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Board of Directors

Kelly evans

President

Institute for Public Health Innovation
Program Manager for CHW Programs

Kelly Evans is, first and foremost, an advocate for the rights of Virginia’s most vulnerable residents. Aside from all her accolades, she finds the most reward in helping Richmond’s homeless population. She is the current Program Manager for the Institute for Public Health’s Community Health Worker (CHW) programs in Washington, DC. She works best in collaborative settings, where she is sure to create a work environment that is not just successful, but also inclusive. Through her work, she has found a passion for community development and the partnerships she has forged because of it.

sunshine mathon

Vice President

Piedmont Housing Alliance
Executive Director

Before moving to Virginia in 2017, Sunshine helped develop 1,000+ affordable and green homes throughout Texas. He is an advocate for low-income families, and through his work with the Austin Housing Coalition, he took on local initiatives to address the root-causes of affordability in housing. Now, as a part of the Piedmont Housing Alliance, Sunshine uses his nationally-accredited leadership skills in deep green and affordable housing policy to better serve the neighborhoods of our Commonwealth.

orlando artze

Treasurer

Orlando Artze Consulting LLC
President & CEO

Orlando Artze has served as an ally of the affordable housing community for over four decades. His consulting firm seeks to provide services to nonprofits, faith-based organizations, government agencies, and for-profit companies with affordable housing and development initiatives in mind. From the Fall of 2019 to the Summer of 2022, Orlando stood as the Acting Program Vice President for Virginia’s Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) office: an organization that promotes the developing and maintaining of newly-strengthened communities through a commitment to inclusivity and resilience. Orlando also has vast experience in the private sector and government affairs.

madelyn peay

Secretary

Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity
Chief Executive Officer

Madelyn strives to promote the right to safe and healthy housing access in her work as an affordable housing professional. Some of her career highlights have included: receiving the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) award for excellence in Neighborhood Networks; being recognized as a City of Richmond and New Emerging Civic Leader; and most recently, being appointed as the CEO of the Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity. There, she is tasked with furthering their mission of making housing a reality for low-income families. Madelyn also lends her professional housing knowledge and time to many local councils centered around improving economic and residential situations for the Richmond Area.

bryan ailey

Board Member

People Incorporated
Director of Affordable Housing

Bryan Ailey is an affordable housing advocate for the Abingdon, Virginia area. Before accepting his position as Vice President of People Incorporated of Virginia, Bryan served as the agency’s Director of Affordable Housing Development. With over 17 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Bryan has become a strong leader and voice for rural housing–allowing him to assist and uplift some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable populations.

MELISSA BONDI

Board Member

Enterprise Community Partners
Policy Director, Mid-Atlantic

Melissa Bondi is a professional policy expert with over two decades worth of experience. She specializes in policy relating to local-level housing implementation, transportation, and environmental concerns. As Policy Director, Melissa exemplifies Enterprise’s mission to both advocate for and assist low-income residents in housing and community development. Through her work, Melissa helps to not only improve the state of affordable housing, but to bridge the gap for racial equity.

mike chiappa

Board Member

Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing
Director of Real Estate Development

Mike Chiappa is a Real Estate professional based out of Washington, DC. The majority of his professional career has been spent in investment management, financial modeling, and underwriting. He is a member of the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, which he joined in 2013 and was promoted to Vice President, Real Estate Development in January of 2021. There, he has found tremendous success in his financial underwriting efforts for an abundance of affordable housing projects.

lisa fajohn

Board Member

Dominion Energy
Supervisor of Credit Services

Lisa FaJohn is Supervisor of Energy Assistance for Dominion Energy Virginia and North Carolina. In this role, she provides overall leadership for energy assistance programs that support the most vulnerable customers with education and direct customer outreach. Her responsibilities include the design, development and implementation of the company’s energy-assistance-program strategy which embraces a constant focus on raising public awareness about available bill-payment-assistance programs. In this capacity, she provides support and resources to social workers, public-service agencies, and different organizations throughout the Commonwealth.

