THE COMMUNITY BUILDERS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Public Housing / Rental Assistance
- Member of TCB 's Community Life
- Town of Brookline 's First Economic Development Director
Amy Schectman, a current member of TCB's Community Life committee, joined the TCB board of directors in November 2018. She currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of 2Life Communities in Brighton, Mass., which provides affordable, supportive housing to lower-income older adults. The nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1965, has over 1,500 residents in several key properties within the Greater Boston metropolitan area.
Amy has worked in the public and nonprofit sectors to advance affordable housing and social justice. She plays a state and national advocacy role, serving on Governor Charlie Baker's Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts, and the boards of CHAPA, MHIC, MHAC, and other nonprofits. She has been invited to The White House four times, and has hosted U.S. Congressmen, U.S. Senate staff, and state legislators numerous times.
A theme across Amy's career is collaboration to maximize the impact of resources. As Governor Michael Dukakis' Director of Capital Budget and Planning, she helped convene cross-agency collaborations on key policy agendas. Later, at the Boston Housing Authority, Amy secured the City's first two federal HOPE VI grants, $50,000,000 each, to revitalize failing public housing developments with comprehensive modernization and the addition of social services, economic development, health care, and community programming, offering residents not only shelter but pathways out of poverty as well as promoting neighborhood revitalization.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board
Andrew Clark has been a board member of The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) since November 2018. Currently, he is a director in the Marcum Accountants and Advisors Boston office where he began his career in public accounting in 2008. Andrew focuses on individual and fiduciary tax clients to ensure federal and state compliance and advises them on efficient tax strategies. He specializes in advising "ex-pats" and US non-resident clients. He works with large, multi-generational families, including their individual, trust and estate returns. In addition, he works with closely held businesses and their owners on accounting, tax compliance and advisory services. He has experience with ASC 740 and FIN48 compliance, and consulting with clients on corporate international tax and accounting issues.
Among his many tax responsibilities, Andrew is also a leader in the firm's national and regional recruiting efforts and also focuses on the firm's internal training programs, cultivating Marcum's future leaders.
Job Titles:
- Regional Vice President for Real Estate Development
- Vice President for Real Estate Development, New England
Andy Waxman serves as the regional vice president for real estate development for The Community Builders, Inc. (TBC), a position he has held since 2018. Andy directs real estate development activities in New England and has been in the community development field for over 25 years.
Prior to working at TCB, Andy was the director of real estate at the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (DBEDC) for seven years. At DBEDC, Andy oversaw a team which developed hundreds of units of affordable and mixed income housing, as well as community oriented commercial space. During this time, he led DBEDC's successful Choice Neighborhood funded Quincy Heights and Pearl Food Production Center developments. The Pearl project resulted in the creation of over 150 jobs, more than half of which have been filled by local residents. These projects were also recognized for their outstanding performance on employing local and minority residents, as well as contracting to minority and women owned businesses.
Andy also worked for eight years at the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), first focusing exclusively on commercial redevelopment efforts, and later as the associate director of real estate. He was the project manager for the award-winning redevelopment of the Brewery Small Business Complex, a 160,000 square foot neighborhood center that is home to over 50 small businesses and employs more than 500 individuals. Additionally, Andy worked at the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development, and at Washington Innercity Self Help (WISH), a small CDC in Washington, D.C. He has served on the boards of JPNDC and Hyde Jackson Square Main Streets.
Andy holds a master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he won the Outstanding Thesis Award for his work on urban commercial district revitalization in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He also earned a certificate in Non-Profit Management and Leadership from Boston College, and a bachelor's degree from Oberlin.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director of Community Life, New England
Anne F. Moriarty serves as director of Community Life (CL), New England for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position she has held since 2022. In this role, Anne supports CL teams across New England, providing resident-centered strategic approaches to create equitable pathways for resident and community success.
Previously, Anne served as director of resident services at The Caleb Group where she managed a team of resident service coordinators across four states and directed the design and oversight of new programming across the portfolio. Prior to that, Anne served in various roles at Cornu Management Company, a Boston-based property management firm. She began her career as a senior human service manager at TCB where she spearheaded resident-centered service programming for a 430-unit housing community in Worcester, Mass. Anne also served as an independent program and community development consultant for property management companies and non-profit entities.
Anne holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor's degree in Spanish from St. Michael's College. In addition, Anne co-founded the Worcester Youth Center and Teen Action Group. She is also a founding board member of Centro Latino in Chelsea, Mass. and Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School in Lawrence, Mass. Prior to her career in affordable housing, Anne served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Community Life, New England
Anne Vinick, MSW, LICSW, serves as Community Life director for the Northeast at The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), supporting site staff in several states and working with TCB's real estate development, property management and fund development teams.
Beginning in 2011, Anne worked for TCB at Plumley Village in Worcester, Mass., leading the planning and execution of programs assisting approximately 1,200 residents. Prior to this, Anne worked for 10 years at a privately-owned housing community in Boston where she served as director of program development.
