Thor has over 20 years’ experience in affordable housing and community development, including oversight of the implementation and administration of the Hunters Point Shipyard; serving as a liaison between the community, the Mayor’s office, the Navy, and the project’s developers (Lennar Urban); as well as coordinating the project area’s real estate, community and economic development, affordable housing, parks and public art projects.
Daniel Wong is Vice President / Senior Mortgage Consultant at Union Bank. Daniel is a long-time advocate for sustainable homeownership in San Francisco and has put together education programs and consumer outreach events via different organizations he is involved with. He specializes in jumbo and portfolio home mortgage lending with experience working with high net worth individuals/families and real estate investors.
Ben possesses decades of experience in managing all aspects of residential and mixed-use developments. His work in affordable housing includes leadership in rebuilding public housing projects critical to neighborhood revitalization. Ben’s capacity for community and team building is evident in his long-standing relationships and his reputation for integrity across public, private and non-profit sectors.
Noreen has extensive real estate asset management and lending and portfolio management experience. Since 2010, she has served as the director of asset management at Enterprise Community Investment – a leading provider of low-income housing tax credit equity – identifying and resolving problems related to construction and equity agreements, and providing regular analysis of financial performance and site visits. She previously was interim president and chief operating officer/executive vice president of Citizens Housing Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer.
David has over 20 years of affordable housing and community development experience in San Francisco and his native city of New York. Prior to joining SFHDC in June 2013, David served as a principal for his national consultancy practice, where he provided technical assistance to nonprofit, for profit and public sector clients in the areas of homebuyer assistance programs, inclusionary housing, and project planning and development. Previously, while at the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, David managed the production of more than 1,000 affordable units, negotiated the affordable housing program for the Hunters Point Shipyard, launched six loan and asset building programs totaling $12 million, and oversaw the sale of more than 400 affordable homes to low- and moderate-income families. He has been a featured speaker or panelist in numerous local and national symposiums and conferences, and was featured in the Neighborworks/NCB Capital Impact film “A New Way Home: Taking Shared Equity to Scale.” David earned a BA from Columbia College, with a major in architecture and minor in film. He graduated from the NeighborWorks/Harvard Kennedy School “Achieving Excellence Program,” an executive leadership program serving approximately 50 select leaders from around the country in each cycle.
Sheri Powers, JD, MA, is a seasoned litigator, psychotherapy counselor, mediator, teacher, healer, and loan officer who carries her work forward into the 21st century with the motto “Knowledge is Power. Get some, then USE IT!” She has helped hundreds of first-time homebuyers purchase their home with safe and affordable loan products, empowering her clients to make informed choices by demystifying the mortgage and home buying process through quality education and purposeful planning.Ms. Powers is a licensed attorney [CA State Bar # 144280], real estate broker [CA DRE # 01745368], & mortgage loan originator [NMLS #33650]. She holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology with a Specialization in Holistic Heath from JFK University. She also holds a Certification in Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution from JFK University and Certifications from NCHEC (NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling) in Pre-Purchase Homeownership Education, Homeownership Counseling, Post-Purchase Homeownership Education, and Foreclosure Intervention and Default Counseling. Ms. Powers earned her Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies with concentrations in Spanish and Education from Carleton College.
Chuck Turner has been the Executive Director of the Community Design Center since 1970.
His background includes work as an urban planner, management intern at HUD Public Housing Administration in San Francisco and social worker in Oakland, California. Mr. Turner has a BA in Political Science and Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of several professional and civic organizations. Mr. Turner is married and has three children and lives in San Francisco.
Ms. Vincent has been an active member of the the Bayview community for over 35 years. She has a long history of community involvement including serving on the Bayview-Hunters Point Economic Development Task Force, Bayview-Hunters Point Citizen Patrol, Providence Baptist Church Food Program, Bayview Senior Brown Bag program and many more. She graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in 1950. Ms. Vincent still lives in Bayview with her husband. She has 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.
Eddie J. Walker, a licensed broker in the State of California, has a 30-year history in retail banking, mortgage lending and community economic development. Eddie established the Oakland-based Walker Realty Group in July of 2004 and, throughout his career, Eddie has held key positions at leading financial institutions.
Lena Robinson is the director of community development for First Republic Bank. In this role, Ms. Robinson works to identify lending and investment opportunities that support affordable housing, economic development and asset building in the Bank’s core markets. Through collaboration with nonprofit organizations, community groups and government agencies she also plays an important role in the development of strategies that support and achieve optimal outcomes for financially underserved households and communities. Prior to joining First Republic, Ms. Robinson worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in varying roles culminating as the Regional Manager overseeing community development in Northern California.
Jennifer has over 18 years’ experience in the acquisition, finance and portfolio management of
residential and mixed-use real estate. In 2011 – 2018 she served as VP of Capital Markets with Carmel Partners where she sourced and led over $2 Billion in debt capital transactions for multifamily property and mixed-use developments nationally. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute and SPUR. She also serves on the steering and finance committee of SoMaWest Community Benefit District.
Antoinette serves as Corporate Counsel to Anka, an integrated behavioral healthcare services provider. In this capacity, she manages and negotiates all contracts and lawsuits, and interfaces with numerous private and governmental bodies in the contract execution process. Antoinette is a Juris Doctor graduate from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California. She has worked for Oakland’s City Attorney’s Office and has worked with several private practices over her career. Additionally, she is a professor of corporation law at the St. Francis School of Law.