jay grant

Board Member

LISC Hampton Roads
Executive Director

As Executive Director, Jay works to invest in revitalization initiatives for small businesses and low-income communities. Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) seeks to provide support to communities by offering a lens into the opportunities that await them; Jay feels that the need for his interventions and promotion of community development is crucial to improving a community’s health and wellness outcomes. Before working for LISC Hampton Roads, Jay most recently served as the Director of Outreach for Planning and Compliance at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

Erik Hoffman

Board Member

Klein Hornig LLP
Partner

Erik Hoffman specializes in affordable multifamily housing law, representing both for-profit and nonprofit developers. Based out of Annandale, Virginia, he undertakes new construction and acquisition-rehabilitation projects. Outside of his firm and serving the Virginia Housing Alliance’s Board of Directors, he is also on the Board and Executive Committee of the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) and the Virginia Tech Real Estate Advisory Board.

chandra hurst

Board Member

At Large

Chandra Hurst is a skilled business leader who is passionate about community engagement programs and increasing access to capital for BIPOC and women-owned businesses. She has deployed her knowledge of business lending to advocate for finding a more sustainable pathway towards generational wealth. Her experience includes work as a Small Business Loan Officer with Virginia Community Capital, and serving as the Vice President/Community Relations Consultant for Central and Eastern Virginia at Wells Fargo. There, she was in charge of planning and executing philanthropic community development programs and developing relationships with government, community, and nonprofit organizations.

monica jefferson

Board Member

At Large

Monica is a strong and seasoned leader in the Greater Richmond housing world. Her most recent position was with Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) of Virginia, where she made a point of ensuring that communities of color had equal access to affordable housing and homeownership opportunities. She is also accomplished in allocating nonprofit grant funding and cultivating a welcoming and productive work environment. Monica is a graduate of the VCU Minority Political Leadership Institute and University of Richmond’s Non-Profit Studies Master’s Program.

pam kestner

Board Member

LeSar Development Consulants
Senior Principal

Pam Kestner has dedicated the last two decades of her career to effectively reducing homelessness in Virginia at both state and local levels. Before taking on her position with Lesar Development Consultants, she was the Chief Deputy at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. There, she implemented Virginia’s first stateward rental assistance program, which ensured tenants would remain housed and landlords whole during the COVD-19 Pandemic. Eviction prevention has been a main focal point in her career, pushing Pam to create–and maintain–affordable housing solutions for Virginia’s most vulnerable residents.

valerie liggins

Board Member

The Cameron Foundation
Senior Program Officer for Community Health

Valerie has served The Cameron Foundation as Senior Program Officer for Community Health since July of 2008. There, she helps transform communities that have been impacted by poor health through philanthropic support. She also manages grant portfolios of nonprofits, government agencies, and faith-based organizations for a multitude of Virginia cities and counties. Valerie also serves as a Training Facilitator for the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and was previously the President of Sisters Striving for Success.

joy myers

Board Member

Doorways
Chief Development Officer

Joy started off her career as an Americorps VISTA serving rural communities in Appalachia. Now, she uses her experiences from the VISTA program and other fundraising roles to help Doorways create accessible pathways out of homelessness, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Before working at Doorways, she was the Chief Development Officer at the Campagna Center in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a strong advocate for social justice who is committed to supporting the lives of those in need.

lawrence pearson

Board Member

Mark Fleckenstein & Associates, P.C.
Attorney

Lane has counseled clients for over a decade on real estate transactions, land use and development, contract negotiations, and business ventures. Lane also provides outside general counsel services to a number of statewide and local non-profit organizations and private developers. Lane’s past experience includes serving as General Counsel for the largest redevelopment and housing authority in the Commonwealth and Gubernatorial Appointee to the Virginia Housing Commission.

The Virginia Housing Alliance (VHA) advocates for the expansion of housing opportunities and ending homelessness in the Commonwealth.

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