Anne holds a master's degree in social work with a Certificate in Urban Leadership from Simmons College in Boston. In addition, she wrote a chapter on public housing in a text book for first year social work students, entitled, "Social Justice in Clinical Practice: A Liberation Health Framework for Social Work."
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Operations Manager
Antoinette Moton serves as a portfolio operations manager for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in the Midwest, a position she has held since 2021. Antoinette leads the TCB property management portfolio across Illinois.
Prior to joining TCB, Antoinette was a regional manager at The Habitat Company where she managed operations for over 1,500 affordable and public housing units. She also served at Riverside Village Apartments and Island Terrace Apartments, where she managed multifamily properties under Illinois Department of U.S. Housing and Urban Development guidelines for low income housing tax credit and other rental assistance programs.
Antoinette holds a bachelor's degree in health management from DeVry University. She also received her Real Estate Broker's License, an IREM ARM® (Accredited Residential Manager) certification and a Certified Occupancy Specialist designation from the National Center for Housing Management. She enjoys helping others, with a focus on sustainability and excellent customer service.
Job Titles:
- Property Operations Manager
- Property Operations Manager in the Mid - Atlantic Region
Aretha Estep serves as property operations manager in the Mid-Atlantic region for The Community Builders, Inc. (TBC), a position she has held since July 2018. Aretha leads operations of a portfolio of family and senior residential properties located across Pennsylvania, Akron, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Aretha joined TCB with over 13 years of property management experience. She previously served as a regional manager for a property management firm in Annapolis, Md., where she successfully oversaw 14 tax credit, rural, conventional, Section 8, senior and multifamily sites.
Based in TCB's Washington, D.C. office, Aretha holds a Certified Occupancy Specialist® designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), as well as Certified Credit Compliance Professional (C3P) and S.T.A.R. Rural Development 515 designations from Spectrum. She completed additional training in fair housing with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
Audra Bohannon joined the board of directors for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in May 2014 and is a senior partner at Korn Ferry. She is an author, business consultant, leader, coach and facilitator with an expertise in diversity and inclusion issues and how they impact business performance.
Audra's career and experience extends to the retail, airline, banking, food service, financial, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, nonprofit and technology sectors. She serves on the human resources committee for the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, has served on the board of directors for the Museum of Afro American History and has served as the corporator for Emerson Hospital. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
Bart Mitchell serves as president and chief executive officer of The Community Builders (TCB), the country's largest nonprofit developer of mixed-income housing, with regional hub offices in Boston, New York City, Washington D.C, Columbus and Chicago. Bart leads the company's development; property management; and community life operations with a reach of 13,000 apartments in 15 states. He was appointed to his current leadership position in 2012 and previously served as TCB's chief operating officer.
Bart has a distinguished career in community development that began as a housing and economic development advisor to the mayor of the city of Boston in the 1980s. He first joined TCB in 1989 as the director of finance and served as project manager for complex urban developments at TCB for six years. In 1996, he left TCB to serve as chief operating officer of Beacon / Corcoran Jenison Partners, developing HOPE VI communities. He later founded Mitchell Properties LLC, a developer and owner of high-quality residential and mixed-use real estate ventures. Bart returned to TCB in July 2010 as the company's chief operating officer.
With a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government with a concentration in finance and urban development policy, Bart also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College with highest honors in political economy. He serves on the board of directors of New Lease for Homeless Families, Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, the Affordable Housing Developers Council, and serves as co-chair for 2020 of the Housing Partnership Network's CEO Forum. He has previously served on the boards of trustees for Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., The Park School in Brookline, Mass., The Winsor School in Boston and the Boston Air Pollution Control Commission.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Senior Director for Bozzuto
Benjamin Jullien joined The Community Builders (TCB) board of directors in November 2022. Ben currently serves as senior director for Bozzuto in New Alexandria, Va., where he leads a team of financial analysts who enable business teams to attract and retain property management clients.
Previously, Ben served as senior manager of application systems engineering at Amtrak in Washington, D.C., where he supported the firm's commercial real estate functions and managed a software application portfolio representing $14 billion in real estate assets. Prior to that, Ben served as business director for Freddie Mac in McLean, Va., where he led an analyst team responsible for information technology metrics operations, governance, and reporting. Before joining Freddie Mac, Ben served as business intelligence director at AvalonBay Communities in Arlington, Va., where he managed business intelligence products and defined the organization's vision and strategy.
Ben holds a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School in New York and a bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Beth Elliott serves as deputy general counsel for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position she has held since 2019. Beth provides TCB with counsel on federal lending programs and community investment initiatives. She also serves as the primary counsel for TCB's Community Life initiatives, including CHOICE neighborhoods implementation grants efforts.
Previously, Beth served as general counsel for MassHousing where she directed all legal matters and served as a strategic advisor to the MassHousing board of directors. Prior to her role at MassHousing, she served as a tax associate at Ropes & Gray LLP where she specialized in non-profit, corporate and partnership tax issues.
