Board

Jeffrey R. Stern

Chairman, Homes for America, Inc.; Founder, Riverside Advisors, LLC

Jeff began his career in 1979 and has worked for non-profit, for-profit and governmental agencies.  In 2006 he left Enterprise Mortgage Investments, Inc. which he helped found and started Riverside Advisors, LLC. Riverside Advisors focuses on working with public agencies and developers to create strategic approaches to redeveloping communities as well as their portfolios of properties.  Riverside has developed programs to finance affordable single family and rental properties as well as a charter schools.  Riverside acted as project manager on several recapitalizations of affordable rental properties and two charter schools. Mr. Stern has acted as a key policy and program advisor to community development and FHA lenders.

Jeff is a member of the board of directors the Maryland Public Charter School Association, Homes for America, and NextStep, Inc.

Shelley Murphy McCabe

Board Vice President, President and CEO (Ret.), Wesley Housing

As former President and CEO of Wesley Housing, Murphy provided strategic direction and general executive leadership to Wesley Housing from 2007-2022. Murphy oversaw a retooling of the organization, more than doubled the number of housing units and residents served and expanded resident services programming to all residents.

In 2022, she led the organization to be named Nonprofit Developer of the Year by the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) for the third time (previously in 2017 and 2006) and was named Game Changer of the Year by Virginia Housing Alliance. Under her leadership, Affordable Housing Finance named Wesley Housing in its “Top 50 Affordable Housing Developers of 2020” and was one of only nine non-profits to make the list. Further, in 2013, Murphy was named a SmartCEO Brava! Award recipient for her irrepressible entrepreneurial spirit and passion for giving back to the community.

She serves on the Boards of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance and the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters, serving on the Housing Committee for the Arlington/Alexandria chapter. Prior to joining Wesley Housing, Murphy was a senior executive with Verizon Communications. She holds an MBA from Willamette University.

Chickie Grayson

Board Secretary, President and CEO (Ret.) Enterprise Homes, Inc.

Chickie Grayson is the former president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Homes, Inc. She has more than 30 years of experience in the development of housing for people from all walks of life.

Since 1987, when she began her career with Enterprise, Chickie established a reputation for building high-quality affordable, workforce and market-rate rental and for-sale homes. Enterprise Homes has a successful track record for large-scale master planning, undertaking and completing complex mixed-income housing developments in both urban and suburban areas in the Mid-Atlantic region. Enterprise Homes also has extensive experience in layered financing to achieve its goals by working with private institutions and federal, state and local officials. To date, Enterprise Homes has developed and/or owns communities that include close to 11,800 apartment and for-sale homes throughout the mid-Atlantic Region.

Chickie is a 2017 inductee into the Affordable Housing Finance Hall of Fame and has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Baltimore District Council of The Urban Land Institute (ULI). She has received the HOPE Leadership award for her achievements and dedication to providing homeownership opportunities for minorities and has been recognized by The Daily Record as an Influential Marylander in the field of Real Estate. Under her leadership, Enterprise Homes and its developments received numerous awards, including U.S. Green Building Council Neighborhood Development Awards for Excellence in Green Building, HAND Awards for Best Development of the Year, the NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Award for Workforce Housing, the NAHB Best in American Living Award, and the President’s Award from the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition.

Chickie is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in urban affairs. She serves on the board of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC) and is a past president. Chickie also serves on the Board of Directors of the Parks and People Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Science Center. Chickie has served on the Affordable Housing Advisory Councils of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and the Federal National Mortgage Association.

Eric C Brown

Public Housing Consultant and Trainer

Eric C. Brown is currently working as a public housing consultant and trainer. Prior to becoming a consultant Eric was the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for Prince George’s County, Maryland. DHCD is comprised of three governmental agencies: the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Housing Authority (HA) and the Redevelopment Authority (RA). The Department of Housing and Community Development is primarily responsible for the administration, monitoring and evaluation of the Federal entitlement programs. The Housing Authority manages the Federal rental assistance programs and public housing. The Redevelopment Authority handles acquisition and development of properties in Prince George’s County.

Mr. Brown has over 30 years of experience working with various government entities. He has over 25 years of senior level administrative and supervisory experience in the affordable multi-family housing arena. Mr. Brown has served as Executive Director of the Meridian (Mississippi) Housing Authority and Annapolis (Maryland) Housing Authority. As Executive Director of the Annapolis Housing Authority he implemented the agency’s first major redevelopment of public housing properties using the public-private partnership model.  He also implemented the first housing partnership with Habitat for Humanity that enabled public housing residents to become home owners.

He has served as Deputy Executive Director of housing agencies in New Orleans, Philadelphia and Baltimore. In his positions as Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Brown has supervised staffs up to 1,600 and managed budgets up to $250 million.

Eric Brown has served as a panelist and presenter at affordable housing workshops and conventions throughout Maryland and the United States. He has served as an advisor to boards of commissioners in Havre de Grace, Maryland, and Hartford, Connecticut.  He also served as a resource and technical reviewer for the HUD publication, “Private Management of Public Housing.” Mr. Brown was a member of The Public Housing Administrative Reform Initiative in 2007.  Currently, he is a trustee for the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust; a member of the MD Governor’s Foreclosure Task Force and was selected as the 2015 Housing Person of the Year by the MD Affordable Housing Coalition.

Mr. Brown earned his Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and his Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Mississippi. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Miles Law School in Birmingham, AL.  Mr. Brown is a Baltimore Leadership alumnus and has served on the board of directors of several professional and civic organizations.

Lessie Evans

Evans Consulting and Development LLC

Lessie Powell Evans is nationally recognized expert in community finance and development with over 30 years of experience.  She has significant knowledge and experience in single and multifamily housing, working with financial institutions on community development and affordable housing development, debt and equity investments, as well as philanthropic grantmaking. 

Ms. Evans previously served as Chief, Community Affairs at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) where she worked with other regulators, federal partners, state, local and national organizations to encourage economic inclusion and community development partnerships between banks, government, nonprofits, and other private organizations.  

Prior to FDIC, Ms. Evans worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in several positions including the Affordable Housing Branch Chief for the Office of Recapitalization managing the HUD Mark to Market (M2M) program and HUD Rental Assistance Program.  Before joining HUD, Ms. Evans was Principal of Evans Consulting and Development LLC, a minority and woman-owned firm specializing in multifamily housing finance and real estate services.  She provided housing development, recapitalization expertise and project management for affordable housing developments. 

Prior to establishing Evans Consulting and Development, Ms. Evans held positions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors focusing on revitalizing and stabilizing communities.  She earned a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University and a Master’s in Public Administration from the American University.  She previously served on the Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta Housing Advisory Council, the Catholic Housing Council, Washington, DC, and was a member of Leadership Washington 2000.  Ms. Evans served on the District of Columbia Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force. 

Susan Frank

Executive Vice President, Business Development, Cinnaire

Susan Frank joined Cinnaire in March 2014. She serves as Executive Vice President, Business Development, and directs the company’s business development strategy and activity over Cinnaire’s nine state footprint including community development initiatives, equity and debt.

Susan has been a leader in the affordable housing industry for more than 25 years. Before joining Cinnaire, she served at Fannie Mae for 12 years, most recently as Director of Customer Account Management in the organization’s Multifamily Mortgage Business. Prior positions with Fannie Mae include managing the company’s CDFI product and as the Director of the Delaware Community Business Center. From 1993-2000, Susan was the Executive Director of the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), a statewide housing finance agency and local public housing authority and community development agency. She served as a Member of the Governor’s Cabinet and the Governor’s Family Services Cabinet Council. Prior to DSHA, Susan served as Chief Legislative Advisor to then-Rep. Tom Carper (D-DE) on all matters before the U.S. House of Representative’s Banking Committee and Housing Subcommittee.

Susan earned her B.A. from the University of Delaware and has resided in Wilmington, Delaware for more than 20 years. She serves on numerous Boards and Committees including the Healthy Communities Delaware Leadership Council, Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank, TD Bank’s Leadership Council, Todmorden Foundation, and Wilmington Market Street Corridor Revitalization Fund Review Committee.

Kim Fry

VP Innovations, Housing Partnership Network

Kim Fry is a seasoned housing professional with 30 years of experience in all aspects of housing and community development related activities. Having held leadership positions in public, private and non-profit organizations, Ms. Fry’s experience includes: real estate finance, property management operations, marketing and lease-up strategies, supportive service provision, and corporate training and organizational development. Ms. Fry’s current role at the Housing Partnership Network is to oversee all Innovation / R&D activities working with HPN’s member organizations across the country to launch and scale social enterprises that sustain affordable housing, close the racial wealth gap, and advance thriving communities and equal opportunity for all.

Saul E. Gilstein

Of Counsel, Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP

Saul Gilstein offers clients his substantial experience in several diverse areas of practice including commercial leasing, the taxation of real estate, and employment law. He represents both landlords and tenants in commercial lease negotiations and has vast experience in counseling and defending clients with regard to sensitive employment matters and claims. Saul has extensive experience relating to the tax assessment appeal process and tax exemptions.

Saul is recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2020 as a leading lawyer in real estate law.

Elizabeth Scott Glenn

Deputy Director (Ret.), Baltimore County Department of Planning

Ms. Glenn is the former Deputy Director of the Baltimore County Department of Planning. She is active in developing policy and programs on the local, state, national, and international level. Ms. Glenn is Chair Emeritus of the US Africa Collaborative, a consortium of universities, housing organizations, and students focused on affordable housing and human settlements. She is the Chair of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials' (NAHRO) Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and is shaping national policy for the 2500 PHAs that make up the membership. She is also one of three of NAHRO's NGO Representative to the United Nations. Her committee was responsible for shaping NAHRO's National Housing Equity Policy Framework. She is a 4-term member of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Affordable Trust and has served on the trust under 2 governors. The local program that she is absolutely devoted to is the Bethel Empowerment and Wellness Center, located in Baltimore City, and has served on the Board as Vice President and Treasurer and is currently serving as President of the Board of Directors since 2020. Ms. Glenn is a married grandmother and resides with her husband in Essex.

James I. Humphrey, Jr.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Ret.), The Humphrey Companies

James I. Humphrey, Jr. founded and served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Humphrey Companies which are based in Columbia, Maryland. This group of eight organizations develop, build, own and manage apartment communities, hotels and retirement communities in the six state Mid-Atlantic region and Florida. His firms have been involved with the production of over 7,500 affordable units over the past 20 years.

Mr. Humphrey was the founder and Chairman of The Humphrey Hospitality Trust, a real estate trust listed on the NASDAQ Exchange. The Trust was merged with Supertel Hospitality Trust, another public Company and now owns over 120 hotels in 23 states.

Mr. Humphrey has served on the governors Housing Task Force in Maryland. He served as vice-chairman of the Maryland Housing Policy Commission and served on the Credit Assurance Review Committee of the Maryland Housing Fund. He was the initial president of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition. He holds a Bachelors of Science Degree from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Business Administration from Loyola University. He is a Trustee Emeritus of The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland. He has served seven years on the Board of Directors of Hospice of the Chesapeake and is the current Vice Chairman. He has served five years on the Board of Wellness House of Annapolis and is the current Vice Chairman.

Patrick Sheridan

Principal, Sheridan Consulting, LLC

Patrick Sheridan is the Principal in Sheridan Consulting, LLC, an affordable housing consulting firm.  Previously he was Executive Vice President for Housing for Volunteers of America. Mr. Sheridan was responsible for overall strategy and administration of senior, multi-family, special needs housing for the organization’s national portfolio. Sheridan also was Assistant Deputy Administrator for Multi-Family Housing, Rural Housing Service, USDA, where he was responsible for implementation and management of affordable multi-family housing programs. He was also the Director of Housing Management for Maryland Community Development Administration, DHCD, along with private sector positions in asset management and development. He is an advisory board member to the Valued Advisor Fund, a new markets tax credit fund, and an editorial advisor to Affordable Housing Finance magazine.

Graylin E. Smith

Managing Partner, SB & Company, LLC

Graylin (Gray) Smith is the Managing Partner of SB & Company, LLC (SBC). In his capacity as Managing Partner, Gray is responsible for the firm’s quality control program and the overall management of the firm. Gray has over 40 years of public accounting experience, including years as a partner at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young.

Trudy P. McFall

Co-Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Homes for America, Inc.

Trudy has over 45 years of experience in the affordable housing field, serving in key management positions in state, federal and local government and the nonprofit sector. She is a co-founder of HFA and Chairman of the Board. Trudy served for 13 years as the Director of Maryland’s housing finance agency, the Community Development Administration; four years with HUD as the Director of the Office of Planning, Washington, DC; and ten years as Director of the Housing Division of the Metropolitan Council in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Trudy is currently the President of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition, the organization of the affordable rental housing developers and advocates in the State. She has served on the Board of Directors for a variety of national housing organizations, including the Housing Partnership Network, National Council of State Housing Agencies, National Housing Conference, National Leased Housing, National Housing and Rehabilitation Association. She also has served as Chairman of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis and President of the Anne Arundel Affordable Housing Coalition. She has been a frequent speaker on housing issues at national and local conferences and has written extensively on housing topics, including as a Contributing Editor for the Affordable Housing Magazine.

Trudy has a BA in Sociology from Indiana University and an MA in Sociology from Bryn Mawr College.

Nancy S. Rase

President & CEO (ret.), Homes for America, Inc., Co-Founder and Board Emeritus Director

Nancy S. Rase is the Principal of Nancy Rase Consulting Services, LLC.  The business was created in October 2015 to provide consulting services to housing organizations and public agencies involved in the affordable housing industry.

Nancy is a co-founder and the former President and CEO of Homes for America, Inc.  She remains as an Emeritus Director of the organization. During her tenure from September 1994 through October 2015 HFA developed or preserved 75 rental communities with over 6,000 apartment homes in the mid-Atlantic states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware.

Prior to HFA, Nancy was with the Maryland Community Development Administration for 16 years where she served as the agency’s Deputy Director, Director of Housing Development Programs, and Director of Rehabilitation Programs.   She also worked for seven years in local government as the Assistant Manager at the Housing Authority of the City of Hagerstown. 

Nancy has served on many Boards during her career and currently is on the Boards of:  Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) and is a past President, Anne Arundel Affordable Housing Coalition, Arundel Community Development Services, Inc. and Chesapeake Neighbors (an affiliate of the ARC of the Central Chesapeake). She serves on the Development Review Committee of Volunteers of America, the Investment and Asset Management Committee of the Housing Partnership Network and the Loan Committees of the Housing Partnership Loan Fund and Housing Partnership Ventures.

She has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Baltimore.