a founding member of the Affordable Housing Management Association of Washington (AHMA-Washington) and received their distinguished Service Award in August 2001. She is certified as a Nonprofit Housing Management Specialist through CHAM (Consortium for Housing and Asset Management) and also holds the title of National Assisted Housing Professional (NAHP) Executive through NAHMA (National Affordable Housing Management Association).

Certified as a Sustainable Building Advisor, Quinn’s current work as an Asset Manager for Seattle’s Office of Housing has a special focus to promote and accelerate sustainable building practices within the Seattle affordable housing industry through the City’s SeaGreen for Affordable Housing program and the State’s Evergreen Sustainable Building Criteria.

Tom Reeve is the Vice President of the board of directors for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. He moved to the Seattle area from Honolulu 20 years ago and has spent 18 years at Microsoft working in software development. Reeve's interest in conservation has its roots in growing up in a rapidly developing urban area. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hiking, kayaking, and bicycling and also currently serves as chair of the Washington Advisory Council for the Trust for Public Land.

Tracy L. Reich manages the Affordable Housing Preservation Services program at Impact Capital and is a key staff person for the Vibrant Communities program and other community building programs. She had previously managed a statewide capacity building program. Prior to joining them, Reich was executive director of two downtown revitalization programs in Washington state and city staff for a downtown historic district in Arizona. She is completing her final project for certification by CHAM as a Certified Housing Asset Manager and is a Certified Main Street Manager through the National Main Street Center, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Reich is actively involved with the University of Montana and is a Emeriti Board Member of the University Alumni Association. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Montana and her Master’s in Public Administration from Eastern Washington University.

Idolina Reta has enjoyed 30 years with the Washington State Human Rights Commission. She is currently the Deputy Director overseeing the enforcement division that enforces the Law Against Discrimination, provides outreach to the community and training for those that need to comply with the law. Reta has extensive knowledge in the various state and federal employment and housing discrimination laws.

Molly Rogers is the Asset Management Program Manager at the Housing Development Center. She provides direct consulting services to over a dozen non-profit housing owners to restructure or rehabilitate non-performing properties, improve or develop systems, train staff and boards, and augment staff capacity in specific areas of asset management. Roger’s work in Asset Management has captured over $.9 million for non-profit clients and has helped restructure 20 properties to secure financial and physical viability for the long-term. She oversees the risk mitigation fund, advocates for changes in city and state-level asset management policy, and facilitates a peer network for nonprofit asset managers in the Portland region. Prior to HDC, Rogers managed several projects and initiatives for the City of Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development to support the City’s 10-year plan to end homelessness and the completion of several federal grant applications that brought millions in grants to local nonprofit organizations. She is on the Board of Directors for the Association of Oregon Community Development Organizations. Rogers has a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

David Rosen is Founder and Principal of David Paul Rosen & Associates (DRA), a 28-year-old public interest consulting firm with expertise in capital formation strategies for affordable housing and community economic development. DRA was founded in 1980, He is well known nationally for groundbreaking work in capital formation strategies and financial structures benefiting low income and minority neighborhoods and communities and has pioneered the strategic use of scarce affordable housing and local economic development public resources and land use planning policy.

Rosen and DRA have been selected by the California Redevelopment Association as the only firm in the State to conduct the Basic Affordable Housing and Advanced Affordable Housing Institutes for CRA in 2006, 2007 and 2008. His work includes clients in the public, private and non-profit sectors in 39 states and in more than 160 cities, involving more than $6 billion in program and transaction financing. Rosen’s substantial achievements include the creation of state housing trust funds as permanent and dedicated, annually renewable sources of revenue for the production and reservation of low income housing, innovative financing structures for redevelopment agencies, trend setting work in the negotiation and structure of financial commitments and partnerships with banks, insurance companies, government sponsored enterprises, and other financial institutions. Rosen is nationally recognized for his work on inclusionary housing, affordable housing strategic and capital planning. He has worked extensively with the low income housing tax credit, having created a local nonprofit equity fund, as well as routinely securing premium pricing for tax credit investments.

Mike Ryherd has been the lobbyist in Olympia for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition since 1992. In his 35 years of lobbying at the state level, Ryherd has represented a variety of issues and clients including conservation, municipalities, labor, non-profits, corporations and professional trade associations. He was the first lobbyist for the Low Income Housing Congress, one of the founders of the State Housing Trust Fund and was presented the “Friend Of Housing Award” by the Housing Finance Commission in 1996. Ryherd was also a founding member, and past president, of the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Capitol Land Trust in Olympia.

Jay Schupack oversees the planning and development of programs for the Master Builders Care Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, the largest homebuilding association in the United States. He’s facilitated partnerships among public agencies, for-profit businesses in the homebuilding industry and non-profit agencies to construct 11 multifamily facilities for organizations that serve homeless. Projects include one build for ABC TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Historically, these partnerships resulted in housing being built for 50% of standard retail construction costs.

Paul Schissler, a community development planner with over 25 years of experience in Northwest Washington, recommends community land trusts to protect the community’s investment in homes that can remain permanently affordable for future generations of homebuyers. CLTs can also serve as the “stewards of affordability” when communities use inclusive housing strategies, like inclusionary zoning, to create homes people can afford. Schissler is a co-founder of, and currently serves as president of, the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition, in addition to his job as executive director of Kulshan Community Land Trust.

Bill Singer, Senior Architect, LEEDTM AP, is a licensed architect with over 20 years of experience, the last 12 with Environmental Works, where he has been the project architect/lead designer for several sustainable affordable housing projects including Traugott Terrace - the first LEED certified affordable housing project in the U.S., Katherine’s Place – winner of the 2005 BuiltGreen Seattle Design Competition in the Multi-Family category, SHARE Bunkhouse – included in the 2001 Seattle AIA What Makes It Green program, and Hopelink Place –included in the 2000 Seattle AIA/Seattle Times Housing the Northwest program. He is currently a City of Seattle Design Review Board member, the co-chairman of the Successful Design Affinity Group of the Housing Development Consortium, and a board officer of the Washington Housing Equity Alliance.

Robin Snyderman, Vice President of Community Development at the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), joined in 1998 to intensify the Council’s ability to increase the number of informed stakeholders committed to a range of quality housing options near jobs and transit throughout the region, as well as to successful public housing reform. Currently she has helped MPC launch several nationally recognized regional efforts, including the Regional Employer-Assisted Collaboration for Housing (REACH), the landmark Regional Rental Market Analysis, a partnership with the Housing Committee of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, the Building Successful Mixed Income Communities Forums and the Regional Housing Initiative. In 2002, Robin staffed the Transition Team Housing Committee for Governor Rod Blagojevich and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Governor’s Housing Task Force.

Prior to her work at MPC, Robin worked for 10 years with San Francisco’s Mission Housing Development Corporation, developing and providing supportive housing for formerly homeless adults. In addition to her work at MPC, Robin is a Board Member of the Illinois Housing Council and Interfaith Council for the Homeless, and a Trustee of the National Housing Conference. Robin recently completed two terms as Chair of the City of Evanston’s Housing Commission and as an affordable housing committee advisor for the Federal Homeloan Bank.

Jennifer Sprecher, PE, was selected as Executive Director of the Washington State Quality Award (WSQA) in August, 2003. WSQA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to making Washington State a better place to live, learn and work by helping organizations achieve superior results through the use of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. These Criteria help organizations increase their capabilities, expand their knowledge and skills and improve their performance. WSQA works with and recognizes excellence in business, education, government, non-profit and healthcare. The organization provides workshops, training, symposiums, presentations, facilitated collaborative work groups, and an on-line self-assessment survey tool for organizations throughout the state of Washington. WSQA administers the awards process, which culminates in the annual Governor’s presentation of the award. Prior to working with the organization as Executive Director, Jennifer volunteered for the organization as a Senior Examiner. As Engineering Manager she led her department to a 100% increase in successful project completion as Production Manager she consistently exceeded productivity and quality expectations. She has provided consulting and training services in Quality, Lean, Lean-Sigma and securing Employee Insight on areas crucial to organizational performance for over ten years.

Kevin St. Jacques, Department Manager, Integrated Services, Sound Mental Health, has been working with the forensic mental health population in Seattle, WA since 1999. He began with Sound Mental Health 6 years ago as a forensic mental health clinician in the Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender Program. St. Jacques is currently the Department Manager of Integrated Services. In this capacity he is responsible for overseeing the mental health treatment of approximately 650 mentally ill offenders receiving mental health and chemical dependency treatment in 7 different forensic mental health programs. St. Jacques holds masters degrees in Clinical Psychology and Anthropology. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology. His research interests include forensic mental health, psychopathology, and clinical anthropology. He has provides trainings for the Department of Corrections, Seattle area housing agencies and community mental health clinicians on the treatment of mentally ill offenders and the role of interagency coordination for maintaining community safety.