Beth holds a doctorate from Harvard Law School, a master's degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor's degree in social anthropology from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Operations Manager
- Portfolio Operations Manager, Boston
Betsy Johnson serves as portfolio operations manager for The Community Builders, Inc. in Boston, a position she has held since 2022. Betsy leads operations of a 700-unit mixed-income, residential property portfolio across Boston.
Previously, Betsy served as regional vice president at Winn Companies, where she managed the operations of a 2,000-unit multifamily portfolio in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Prior to that, Betsy served as a district manager for TCB, overseeing the financial stability, compliance and maintenance operations for 14 properties in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
Betsy holds a master's degree in organizational leadership from Quinnipiac University and a bachelor's degree in business management from Monroe College. In addition, she holds several industry designations including Tax Credit Specialist®, Certified Housing Manager® and a Certified Occupancy Specialist®.
Brad Gaynor serves as director of facilities for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position he has held since 2021. Brad provides leadership for TCB maintenance staff, programs and procedures. He also directs procurement practices for efficiency and expense management and oversees energy and water consumption at TCB communities.
Previously, Brad served as senior director of facilities at WinnResidential in Boston. In this role, Brad provided leadership and guidance to maintenance organizations to effectively manage 500 property operations and 50,000 residential apartments throughout the U.S. He also developed strategies and programs to improve maintenance efficiencies and employee engagement.
Brad holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Bryant University in Rhode Island. He also holds a certificate in real estate finance from Boston University.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Davis Companies Executive Committee
Brian Fallon has been a board member of The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) since February 2006. He is currently president of TDC Development Group, LLC, where he is responsible for leading TDC's development and construction team and for oversight of all TDC's new development activities. Brian oversees all development and repositioning initiatives for the company's existing portfolio and plays a leading role in overseeing the physical due diligence process for all new company acquisitions.
Brian has more than 30 years of experience successfully overseeing large-scale development projects from concept to completion. He is a seasoned development executive distinguished by his in-depth management of multi-disciplinary teams and complex developments ranging from luxury hotel and residential, urban mixed-use projects, office development, both urban and suburban, medical office, wet lab research and land development.
Prior to joining TDC, Brian worked as a partner and director of development at O'Connor Capital Partners in New York. He was a member of the company's Executive and Investment Committees, participated in fund investments in development joint ventures and managed new business development throughout the Northeast region. Prior to O'Connor Capital, Brian was a partner and managing director for Extell Development Company in Boston. During his five years at Extell, he developed significant additions to the firm's New England portfolio. Prior to Extell, Brian founded the Development and Advisory Services Division of Meredith & Grew, where he worked for 20 years to provide fee-based development consulting and development management services. He oversaw more than two million square feet of development, working with key partners including Hines Interests, New England Mutual Life Insurance Company/Copley Real Estate Advisors, Nstar, Children's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare.
Brian is a member of The Davis Companies Executive Committee and Investment Committee. He holds a Master in Public Administration from The Maxwell School at Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts from Siena College in N.Y.
Carol Galante joined the The Community Builders Inc. (TCB) board of directors in February 2020. She is the University of California, Berkeley I. Donald Terner Distinguished Professor in Affordable Housing and Urban Policy and the Faculty Director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation. She also co-chairs the UC Berkeley Policy Advisory Board of the Fisher Center of Real Estate and Urban Economics.
As Faculty Director for the Terner Center, Carol oversees the Center's work and co-leads the Center's research agenda, supervising projects that identify, develop and advance innovative solutions in local, state and federal housing policy and practice. In her role as I. Donald Terner Distinguished Professor in Affordable Housing and Urban Policy, Carol teaches graduate courses on housing policy and community development, including a semester-long studio intensive course on the design and finance of affordable housing development.
Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Carol served in the Obama Administration for over five years as the Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing programs.
As FHA Commissioner, Carol was responsible for the oversight of the FHA's trillion dollar insurance portfolio, which includes single family and multifamily housing as well as insured health care facilities. She was also responsible for HUD's two million apartments with rental assistance.
Prior to her appointment at HUD, Carol was President and Chief Executive of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, the largest non-profit developer of affordable, mixed-income and mixed-use developments in California. Early in her career Carol also worked for local government in city planning and community economic development.
She has held numerous volunteer leadership positions at the federal and state level, and has received a number of notable industry and academic honors for her leadership and commitment to addressing the housing challenges and needs of families from all walks of life.
Carol holds a Master of City Planning degree from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Operations Manager
Daniel O'Boyle serves as a portfolio operations manager for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in the Boston area, a position he has held since 2021. He leads property management across the New England region.
Previously, Daniel was a district manager for TCB in Boston. Prior to joining TCB, he served The Irvine Company Apartment Communities for seven years as a senior affordable housing operations specialist. In this role, he acted in an ancillary capacity for multiple departments representing over 420 units and $10 million in annual revenue.
