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Speakers and Panels

Developing Affordable Housing in Booming Areas

AJ Jackson

AJ Jackson

President

LEO Impact Capital

Patrice Harris

Patrice Harris

Partner

Nixon Peabody

Jim Knight

Jim Knight

President and CEO

Jubilee Housing

Joe LeMense

Joe LeMense

Managing Director

United Bank

Todd Lee

Todd Lee

Executive Director/CEO

DC Housing Finance Agency

Bill Bonstra

Bill Bonstra

Founder & Managing Partner

Bonstra Haresign Architects

Winell Belfonte
Moderator

Winell Belfonte

Partner

CohnReznick

AJ Jackson

President

LEO Impact Capital

Brian Allan Jackson (AJ) serves as President of LEO Impact Capital, an investment management

platform focused on acquiring, operating, and investing in workforce housing. Using an Impact

Framework, LEO aims to enhance residents' financial well-being while providing competitive returns

for investors. Its business lines cover investments (debt and equity), asset management, and advisory

services. LEO is a subsidiary of JBG SMTH (NYSE: JBGS).

AJ joined JBG SMITH as Executive Vice President for Social Impact Investing and built the Washington

Housing Initiative, an innovative, market-driven approach to preserve and create affordable

workforce housing. In that role, he led the formation of the Impact Pool, an investment platform that

has provided capital for the preservation of more than $1 billion of affordable workforce housing. AJ

is a member of JBG SMITH’s Investment Committee and its Sustainability Committee.

Prior to joining JBG SMITH, AJ was a Managing Partner with EYA, LLC, a Washington, DC area urban

infill development company. He led EYA’s participation in more than one billion dollars of double

and triple bottom line real estate developments.

Earlier in his career, AJ served as Chief of Staff to the Administrator of the U.S. General Services

Administration (GSA) and on the staff of the Budget Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

AJ serves on the Advisory Board of Center Creek Capital Group , a mission-oriented housing

investment and development firm. He also serves on the Board of Up For Growth, a national,

cross-sector member network committed to solving the housing shortage and affordability crisis

through data-driven research and evidence- based policy. AJ is a Trustee of the Urban Land

Institute and Chair of the Advisory Board of ULI’s Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real

Estate.

AJ was honored as a Minority Business Leader by the Washington Business Journal. He is a

Trustee of the Federal City Council and past president and a life director of the Maryland

Building Industry Association. AJ earned a BA with Honors in economics from the University of

Alabama and an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School.

Patrice Harris

Partner

Nixon Peabody

As a former assistant general counsel in HUD Headquarters and the Chicago HUB, Patrice J. Harris brings her clients almost 20 years of transactional and regulatory experience in FHA multifamily programs, public housing and bond/tax credit transactions. She represents developers and lenders in acquiring, rehabilitating and/or financing affordable housing developments nationwide. Read more at https://www.nixonpeabody.com/en/team/harris-patrice-j

Jim Knight

President and CEO

Jubilee Housing

Jim Knight has served as Executive Director and President of Jubilee Housing since 2002. Under Jim’s leadership, Jubilee completed a renovation campaign that modernized its entire historic portfolio. Working with the Board, philanthropic partners and several DC agencies, renovation of the last of seven buildings was completed in 2010. More recently, Jim led the Jubilee Life Initiative that expands Jubilee’s mission into three new properties, increasing its housing stock by 40%, expanding its educational supports opportunities by nearly 100%, and creating a new supportive housing program that welcomes men and women returning home after incarceration. Jim has unique insight at the cross-section of housing finance and the needs of the families that affordable housing serves.

Before his tenure at Jubilee Housing, Jim led the men’s transitional program at Samaritan Inns in Washington, DC, was a facilities manager and rehabilitation coordinator at Knox Area Rescue Ministries in Knoxville, TN, and completed a yearlong Discipleship Year Program internship at Jubilee Housing. Jim is a member of the Housing Production Trust Fund’s Advisory Board, is a board member and past chair-person at CNHED, is a founding board member of Life Asset, and is active at Bread of Life Church. He lives in Ward 4 with his wife Wendy and two children Ella Grace and Jack.

Joe LeMense

Managing Director

United Bank

Joseph LeMense is the managing director of community development & nonprofit banking at United Bank, the largest headquartered community bank in Greater Washington. With over 40 years of experience, LeMense guides the Bank’s nonprofit business development and lending initiatives throughout the Bank’s markets in eight states and the District. He focuses on providing personalized financial solutions to mission-based organizations involved in community development, affordable housing, education, social services and trade associations. LeMense joined United Bank in 2004, most recently serving as a senior vice president of commercial banking. In this role, he developed and managed long-term lending relationships, primarily in the nonprofit, biotech and government contracting industries. LeMense’s areas of expertise include tax exempt bond finance, tax increment finance, Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) financing and Low Income Housing Tax Credit (“LIHTC”) and New Market Tax Credit (“NMTC”) financing. A fifth-generation Washingtonian and fourth-generation graduate of Georgetown University, LeMense is a board member of the Jubilee Housing Advisory Board and a former mayoral appointee to the D.C. Public Charter School Credit Enhancement Fund Committee. He is an active volunteer and advisor with the Georgetown University Alumni Club of Washington, D.C. as well as a guest lecturer at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. A 2015 graduate of Leadership Montgomery, Joe was also a charter member and past president of the Metro Bethesda Rotary Club.

Todd Lee

Executive Director/CEO

DC Housing Finance Agency

Mr. Lee joined the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency in April, 2016. He serves as the

Executive Director/CEO. Mr. Lee is responsible for the overall supervision, coordination and

management of the Agency. He is an experienced leader in the field of multifamily and

commercial real estate finance with a diverse background in multiple areas of investment and

lending across multiple property types throughout the United States.

Prior to joining the Agency, Mr. Lee served as Vice President at Fannie Mae in the Multifamily

Division where he was responsible for leading the Structured Transactions and Seniors Housing

businesses with combined annual production of over $3 billion. He also carried his own portfolio

of large institutional multifamily borrowers which includes public and private real estate

investment trust as well as institutional investment funds.

Prior to this role, Mr. Lee served as Vice President for Multifamily Equity in the Community

Investments unit of the Multifamily Division at Fannie Mae. In this position, he managed a team

responsible for deploying capital into multifamily equity investments through partnerships with

institutional fund advisors and through direct asset acquisitions, in joint ventures with developers

and operating partners. At its peak, the investment portfolio was comprised of 44,000 apartment

units with a gross asset value of $4.5 billion. He also served on the Multifamily Risk Management

Committee.

Mr. Lee joined Fannie Mae in April 2001 as the Northeast Regional Director for the American

Communities Fund (ACF), where he oversaw a team responsible for the origination, structuring

and underwriting of senior debt, mezzanine debt, direct equity, and lines of credit for affordable

and market rate residential development covering a territory spanning from Maine to Washington,

D.C.

Before joining Fannie Mae in 2001, Mr. Lee was Vice President/Structuring Specialist for Bank of

America's Real Estate Structured Debt Group; Vice President for Chevy Chase Bank's Real

Estate Banking Group (now Capital One Bank); and Assistant Vice President for NationsBank's

Community Development Lending Group (now Bank of America). He began his career in 1991 at

Riggs National Bank in Washington, D.C. (now PNC) as a Commercial Banking Associate where

he completed the Bank’s formal credit training program. During his career Mr. Lee has delivered

billions in debt and equity capital for the acquisition, development and re- development of

multifamily and commercial real estate.

Mr. Lee is a member of the Urban Land Institute and District of Columbia Building Industry

Association (DCBIA). He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Housing

Conference (NHC), the Board of Directors of the National Association of Local Housing Finance

Agencies (NALHFA) and is a member of the National Council of State Housing Agencies’

(NCSHA) 2017 Elections Committee. Previously, Mr. Lee was a member of the District of

Columbia Housing Preservation Strike Force (2015-2016) and served as the Chair of the Finance

sub-committee. Mr. Lee is a past board member of the East of the River Community

Development Corporation. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The

College of William and Mary.

Bill Bonstra

Founder & Managing Partner

Bonstra Haresign Architects

Bill Bonstra, FAIA, LEED AP is the founder and managing partner of Bonstra | Haresign Architects, LLP. After distinguishing himself at several

notable Washington, DC design firms, since 2000 he has led the firm in the design and implementation of complex, mixed-use residential and

commercial projects with challenging zoning and historic preservation requirements. His award-winning multi-family work includes Ten at Clarendon,

SoLo Piazza, Q14, The Aston, Woodley Wardman, and the Tapies Condominium. His adaptive use projects include: The Studio Theatre, The

Sanctuary, and CITTA 50. He is currently implementing designs with challenging entitlements for 1600 North Capital Street, NW, the Barrel House,

and a residential tower at 2002 11th Street, NW.

He and his work have been recognized with over 75 national and regional awards for contemporary design of new buildings, renovations, and

adaptive use projects. His work has been featured in over 50 national and regional design publications including the AIA Guide to the Architecture of

Washington, DC - Sixth Edition, Architectural Record, Residential Architect, Builder Magazine, Building Design + Construction, the Washington Post,

ULI/Urban Land, ArchitectureDC, Washingtonian Magazine, and in the Second Edition of James M. Goode’s book Best Addresses, A Century of

Washington’s Distinguished Apartment Houses. For his contributions of exemplary contemporary design promoting and vitalizing historic

neighborhoods in the nation’s capital, he was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows, one of the highest honors bestowed to members of the

architecture profession.

Graduating with honors from the University of Maryland, he continues his academic pursuits as a mentor to young architects at the firm and through

his teaching, lecturing and design jury participation. He is currently teaching a Masters Design Studio at The Catholic University of America. At

Maryland, he is a founding member of the Board of Visitors and Council of Advisors for both the architecture and the real estate development

programs. He established the William J. Bonstra Endowed Scholarship there in 2014. In 2016, he was honored as Maryland Architecture Alumni of

the Year. He is on the Board of Directors of Cultural Tourism DC and the International Student House in Washington, DC. He is a member of the

Cosmos Club in Washington DC.

Winell Belfonte

Moderator

CohnReznick

Winell Belfonte is a partner in CohnReznick’s Affordable Housing and Not-for-Profit and Education Industry

practices. She serves as the partner in charge of the Firm's New York office affordable housing practice. In this

capacity, she is the lead service provider and business advisor to her clients and accountable for the

dissemination and implementation of technical issues for affordable housing and not-for-profit clients.

Winell has 30 years of experience providing services to a broad range of clients. Her extensive experience

comes in the areas of audit, accounting, and tax for not-for-profit and for-profit clients including real estate

developers, investors, syndicators, contractors, and property managers, as well as charities and foundations.

Her business advisory expertise includes strategic planning, the design and implementation of internal control

structures, financial analysis, budgets, regulatory compliance, and investor requirements.

As a frequent speaker, Winell has become well known for her technical expertise. She has spoken to many

not-for-profit and affordable housing audiences and graduated from a nine-month community leadership

program with Leadership of Greater Washington in 2010.

Holistic Development in Overlooked Areas

Lamar Seats

Lamar Seats

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing

HUD

Polly Donaldson

Polly Donaldson

Director

D.C. Department of Housing & Community Development

Robert Goldman

Robert Goldman

President

Montgomery Housing Partnership

Brett Macleod

Brett Macleod

Executive Director

JPMorgan Chase

Corey Powell

Corey Powell

COO

Dantes Partners

Blaise Rastello

Blaise Rastello

Development Director Affordable Housing

Gilbane Development Company

Michael Meers

Michael Meers

Executive Vice President

MidCity Development

Meghan Altidor
Moderator

Meghan Altidor

Partner

Nixon Peabody

Lamar Seats

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing

HUD

C. Lamar Seats joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in May

2018 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs.

Lamar brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial, market and affordable

multifamily mortgage banking through his previous leadership roles with various lending

institutions.

Immediately before beginning his Federal career with HUD, Lamar was a Managing

Director at M&T Realty Capital Corporation where he was responsible for multifamily

agency loan production with FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. Prior to that, he was

CEO of Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC, Senior VP of Enterprise

Community Investment, Inc., and Senior VP of Reilly Mortgage Group, respectively.

Lamar earned both his BS in Pharmacy and his MBA from the University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Polly Donaldson

Director

D.C. Department of Housing & Community Development

Polly Donaldson has served as the Director of the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) since January 2, 2015. As Director, she oversees 180+ employees, 14 program areas and manages an operating budget of over $250 million to preserve and produce rental and homeownership opportunities for District residents while leading the charge of revitalizing underserved neighborhoods.

The Director is well-known in DC affordable housing circles and has had great influence throughout the city. Her nonprofit career spans over 27 years, with senior management experience in homelessness, affordable housing and international community development.

Prior to joining DHCD, Donaldson served as the Executive Director of the Transitional Housing Corporation (THC) for over 10 years and THC Affordable Housing, Inc., since its founding in June 2005. Under Donaldson’s leadership, THC was on the front lines addressing the city’s housing crunch, working with churches, charities and other nonprofit groups to produce and support affordable units for the formerly homeless.

Donaldson served on the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2009 and was re-appointed in 2013. She is the former board president of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, an umbrella group of affordable housing developers. In 2012, she also served on the Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force assembled by former Mayor Gray. In 2014, Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser named Donaldson as the co-chair of the Transition Team’s Affordable Housing Committee. Donaldson served as the chair of Mayor Bowser’s Affordable Housing Preservation Strike Force.

Donaldson has lived in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in Ward 1 for over 24 years. In the late 1990s, she was elected and served as the chair of the Mt. Pleasant Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1-E. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral science from The Johns Hopkins University.

Robert Goldman

President

Montgomery Housing Partnership

Robert A. Goldman has been President of Montgomery Housing Partnership (MHP)

since 2001. He also has worked in housing policy at the federal and local levels. He is a

recognized expert in affordable housing and in 2017 was selected as Practitioner of the

Year by the National NeighborWorks® Association.

Goldman is a past president and current member of the Housing Association of

Nonprofit Developers (HAND), as well as a member of the Community Development

Network of Maryland. He has served on the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Washington

Housing Initiative Council, the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission, the Wheaton

Redevelopment Steering Committee, and the Long Branch Task Force.

Prior to joining MHP, Goldman worked as a Senior Development Officer at the

Enterprise Social Investment Corporation (ESIC) where he was involved in syndicating

low-income housing tax credit projects. He received his Juris Doctorate from UCLA Law

School, his master’s degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University, and his

bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Duke University.

A native Washingtonian, Goldman lives in Montgomery County, Md., with his wife and

daughter.

Brett Macleod

Executive Director

JPMorgan Chase

Brett Macleod is an Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase in the Community Development

Banking group, where he finances affordable housing and urban revitalization real estate projects

throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Prior to joining JPMC in April 2012, he was a Banker at Citigroup

in the Citi Community Capital division. Brett has originated over $2.3 billion of loans for a variety

of deal types, including affordable rental properties, for-sale housing projects, mixed-use real

estate deals and large-scale urban retail centers. Brett currently serves as Board Vice Chair of

Cinnaire; Board President of Housing& (formerly known as HAND/Housing Association of

Nonprofit Developers); and Board Chair of National Housing Trust Community Development

Fund. He holds two BA’s from Williams College and earned an MBA, magna cum laude, from

the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College with concentrations in Finance and

Global Management.

Corey Powell

COO

Dantes Partners

EDUCATION AND AWARDS

• B.S. Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park

• Master of Architecture / Urban Design Concentration, University of Maryland, College Park

• LEED Accredited Professional

• Bisnow’s “35 Under 35: Washington’s Rising Stars of Commercial Real Estate” in 2011

• Young Leaders in Affordable Housing by Affordable Housing Finance in 2013

PROFILE

Mr. Powell has over eleven (11) years of experience overseeing the full life-cycle of the preservation and

development of affordable and mixed-income communities – both homeownership and rental – for families and

seniors. His responsibilities include structuring multi-layered financing, coordinating design and construction,

managing the entitlement and public approval processes, overseeing marketing, leasing and sales, and oversight of the

preparation and implementation of operating budgets. Prior to joining Dantes Partners, Mr. Powell was a senior

development manager for the development arm of a national organization whose mission was to increase the supply of

high-quality, sustainable housing and communities for people from all walks of life. During that time, Mr. Powell

completed developments in the District of Columbia as well as multiple jurisdictions in Maryland. Mr. Powell has

served as a guest speaker for the University of Maryland’s and Howard University’s architecture programs; numerous

industry-focused panels including ULI, HAND and MAHC; serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors of

AAREP DC; and serves as a gubernatorial appointee on the Maryland Department of Housing and Community

Development’s Housing Finance Review Committee.

PROJECT EXPERIENCE

• Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, Washington, DC

• 770 C Street, Washington, DC

• West End (Square 50), Washington, DC

• Girard Street Apartments, Washington, DC

• Capitol Vista, Washington, DC

• Fortitude at Delta Towers, Washington, DC

Blaise Rastello

Development Director Affordable Housing

Gilbane Development Company

Mr. Rastello has a proven track record in developing high-quality, award winning affordable housing

communities in high cost markets. He is highly skilled in community development and engaging

local stakeholders; and, he understands how to assemble and close complex public-private financing

structures. Most recently, Mr. Rastello closed the second RAD transaction with NYC Housing Authority and

was responsible for leading the RFP process which led to the award of The Peninsula, a $400 million mixed-use

affordable housing development in the Bronx, NY. In addition, Mr. Rastello helped execute Gilbane’s

joint venture partnership with Dantes Partners to develop 1,000 units of affordable housing in Washington, DC.

Mr. Rastello holds a BS in Regional Development and a BA in Natural Science and Mathematics from the University

of Arizona, and an MS in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from the Milano School of International

Affairs Management, and Urban Policy in New York.

Michael Meers

Executive Vice President

MidCity Development

Michael oversees the acquisition, management, and capitalization of MidCity’s portfolio, which features over 9,000 units of market rate and government assisted multifamily properties primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic region. Michael has been pivotal in the repositioning of several key assets, most significantly the redevelopment of the Brookland Manor Apartments and Brentwood Village Shopping Center into RIA, a 20-acre mixed-income, mixed-use project in the heart of Washington, DC. Among Michael’s philanthropic activities, he presently serves on the Board of the Agnes and Eugene Ford Foundation, where he oversees social impact investments in resident services and community-based organizations that enrich the communities in which MidCity owns assets. Michael holds a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Meghan Altidor

Moderator

Nixon Peabody

Meghan Altidor represents nonprofit and for-profit developers in acquiring, constructing, rehabilitating and operating affordable housing developments around the country.

Remarks from the Podium

David Bowers

David Bowers

Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Market Leader

Enterprise Community Partners

David Bowers

Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Market Leader

Enterprise Community Partners

David Bowers is vice president and Mid-Atlantic market leader for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. His work includes facilitating affordable housing and community development transactions and policy implementation in collaboration with public and private sector stakeholders in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. His office provides access to financing, capacity building and technical assistance to local developers. Enterprise’s Mid-Atlantic office also participates with local coalitions advocating for increased resources for affordable housing and community development. Since David joined Enterprise in 2004, the organization has invested more than $800 million in capital to support affordable housing efforts in the Mid-Atlantic region, preserving or producing more than 11,000 homes. During David’s tenure, the office has been a co-initiator and co-convener of the Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington, initiated several efforts including its Faith-Based Development Initiative, a transit-oriented preservation/resident displacement prevention initiative (GreenPATH) and the D.C. Green Communities Initiative. He currently serves on the board of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.

In 2004, David completed his service as a program manager for a single-family housing program at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. Prior to joining the trust, David was a financial and programs advisor at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. In that position, he developed and managed CDFI’s compliance monitoring review system. Before that, he worked in the office of U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, at the time the ranking member of the Senate VA-HUD Appropriations Committee. David served as the senator’s senior legislative assistant, with responsibility for analyzing and providing policy recommendations on legislation pending before various appropriations subcommittees.

David earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his Master of Divinity degree from Howard University. He is an ordained minister and the founder of the all-volunteer NO MURDERS DC movement, launched in 2000. From 2013- 2015 David served as the mayoral appointee as chairman of the District of Columbia Housing Production Trust Fund Advisory Board. David is a founding member of the Greater Washington chapter of 100 Black Men and a member of Leadership Greater Washington (’09). David formerly served on the boards of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Thrive DC, City First Enterprises, City First Homes, Jubilee Housing and the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. He is a former member of the District of Columbia’s Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals and the District of Columbia’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group.

Summary

1. From JBG Smith to Tishman Speyer, what major developers are now investing in affordable housing projects - and why? 

2. Why is the majority of affordable housing developments east of Rock Creek Park - and what can be done to remedy the situation? 

3. How are nonprofit developers making significant strides to tackle affordable housing? 

4. Where is the most affordable housing being built, and will it be enough? 

5. Some developers call affordable housing the "hardest" asset class to cover. What can be done to get more developers involved? 

Venue

The Hamilton Live
600 14th Street NW, near Metro Center
Washington D.C. 20005

Event Space: The Hamilton Live, F Street Entrance


LAZ Parking Garage: 1455 F Street NW (just West of the Hamilton F Street entrance). Rates vary.

PMI Garage: (1.5 blocks from venue)
1 Hour: $14
2 Hours: $20

Agenda

Time Activity
12:00 PM
1:00 PM
Registration, Networking, & Breakfast
1:00 PM
1:10 PM
Keynote Presentation: David Bowers, Enterprise
1:10 PM
2:05 PM
Holistic Development in Overlooked Areas

How Can Recently-Introduced Opportunity Zones Benefit Affordable Housing?

2:05 PM
3:00 PM
Developing Affordable Housing in Booming Areas
3:00 PM
3:30 PM
More Networking!