Brian Sullivan, Snohomish County Council member, has approximately 25 years of state and municipal experience with strengths in areas of local, state, and federal processes, municipal management, and constituent relations. Council member Sullivan has been a strong champion for manufactured homeowners both as a state representative and as a county councilman. He sponsored legislation that provided incentives to community owners who chose to sell their communities to homeowners’ associations. He was key in Snohomish County’s recent passage of a moratorium to prevent the redevelopment of manufactured housing communities pending long term solutions.

Melinda Szatlocky, Homeward Bound CLT, has 12 years experience in providing program development and direct services in the continuum from Homelessness to Homeownership. Serving in 1997-1999 as a AmeriCorps*VISTA with Serenity House of Clallam County and beginning in 1999 at the housing Authority of the County of Clallam (HACC). Szatlocky was the driving force behind the Clallam Housing Authority’s successful Homeownership program. She successfully developed relationships with WSHFC partner lenders, accessed down payment assistance from FHLB of Seattle, the Washington State HTF, and a successful IDA program in 2001. Under her direction, HACC was the first in the state to combine Mutual Self Help, Section-8 and HouseKey Loans. Seine leaving HACC in early 2008 she has worked with the newly formed Homeward Bound CLT serving Jefferson and Clallam Counties on the North Olympic Peninsula.

Brien Thane has been Executive Director of the Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust since November 2006. The mission of the Trust, which was established in 2003 through the leadership of U.S. Senator Patty Murray, is to create a better and more sustainable agricultural community in Washington State by securing and investing resources to address the full spectrum of housing and related needs of farmworkers in our state. Prior to being hired as the first Executive Director of the Trust, Thane spent 18 years developing farmworker housing throughout Washington State with the nonprofit Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing based in Yakima and was Executive Director of that organization for 11 years. Thane has 29 years experience in low-income housing issues. He was President of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance until November 2007 and continues to serve on the Alliance’s Executive Committee, as he has since 1993. He was a board member of the National Rural Housing Coalition for eleven years and an officer of the National Farm Worker Housing Directors’ Association for five years. He has been a member of the Washington State Housing Trust Fund Policy Advisory Team since 1992.

Lisa Vatske is currently the Managing Director of the Washington State Housing Trust Fund (HTF) at the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development. The Housing Trust Fund has been actively awarding funds to create or retain low-income housing across Washington State since 1989. The current portfolio includes over 1,000 projects, 32,000 units and represents approximately $500 million of state investment. Vatske was involved in the Housing Trust Fund in the mid-90’s, in the early growth years when the main focus was on “getting the money out” and was responsible for application review and contracting of specific projects. In the past three years as manager of the HTF, the main focus for Vatske and staff has been developing policies and procedures to effective manage the portfolio and support projects. She has been involved in community development concentrating on small business and low-income housing financing for approximately 20 years.

Mia Vermillion, Mortgage Advisor, Key Bank, has over 25 years in various aspects of the mortgage business. Although familiar with all types of loans, she is an expert in first time buyer financing options and Tribal lending. Vermillion also teaches numerous classes on credit and the steps to successful homeownership. She is honored to be one of the top lenders of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission Program.


Charles W. Wend, Community Corrections Supervisor, Washington State Department of Corrections, has worked for the State Department of Corrections for over 25 years. He has worked in a variety of correctional settings to include prison, work release and field operations. He has broad experience working with high risk offenders including sex offenders, violent offenders, and mentally ill offenders. Currently, Wend supervises a group of Re-Entry Specialists who are tasked with transitioning high risk offenders releasing from prison back into the community. He works closely with the Skagit County Law and Justice Council and he currently is the chair of the Corrections Facilities Task Force, focusing on the planning of a new Skagit County Community Justice Center. Charlie graduated in 1975 from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a degree in Anthropology.

Jim Wiard is vice president of property management for Guardian Management LLC. Wiard has been employed by Guardian since 1991 and serves on the company’s executive management team. He is responsible for managing all property operations, including key relationships, policy development, training and compliance. During 1007, Wiard spearheaded the company’s non-smoking initiative and converted all portfolio properties to non-smoking. In his time with Guardian, he has supervised numerous lease-ups and participated on many development teams. His experience also includes most major government housing programs. He is a Certified Property Manager and past president to Portland’s Metro Multifamily Housing Association. Additionally, he is the company’s principal broker for Oregon and Washington. Wiard is a graduate of University of Oregon and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing