People on the Move 4.13.23

Mercy Housing Names Chief of Strategic Partnerships

Connie Rule has been appointed chief of strategic partnerships at Mercy Housing, where she will be responsible for developing and executing a strategic, innovative, and collaborative plan to identify and engage individuals, foundations, corporations, and other mission-aligned organizations in support of the nonprofit’s mission to create vibrant, healthy communities by developing and operating quality, affordable, service-enriched housing.

Rule joined Mercy Housing in 2018 as the senior vice president of national philanthropy. In her new role, she will continue to lead national philanthropy and strategic support of the organization’s regional philanthropy teams.
Prior to joining Mercy Housing, Rule was the executive director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Colorado.

Established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1981, Mercy Housing operates in 41 states and owns and manages nearly 24,000 units serving over 45,000 residents.

Jacobs Joins Hunt Capital Partners

Affordable housing industry veteran Mike Jacobs has joined Hunt Capital Partners as senior director of the acquisitions team.

He has a background in structuring low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity and debt transactions, working with both nonprofit and for-profit sponsors. Prior to Hunt Capital Partners, Jacobs served as senior vice president and head of acquisitions at National Equity Fund.

Jacobs has 30 years of experience in affordable housing, including property and asset management as well as policy work.

The Millennia Cos. Announces Promotions

The Millennia Cos., one of the nation’s largest owners and operators of affordable housing, has announced three promotions.

Frank T. Sinito Jr. has been elevated to regional vice president of operations. He will lead and oversee operations for 48 properties, totaling 6,069 multifamily units, in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Additional regions will transition to his leadership this year. Most recently, he was operations and asset manager for Millennia Housing Management, where he focused on directing and managing preparation for Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) inspections of federally assisted housing developments, serving as asset manager, providing operational support, overseeing regional maintenance and facilities managers, as well as conducting site visits.

Thomas Sinito has been promoted to regional vice president of operations. In his new role, he will maintain his responsibilities as the lead business strategist and asset manager but also facilitate market-rate acquisition strategies, implement enterprise-wide building and portfolio automation initiatives, and oversee operations for 24 apartment communities and 3,027 multifamily units across Ohio, encompassing luxury, market-rate, and affordable housing opportunities. Most recently, he developed strategies to guide brand development across the dynamic group of companies and throughout the diverse portfolio of properties. As lead business strategist, he assessed and strengthened leasing and marketing activities. As vice president of operations, he will continue to analyze the market to identify new opportunities, propose new design concepts to achieve company goals, and develop new ventures for revenue generation. Additional responsibilities include facilitating purchasing and procurement strategies and managing national vendor relations.

Dawn Klapkowski Meyers has been promoted to regional vice president of operations. In her new role, she will oversee 31 properties consisting of 3,633 multifamily units throughout portions of Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Meyers has more than 26 years of experience in the affordable, market-rate, and commercial real estate industries. She will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the property management operations, including leasing, maintenance, and resident relations. Meyers joined Millennia as a regional manager in 2020, bringing with her strong compliance and resident retention skills. She has a track record of success in managing various aspects of property management, including REAC inspections and the Section 8 and LIHTC programs.

Diamond & Associates Makes Leadership Moves

Diamond & Associates, a real estate development consulting firm, has announced several leadership changes and promotions.

The company supports nonprofit, for-profit, and public agency developers as they plan, finance, and execute affordable housing and mixed-use developments throughout Pennsylvania and in other states including Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and, Virginia.

Chris Paul will lead the firm as president and principal. She joined Diamond in 2014 and has guided it as a co-principal since 2019, growing staffing and expertise and expanding the firm’s reach and impact. Prior to joining the firm, Paul’s affordable housing development experience included serving as external counsel, in-house counsel, in-house developer/owner, and lender, giving her a breadth and depth of experience upon which to draw as she serves Diamond’s clients.

Cindy Picone has been named vice president and principal. A leading technician of affordable housing over the last three decades, she has led the development work for affordable housing, market-rate rental, and condominium developments, as well as homeownership initiatives. Much of her work has been in the mixed-finance public housing space. Picone will now be responsible for managing staff, allocating work, and advancing the company’s procedures and policies to better serve the firm’s clients, while continuing to bring her leadership and wealth of experience to the firm through her project management, business development, and industry advocacy.

Lynette Davenport has been elevated to senior project manager and principal. She joined Diamond in 2021, bringing extensive housing development experience. She spent 12 years working in multifamily affordable housing, including underwriting deals with LIHTCs and other funding sources. During her career, Davenport also brings over a decade of experience working in the single-family housing industry.

Matthew Keen has been elevated to senior project manager and principal. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has supported both nonprofit and for-profit developers with financing the construction of multifamily developments as well as multiple homeownership and owner-occupied repair developments. With now over a decade of experience working in community development and affordable housing, Keen has been a valuable resource to clients in several states.

Trehubenko Joins M&T Realty Capital

M&T Realty Capital Corp. has named Todd Trehubenko executive managing director in its Boston office.

Trehubenko joins the agency production team, with a focus on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured lending, and will be responsible for originating affordable and conventional loans across the United States.

With more than 30 years of experience in multifamily financing, he joins M&T Realty Capital from CBRE, where he spent the past eight years as a vice chairman on its debt and structured finance team. In that capacity, Trehubenko financed over $1.36 billion in apartment loans and became the firm’s all-time leader in FHA originations. Prior to CBRE, he held senior positions at multifamily lenders Walker & Dunlop and CWCapital. He was also previously the CEO of boutique housing consultancy Recap Real Estate Advisors, where he primarily advised multifamily developers.

Throughout his career, he has been a strong advocate for affordable and sustainable housing. He has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, provided consulting expertise to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on housing finance and energy conservation issues, and served for many years on a task force advising Fannie Mae on its Green Financing programs.

Conifer Adds to Team to Drive Market Expansion

Conifer Realty, an industry leader in the investment, development, and management of affordable housing, has rolled out plans to expand its geographic footprint across the East Coast. To help drive its plans, the firm has announced additions to its executive team.

John Bellardini has been named chief financial officer (CFO) and will work to safeguard company assets, further enabling Conifer’s pursuit of creating high-quality affordable housing. Prior to joining Conifer, he served as senior vice president and CFO of The Widewaters Group, a Syracuse, New York-based real estate company. Prior to this, he led a practice for management consulting within a top 60 CPA firm in Pittsburgh.

Lara Schwager has been hired as executive vice president, development and acquisitions, and will oversee all development activities, including new construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation in both Conifer’s existing footprint and growth states. Schwager recently served as senior vice president, development, at PIRHL, where she was responsible for the regional strategy and operations of all development activities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Throughout her 25-plus year career, Schwager has overseen the development of 3,600 residential affordable and market-rate apartment homes totaling over $700 million.

Kerri Engblom has been promoted to chief of staff. In this role, Engblom directly supports Conifer’s president and chief administrative officer, leveraging her project management and analytical expertise to support critical organizational initiatives and make the decision processes more effective for the executive team. Engblom joined Conifer in 2016 as a district manager in its property management division. In 2017, she was promoted to learning and development manager and then to director, organizational development, in 2019.

In addition, Conifer has made the following promotions and hires in the following divisions:

Development

• Jason Carroll has been hired as senior vice president of acquisitions;

• Curtis Adams and Muammar Hermanstyne have both been hired as vice president of development;

• Paul Marfione has been promoted to vice president of development;

• Sean Carpenter has been promoted to regional vice president of development; and

• Ari Schachter has been hired as director, acquisitions.

Property Management

• Jessica Chiamulera has been promoted to senior vice president, property management;

• Cindy Bird has been hired as assistant vice president, of property management;

• Kirk Robinson has been promoted to the role of director of maintenance; and

• Kristen Thompson has been promoted to director, property management operations.

Resource Center

• Lillian Plata has been promoted to deputy general counsel;

• Alan Mileti has been promoted to director of capital projects and procurement; and

• Colleen DiBiase has been promoted to the role of director of administration.