The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced the inaugural members of its Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing, a group that will provide non-binding advice to the FHFA on how its regulated entities (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks) can best serve as a reliable and responsible source of liquidity and funding for housing finance and community investment, including both single-family and multifamily housing.
“I thank the Committee members for their willingness to share their deep housing expertise with FHFA,” said FHFA Director Sandra L. Thompson. “The wide-ranging factors driving the nation’s housing affordability challenges will be best identified and addressed with perspectives anchored in on-the-ground experience.”
To ensure diverse points of view are represented on the Committee, FHFA sought out members engaged in the financing, development, and/or administration of affordable, equitable, and sustainable housing and housing policy, and who have relevant expertise, applicable to the GSEs, in at least one of the following areas:
- Fair housing, fair lending, or civil rights;
- Single-family lending, servicing, development, mortgages, or capital markets;
- Multifamily lending, servicing, development, mortgages, capital markets, or investments (including Low-Income Housing Tax Credits);
- Consumer, tenant, or community advocacy;
- Housing market technology;
- State, local, or tribal government housing policies and programs; and
- Academic or non-academic affiliated housing research.
Members of Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing include:
- Laura Arce, SVP, Economic Initiatives, UnidosUS
- Nikitra Bailey, EVP, National Fair Housing Alliance
- David N. Castillo, CEO, Native Community Capital
- Ozaa EchoMaker, Leader/Organizer, Bozeman Tenants United
- Ofo Ezeugwu, CEO & Founder, WYL.co (WhoseYourLandlord)
- Lisa Gomez, CEO, L+M Development Partners LLC
- Tiena Johnson Hall, Executive Director, California Housing Finance Agency
- Alexis Iwanisziw, SVP, Policy and Communications, Inclusiv
- Lark Mallory, President & CEO, Affordable Housing Trust Columbus/Franklin County
- Michael Newman, General Counsel, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
- Pamela Patenaude, Principal, Granite Housing Strategies LLC
- Sosseh Prom, National Housing Justice Director, African Communities Together
- Janneke Ratcliffe, VP, Housing Finance Policy Center, Urban Institute
- Paula Reeves, President, Affordable Housing Division, Land Home Financial
- Sipho Simela, Founder/CEO, Matrix Rental Solutions
- Debra W. Still, Vice Chair, Pulte Financial Services
- Sheri Thompson, EVP, Head of Affordable Housing, Walker & Dunlop
- Eileen Tu, VP, Mortgage Policy and Credit Development, Rocket Mortgage
- John Wiechmann, President/CEO, Midwest Housing Equity Group Inc.
- Stacie Young, President and CEO, Community Investment Corporation
Each Committee meeting will better inform FHFA’s policy development, rulemaking, and community and public engagement functions as described in the Committee’s charter. The Committee is advisory in nature with members serving a term of two years. The Committee will convene for its first meeting this fall.
Committee comprised of diversity
Among the FHFA’s 20-member Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing are several members rich with high-level industry, governmental, and policy-making experience.
Bailey serves as EVP at the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), where she leads the organization’s Public Policy and Communications Divisions and assists in managing Resource Development. She develops and spearheads visionary, comprehensive policy, and communications strategies to implement NFHA’s mission of eliminating all forms of housing discrimination and ensuring everyone has decent, stable, affordable housing in well-resourced, opportunity-rich communities free from bias. She also provides thought leadership that supports more than 170 member organizations; liaises with policymakers and other stakeholders; and works collaboratively with NFHA’s departments, membership, and Board of Directors to promote housing equity and equitable opportunities. Prior to joining NFHA, Bailey served as an EVP at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a research and policy advocacy organization that seeks to build a fairer and more inclusive financial services marketplace. During the pandemic, Bailey led CRL’s advocacy efforts on the American Rescue Plan Act’s Homeowner Assistance Fund, helping to secure $10 billion in relief for homeowners hardest hit by COVID-19, including support for socially disadvantage individuals and fair housing initiatives. She also played a key role in reforming the Paycheck Protection Program to direct funding to minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions and ensure equitable relief for small businesses and businesses owned by people of color.
Patenaude, Principal of Granite Housing Strategies, is an accomplished real estate, housing policy, and disaster recovery expert with a four-decade record of success as an executive in government, the nonprofit sector, and the private industry. Patenaude is an Independent Director of loanDepot, and a member of the Audit Committee. Patenaude served as Deputy Secretary of HUD. As HUD’s Chief Operating Officer, Patenaude managed the day-to-day operations of the Department, with a diverse portfolio of federal housing and community development programs. Patenaude oversaw 7,000 employees located in 65 offices nationwide. During her time at HUD, Patenaude provided oversight for an unprecedented $37 billion in disaster funding for the long-term recovery efforts in Puerto Rico; Texas; Florida; Hawaii; U.S. Virgin Islands; California; North Carolina; and South Carolina. Patenaude also served as Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development at HUD, where she administered more than $8 billion in housing and community development funds. She also played a significant role in HUD’s efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast region, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by providing direct oversight of $17 billion in disaster recovery funds. Patenaude also served as the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management at HUD.
Still is the current Vice Chair of Pulte Financial Services, which includes Pulte Mortgage LLC, PGP Title, and PCIC Insurance and employs more than 800 individuals nationwide. Still served as the 2013 Chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and is currently a member of the association’s Board of Directors, Chair of the Affordable Housing Subgroup, and a member of MBA’s Consumer Affairs Advisory Council. Still was awarded MBA’s Andrew D. Woodward Distinguished Service Award in 2014. As an active MBA member for more than a decade, Still has also served as Chair of MBA’s Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG,) Chair of MBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Chair of the Council for Residential Mortgage Servicing for the 21st Century and was Chair of the MBA Forward Task Force. She has also served on MBA’s Strategic Planning Committee, MBA’s Loan Origination Task Force, and Secondary and Capital Markets Committee. Still has testified before Congress multiple times. Still is presently Chair of MBA’s Opens Doors Foundation.
Ratcliffe is VP for Housing Finance Policy and leads the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Over a career that spans industry, the nonprofit sector, academic research, and the federal government, her work focuses on increasing access to financial systems that foster economic security and prosperity. Ratcliffe came to Urban Institute from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where she served as Assistant Director, leading its Office of Financial Education. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the University of North Carolina Center for Community Capital, leading “transformative research on how mortgage markets and financial services can better promote financial security and economic opportunity.” Ratcliffe has also served at GE Capital Mortgage, the Center for American Progress, and Self-Help, where she was instrumental in high-impact programs in affordable and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) mortgages and community development finance. Ratcliffe serves on the National Advisory Council of the National Housing Council (for a three-year term beginning 2024) and on the Consumer Affairs Advisory Council of the MBA. She is a member of Fannie Mae’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council for 2024–25 and of the National Community Stabilization Trust Board of Managers.
Click here for more information on the FHFA’s Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing.