Daniel holds an associate's degree in business administration from American Intercontinental University. He has also received several industry designations, including Certified Occupancy Specialist, Certified Credit Compliance Professional (C3P) and Certified Tax Credit Specialist.
Dave Johnson powers 4sight Health with an unflinching determination to create status-quo busting dialogue and action in healthcare reform. His innate desire to bring about change, coupled with his tremendous proficiency across health policy, academic medicine, economics, statistics, behavioral finance, disruptive innovation, organizational change and complexity theory, has led to his recognition as an insightful, incisive globally acknowledged authority on market-driven reform.
Dave is a prolific writer on healthcare's pro-market transformation. He is the author-in-residence at MATTER, the Chicago-based healthcare incubator, and published the critically acclaimed book Market vs. Medicine: America's Epic Fight for Better, Affordable Healthcare in 2016. McGraw-Hill published his book The Customer Revolution in Healthcare: Delivering Smarter, Kinder, Affordable Care for All in 2019.
Dave left a 28-year career in investment banking to create 4sight Health. As an investment banker, he managed over $30 billion in healthcare revenue bonds, led significant strategic advisory engagements for health systems. He specialized in capital formation, asset-liability management, enterprise risk analytics and new business-model development. He is also currently an investor and/or advisor for several early- or mid-stage healthcare companies including Curate Health, GaussSoft, HealthiPass, Link Capital, Medspeed and MultiScale Health Networks.
Dave holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Colgate University and a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University. He was drawn to service at a young age as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa and a U.S. Presidential management intern.
His civic and professional affiliations have included Harvard Medical School (visiting committee), the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (board, executive and finance committees), the University of Chicago (Harris School of Public Policy visiting committee, student engagement sub-committee chair and the Urban Health Lab); the Health Management Academy, Harvard School of Public Health, CHRISTUS Health (audit committee); the British-American Project (U.S. chair); and Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Center (finance committee chair).
Dave is a consummate thought leader who enjoys reading and writing. He is no health slouch as a vegan who often bikes to meetings and has run ten marathons. He also loves traveling.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Human Resources
David Jones serves as vice president of human resources for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position he has held since 2015. David shapes and leads TCB's talent management efforts, serves as an advisor on the executive leadership team, develops staffing strategies and processes to attract and retain results-driven employees, creates comprehensive communications regarding human resources issues and oversees key components of TCB's diversity and inclusion plan.
David has over 20 years of human resources experience, most recently as vice president, human resources at Building Education Leaders for Life (BELL), a Boston-based national nonprofit that exists to transform the academic achievements, self-confidence and life trajectories of children living in under-resourced, urban communities.
Prior to joining BELL, he served for 17 years in increasingly senior human resources positions based in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions in the U.S., as well as in England with Eli Lilly and Company. David also worked for Exceptional Parent Magazine, an organization focused on the needs of parents of children with disabilities.
David holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Property Operations
Dawn-Marie Vadnais serves as vice president of property operations for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in the Northeast and Midwest, a position she has held since 2018. Dawn leads all property operations for a portfolio of over 30 residential properties for families and seniors across four states.
Previously, Dawn was the portfolio operations director for TCB, involved with the majority of TCB's holdings over her career. She has over 25 years of experience in residential property management including roles of community manager, senior manager and district manager for both TCB and The Beacon Companies.
A practicing community pediatrician, Dr. Kamillah Wood previously served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer for the Children's Health Fund (CHF) and Senior Vice President for Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF). In this capacity, Kamillah became a nationally renowned policy expert on the intersection of health and housing. By using "housing as a platform" to increase health equity and improve outcomes for SAHF's residents, she facilitated partnerships with the health sector and informed policymakers on critical issues on the intersection of health and housing. In doing so, Kamillah elevated the understanding that a safe and stable home is a key social determinant of health.
Kamillah brings a diverse experience in clinical practice, public health, and public policy to her work. Prior to her roles at CHF and SAHF, she was appointed as special policy advisor and White House fellow to Secretary Anthony Foxx at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Here, Kamillah advised senior officials on the intersection of health and transportation, as well as economic mobility and equity. She was the DOT lead on an interagency initiative to promote socioeconomic integration in communities with the Department of Education and Department of Housing and Urban Development; and served as the agency representative to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Kamillah was previously associate medical director of mobile health programs at Children's National Health System. In addition to managing the operations of the health center and mobile programs, she also led asthma quality improvement initiatives through the IMPACT DC program, started a civic engagement program for patients and families and instructed pediatric residents and students as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Kamillah completed her residency and was a chief resident at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She received a doctor of medicine degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences; a Master in Public Health degree from Harvard University School of Public Health as a Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellow in Minority Health Policy; and a Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Community Life
Elizabeth Gonzalez Suarez is vice president of Community Life (CL) for the Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), a position she has held since 2016. She leads a talented and diverse team to innovate, implement and evaluate Community Life, a place-based model that uses healthy and stable housing as the platform for connecting families, seniors and residents with intellectual or developmental disability to services, resources, and opportunities so they can thrive. By creating programs and building strategic partnerships with residents and local stakeholders, CL helps create pathways to opportunities in early education, economic mobility, youth development, community engagement, voting access, healthy living, and resident leadership.
Previously Elizabeth served as the director of Community Health Practice at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and the deputy director of the U54 Partnership Outreach Program. Most of her 20-year tenure with DFCI was dedicated to designing and implementing evidence-based programs that promote public health among high-risk and underserved populations. Earlier in her career, Elizabeth conducted research on community-based approaches to health promotion and cancer prevention. She was an active member of the DFCI's diversity initiative, targeting programs to increase representation of people of color into the health professions.
Elizabeth serves on the Harvard Catalyst, Community Advisory Board, and Health Resources in Action (HRiA) Board. She received her bachelor and master's degrees in psychology from Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela. She is married with two sons and is a strong community arts advocate and supporter.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Vice President
Ethan Ceplikas serves as general counsel and vice president of The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston. He oversees a legal department of four attorneys and two paralegals, which represent TCB and its affiliates in development, real estate and financing transactions. Further, the legal department acts as corporate counsel to TCB, advising it on corporate and other legal matters. In this role, Ethan works closely with TCB's property management and asset management teams.
Prior to joining TCB, Ethan practiced in the real estate group at Nixon Peabody LLP and was a member of the legal department at Preservation of Affordable Housing, a Boston-based nonprofit.
Ethan received his Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his bachelor's degree in business management from Babson College. Before law school, he was a member of the financial management program at General Electric and a senior associate at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Ethan has presented on industry hot topics at events organized by the American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and the Boston Bar Association.
Job Titles:
- Director of Commercial Real Estate
Gabrielle Ritter serves as director of commercial real estate for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position she has held since 2018. Gabrielle is responsible for managing and overseeing TCB's national commercial real estate portfolio, directing both business development and transactional activities. With a focus on mission-based leasing, Gabrielle offers in-depth strategic financial and technical assistance for current and potential TCB WMBE commercial businesses in the organization's rapidly growing, mixed-use portfolio.
Previously, Gabrielle served as commercial and university leasing manager with Harvard Real Estate at Harvard University. In this role, she oversaw four million square feet of office, retail, warehouse, lab, R&D, makers space and pop-up space and managed more than 500,000 square feet of third-party master leases. Gabrielle has successfully implemented numerous building adaptive reuse projects, leasing assignments, and many more company objectives.
Gabrielle holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Northeast University in Boston.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Operations Manager
Ilene Rock serves as a portfolio operations manager for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Southeastern Mass., Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, a position she has held since 2018. She supervises approximately 40 employees who work directly at these sites and provides management guidance and support. Ilene also leads operations of a residential property portfolio with 14 entities across Worcester-East.
Prior to joining TCB, Ilene was a senior property manager for Maloney Properties overseeing staff, operations and a variety of funding programs for nine properties in Boston, Mass. She has worked in the property management industry for almost 30 years.
Ilene holds a bachelor's degree from Bridgewater State University. In addition, she has the designations of Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO) and Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) through the National Affordable Housing Management Association, Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS) through the National Center for Housing Management, Asset Management Specialist through The Consortium for Housing and Asset Management (CHAM) and is CP7 certified through Spectrum Enterprises.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Operations Manager
Iris Santiago serves as portfolio operations manager for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Connecticut, a position she has held since 2020. Iris leads operation of a senior and family residential portfolio across the state. She works collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to foster housing stability and resident opportunity.
Iris has managed affordable housing properties since 1999. Previously, she was a director at the Bridgeport Housing Authority and the New Haven Housing Authority, the two largest housing authorities in Connecticut. In these roles, she directed the Section 8 housing choice voucher program, project-based Section 8 program, home ownership, single room occupancy, and low income housing tax credit.
Iris holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice law enforcement administration with a minor in political science and her paralegal legal certificate from The University of New Haven. Her professional credentials include Certified Manager of Housing (CMH), Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS) and Certified Financial Specialist (CFS) from the National Center of Housing Management, as well as Project Based Voucher Specialist (PBVS) and Housing Quality Standard (HQS) certifications. She also holds an IREM ARM® (Accredited Residential Manager) and SPECTRUM'S C11P (Certified Tax Credit Compliance Professional) designation.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Real Estate Development
- Vice President of Real Estate Development, Mid - Atlantic
Jacqueline Alexander serves as vice president of real estate development for The Community Builders, Inc. Mid-Atlantic region, a position she has held since March 2014. Jackie directs the real estate development activities and manages project management staff in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.
Previously, Jackie was an assistant commissioner with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she oversaw the disposition, financing and stabilization of a portfolio of rental and homeownership programs in the office of development. Prior to working for the City Of New York, Jackie worked for several financial institutions including Carver Federal Savings Bank, Banco Popular North America and Fannie Mae, where she helped manage the NYC Community Business Center. She also served as director of housing production for Enterprise Community Partners and began her career in community development as a project manager at one of the country's most impressive and impactful community development corporations, Abyssinian Development Corporation in New York City's Harlem neighborhood.
James Riccio joined the board of directors for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in February 2015. He is a policy area director at MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization dedicated to learning what works to improve the lives of low-income families. James leads MDRC's Low-Wage Workers and Communities policy area, which tests innovative approaches to improve families' labor market, human capital and quality-of-life outcomes, usually through randomized controlled trials. In addition to overseeing the work of his department, James currently serves as the principal investigator for MDRC's evaluation of the Family Rewards conditional cash transfer programs for low-income families in New York City and Memphis, Tennessee. Additionally, under a contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, he is directing a four-city test of an alternative rent policy designed to improve work outcomes for recipients of Housing Choice Vouchers and reduce housing agencies' costs of administering the rent-subsidy program.
From 2003 to 2011, James led an MDRC-UK research consortium that designed and evaluated the UK Employment Retention and Advancement demonstration, at the time Britain's largest and most comprehensive randomized trial in social policy, under a contract with the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). He now serves on an expert advisory panel for DWP's evaluation of Universal Credit, Britain's major new welfare reform policy. He is also a member of the research advisory council of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Over his long career at MDRC, James has also been a lead researcher on evaluations of a variety of welfare-to-work programs, the Jobs-Plus employment program for residents of public housing, and other initiatives. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Princeton University.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Operations Manager
Janel Burke serves as a portfolio operations manager for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in New York City and New Jersey, a position she has held since 2021.
Prior to joining TCB, Janel served The Monroe Group, Related, Community Realty and Norstar. She has held regional and director positions in audit and compliance departments in New York and New Jersey.
Janel is a Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS), Certified Credit Compliance Professional (C3P) and Certified Apartment Manager (CAM).
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Design / Construction
- Vice President of Design / Construction Services
Jeff Heisler serves as vice president of design/construction services for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), a position he has held since 2006. He is responsible for the staffing, management and training of members of the design and construction services team who provide support to the regional development staff in the areas of planning, budgeting, design and construction management. Jeff is also responsible for ensuring that TCB's standards and best practices for the physical development of projects are consistently applied while working with other departments within the organization, particularly property and asset management.
During his tenure, Jeff implemented a new design review process throughout TCB. He managed design and construction operations in the Midwest region and developed significant projects in Chicago, Indianapolis, Ind., Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky. and Durham, N.C. He manages an annual construction budget of over $90 million.
Prior to joining TCB, Jeff worked as a construction management services consultant. He oversaw the construction operations of several multifamily, mixed-income, mixed-finance Hope VI developments in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. From 1998-2006, Jeff assisted TCB with the construction of more than 1,000 units in award-winning communities.
Jeff is a licensed professional engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry. He has expertise in environmental remediation and management, geotechnical engineering, as well as site civil design.
Earlier in his career, he worked within the healthcare industry assisting with the development of acute care hospitals throughout the United States. Jeff also managed the Brownfield redevelopment program for the Home of the Innocents nonprofit organization as they developed their $50 million medical campus in Louisville, Ky. The project received a National Phoenix Award for Community Impact in Brownfield restoration in 2004. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.
Job Titles:
- Regional Vice President for Real Estate Development
- Vice President for Real Estate Development, Great Lakes
Jeffrey Beam serves as regional vice president for real estate development for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), a position he has held since 2012. He is responsible for all real estate development activity in Ohio, Southern Indiana and Michigan. Jeff supervises the identification and implementation of real estate development projects from initial conception through construction to rent up and stabilized occupancy or sale. He is accountable for the financial performance, timeliness, mission-delivery, quality and quantity of TCB development work in Ohio and Kentucky.
Previously, Jeff served as a development senior project manager in the Northeast region, focusing on the successful implementation of the Charlesview Residences and 225 Centre mixed income development projects. Prior to coming to TCB in 2009, he worked as an architect in the greater Washington, D.C. area, managing the planning and design of neighborhood revitalization projects in Ohio, New Jersey, South Carolina, New York and the District of Columbia.
Jeff holds master's degrees in real estate development and city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame. He is a licensed architect.
Jeffrey Sánchez joined the TCB board in February 2020. Born in the Washington Heights in New York City, Jeffrey was raised in the Mission Main Housing Development in Boston. He has represented Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain and Brookline in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 16 years where he has been lauded as a leader in healthcare reform, housing and infrastructure, gun laws, violence prevention, criminal justice reform, the environment and youth empowerment. He finished his last term serving as the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Previously, Jeffrey served as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health as well as the Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development.
Throughout his time in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Jeffrey has emphasized bringing people together to work out their differences and pass laws that improve the lives of residents in the Commonwealth, especially the most vulnerable. In 2018, he was successful in nearly unanimously passing a $41.8 billion budget that was applauded by individual citizens, stakeholders, and business and fiscal watchdogs. He also drafted the largest Housing Bond Bill Authorization in the Commonwealth's history, $1.8 billion. Under his leadership, Massachusetts continues to lead on gun control by implementing a ban on bump stocks and passed legislation allowing for courts to issue extreme risk protection orders while at the same time ushering in a massive law that enacted wholesale criminal justice and court system reforms.
Jeffrey has advocated for healthcare reform for over 20 years. In 2006, he worked to pass landmark legislation which affirmed health care as a right in Massachusetts. Since then, he has crafted laws that support and enable the life sciences industry to grow and thrive, establish a statewide health care cost benchmark, and worked to protect and ensure 98 percent of the state's population has health insurance. He authored, and successfully ushered into law, comprehensive legislation to close the racial health disparities gap, compounding pharmacy practice, and improve school nutrition programs.
In all of his endeavors, Jeffrey has sought to find equity and opportunities for those most vulnerable and those who often get overlooked in opportunities in joining a thriving economy. He proudly fought and successfully defeated efforts to repeal gay marriage, and he is a successful advocate for English language learners. After 15 years of advocacy, Jeffrey's Language Opportunities for Our Kids (LOOK) bill was signed into law, overturning a one-size-fits-all policy to educate English language learner (ELL) students and create a pathway to ensure ELL students receive a quality education.
Jeffrey attended Roxbury Community College and received a bachelor's degree in legal education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He holds a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is currently an instructor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also the principal of Sánchez Strategies and senior advisor at Rasky Partners focusing on strategic advising, political consulting and impact leadership, health care policy and finance, communications and government relations. He is a member of Governor Charlie Baker's Latino Advisory Commission and serves on numerous boards of directors, including the National Association of Latino Elected Officials and The Community Builders. He recently completed work on the University of Massachusetts/Boston Chancellor search committee and is an advisory board and fellow selection committee member of the Rappaport Institute at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He currently lives in Jamaica Plain with his wife, Brenda, and two daughters. He enjoys cooking and Classical Salsa (music, not the sauce).
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Property Operations Systems
- TCB in 2009 As Director of Information Systems
Jennifer Pyclik serves as senior director of property operations systems for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position she has held since 2022. In this role, Jennifer leads the organization's systems support team for property management and real estate accounting. She oversees financial, regulatory and property operations and implements new systems upgrades and modules to streamline processes.
Jennifer joined TCB in 2009 as director of information systems. Since then, she served in various roles including Yardi application manager, director of systems and training and since 2018, director of property operation systems. Prior to joining TCB, she served as systems administrator for Harvard University and as director of training for Boston Financial's property management division.
With more than 30 years of experience in property management, training development and systems administration, Jennifer brings diverse knowledge and perspective to the TCB organization.
Job Titles:
- Regional Vice President for Real Estate Development
- Vice President for Real Estate Development, NY / NJ
Jesse Batus serves as regional vice president for real estate development at The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in New York, a position he has held since 2022. Jesse directs all real estate development activities in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area from TCB's Manhattan office. In his role, Jesse leads TCB's regional team of project management professionals in identifying and executing transactions from conception to completion.
Since joining TCB in 2007, Jesse served in various roles, most recently as director of development for New York, where he led staff engaged in development initiatives in Rockaway, Harlem, and the Capital District. Previously, Jesse served as senior project manager, leading neighborhood-scale revitalization efforts and complementary real estate transactions across New York. During his tenure, Jesse managed notable projects including the Ridgeway development in Yonkers and the Beach 21st Street development in Far Rockaway.
Jesse holds a bachelor's degree from the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance
- Vice President of Finance
Jesse Elton serves as director of finance for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position she has held since 2018. Jesse leads TCB's finance team, a group of five within the development department that is dedicated to structuring financially sustainable developments that promote TCB's mission. The finance team brings financial expertise to support TCB's development pipeline and portfolio management activities and manages relationships with financial partners.
Jesse began her career in development at nonprofit housing developer BRIDGE Housing Corporation in San Francisco, and later worked at Local Initiatives Support Corporation as a national housing lender and technical assistance provider. She joined TCB as a finance project manager in 2014.
Jesse holds a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor's degree from Haverford College.
Job Titles:
- Director of Community Life for the Great Lakes
- Director of Community Life, Great Lakes
Jillian Olinger serves as director of Community Life for the Great Lakes region, a position she has held since 2022. Jillian supports sites across Michigan and Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky and works collaboratively with TCB's real estate development, property management and fund development teams.
Previously, Jillian served as chief mission officer for YWCA Columbus, where she oversaw internal and external mission alignment and provided strategic leadership for the agency's programs, grants and public policy portfolio. Prior to that, Jillian held various roles including director of housing and civic engagement for the Kirwan Institute at The Ohio State University.
Jillian holds master's degrees in city and regional planning and public policy and management from Ohio State University. She also holds bachelor's degrees in economics and sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition, Jillian serves as a commissioner for the Columbus Women's Commission, where she co-chairs the housing committee. She is also a member of MBA's Convergence Columbus' Black homeownership initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Community Advisory Council.
Job Titles:
- Community Life ( CL ) Director
- Director of Community Life, Health, & Housing
Jodi Cunningham serves as Community Life (CL) director of health and housing for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), a position she has held since 2019. Jodi develops and manages health and housing partnerships that fully utilize the platform that affordable housing provides to addresses the social determinants of health for residents. Based in Cincinnati, she works with real estate development, property management and fund development teams across TCB's portfolio.
Prior to her current role, Jodi served as project manager for the TCB Avondale Children Thrive initiative. Before joining TCB, she taught as an adjunct professor at Northern Kentucky University and UC Blue Ash College teaching health courses such as Personal Health, Child and Adolescent Health and Community Health.
Jodi holds a doctorate degree in philosophy with a concentration in public health education and promotion. She also holds a master's degree in health promotion and education from the University of Cincinnati.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director
- Senior Director of Information Technology
Joe Giggey serves as senior director of information technology (IT) for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position he has held since 2022. With more than 35 years of experience in the data industry, Joe leads TCB's technology team and manages day-to-day support for systems and networks. In addition, he oversees building technology and security implementation for TCB housing developments.
Joe previously served as TCB's director of IT where he managed networking and infrastructure. In this role, he established and implemented IT strategies in alignment with business goals and objectives to support TCB's mission. Prior to his work at TCB, Joe held technical roles at Atlantic Broadband and with the City of Quincy.
Joe studied computer networking at Northeastern University in Boston.
Job Titles:
- Director of Asset Management
Johnny Martinez serves as director of asset management at The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), a position he has held since 2020. Johnny leads a team of asset managers and analysts who are based in each of TCB's regions, overseeing portfolio analysis and reporting, and working with the chief investment officer and TCB colleagues to identify and execute strategic improvements in TCB properties. Asset management works closely with property management, finance, Community Life and real estate development to ensure responsible ownership of TCB's communities.
Johnny has over 20 years of experience in real estate, specializing in affordable housing asset management. He began his career in single-family construction and construction lending consulting before transitioning to asset management. He has represented GP interests for developers as well as investor interests for financial institutions and syndicators. Prior to joining TCB, he was a senior vice president in Bank of America's Tax Credit Equity Investments group.
Johnny holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from the University of Houston and a certificate in real estate finance from Boston University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Management Strategy
Joshua Moraghan serves as director of management strategy for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Ohio, a position he has held since 2022. Joshua leads property management initiatives and supports the strategic and operational goals for new development, acquisitions and existing property portfolios.
Joshua previously served as TCB's portfolio operations manager where he led property operations in cities across Ohio. He joined TCB in 2011 as a youth development and education manager and eventually served in a variety of roles including assistant community manager and district manager. Prior to TCB, Joshua served for nearly 20 years in the clergy.
Joshua holds a bachelor's degree from Central Bible College. He earned an Accredited Residential Manager® certification and is a Specialist in Housing Management from the National Center for Housing Management. He is also a Certified Occupancy Specialist and Certified Occupancy Specialist - Public Housing.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Development in the Mid - Atlantic Region
- Vice President of Development, Mid - Atlantic
Juan H. Powell serves as vice president of development in the Mid-Atlantic region for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB), a position he has held since 2016. Juan leads development activities for Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Previously, Juan was a principal and COO of The Neighborhood Development Company, a privately-held, Washington, D.C.-based developer of condominiums, mixed-use and affordable housing developments. He was with NDC for 12 years.
Juan also served as vice president and senior project manager of CarrAmerica Development, Inc., which, at the time of his 10-year tenure, was a large national owner and developer of office properties. Prior to joining CarrAmerica, Juan was a project manager for nine years with what is now the Clark Construction Group.
Juan holds an MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Howard University. He also serves on the board of directors for several organizations.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Fund Development
Jullie Patterson serves as senior director of fund development for The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB) in Boston, a position she has held since 2016. Jullie is responsible for developing and executing fundraising strategies and resourcing and scaling initiatives for TCB.
Jullie has extensive experience in fundraising and nonprofit administration, leading multi-million-dollar fundraising and capital campaigns over her career. Before joining TCB, Jullie was director of fund development and marketing for the Maternity Care Coalition, where she successfully increased the organization's revenue by 40 percent during her tenure. Before that, Jullie served as marketing and development program director for Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley, where she achieved and supported a 97 percent donor retention rate.
Jullie holds a master's degree in political science from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut. She graduated from Lead Boston's YW Boston's signature leadership program in 2021, which equips senior professionals with the knowledge, skills, and network necessary to increase equity within their organizations and communities. Jullie serves as capital improvements program member for the Township of Amherst, N.H. She is a retired member of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps.