The Center for Housing Policy’s leadership is comprised of housing policymakers, practitioners and researchers from across the nation.

Selected for their knowledge and expertise, these individuals are responsible for governing the organization and providing insight on current housing policy related research issues. Their direction helps guide the Center’s work so that the organization can develop the policy solutions necessary to fulfill its housing research goals.  In addition, many of these leaders belong to organizations that actively collaborate with the Center on research strategies, publications, events and more.

The Center’s three-part leadership structure includes Officers, Directors and Advisory Council Members.

Chairman of the Board of Directors: Kent W. Colton is the president of The Colton Housing Group and a former Senior Scholar at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. He has more than 30 years of experience as a housing scholar and expert in the field of mortgage finance and housing policy. Prior to his work with the Joint Center, Kent was the Executive Vice President and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, a position he held from 1984 to 1999. Before that, he served as an executive vice president of Freddie Mac for policy, planning and economic research. He was a member of the Millennial Housing Commission, and staff director of the President's Commission on Housing. Colton previously was a professor of public management and finance at Brigham Young University's Graduate School of Management, and Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning. A graduate of Utah State University, Colton received an M.P.A. from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from MIT.

Executive Director: Jeffrey Lubell became executive director of the Center for Housing Policy in 2006 and is a recognized expert in housing and community development policy. Prior to becoming head of the Center, Lubell worked as an independent consultant specializing in analyzing and developing recommendations for strengthening national, state and local housing and community development policy. From 2000 to 2003, he served as director of the policy development division of the Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also worked from 1998 to 2000 as a housing policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit organization that is one of the leading independent authorities on programs affecting low-income families. Lubell is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College.

Secretary/Treasurer: Mark A. Willis is a resident research fellow at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University. Mr. Willis was previously a visiting scholar at the Ford Foundation, working on research related to community development and the financial services sector. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president of JPMorgan Chase Bank and head of the Community Development Group. He also chairs the JPMorgan Chase Community Development Corporation, is on the Board of Trustees of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, co-chairs the steering committee of the corporate Supplier Diversity Program and is a member of the retail bank’s Diversity Council. Before joining JPMorgan Chase & Co in 1989, Mr. Willis was Deputy Commissioner for Development of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Presently, Mr. Willis is Chairman of the New York Community Investment Company and is Co-Chair of Living Cities: The National Community Development Initiative. He also chairs the Consumer Bankers Association Community Reinvestment Committee and is a member of the Bankers/Community Collaborative Council of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. He serves on the boards of the National Equity Fund (Executive Committee), the Social Compact and the Community Preservation Corporation and chairs the Advisory Board of the Community Development Research Center. Mr. Willis has a B.A. in economics from Yale University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from Yale University.

Immediate Past Chairman: John K. McIlwain is a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute and holds the ULI / J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing. Prior to joining ULI, Mr. McIlwain served as senior managing director of the American Communities Fund for Fannie Mae and was president and CEO of the Fannie Mae Foundation. Before joining Fannie Mae, he was a partner in the law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy. He served as executive assistant to the assistant secretary for housing at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and began his career at the Maine State Housing Authority. Mr. McIlwain has a Bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a JD from New York University.

Nancy O. Andrews is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), a $600 million Community Development Financial Institution. Ms. Andrews serves on numerous community development and environmental boards and committees, including Housing Partnership Network, Center for Housing Policy Advisory Council, Bank of America’s National Community Advisory Council, Morgan Stanley’s Community Development Advisory Committee, National Housing Law Project and the Center for International Forestry Research. She was also previously a member of the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council. Ms. Andrews’ 30 years in community development include positions as Deputy Director of the Ford Foundation’s Office of Program Related Investments and Chief Financial Officer of the International Water Management Institute, a World Bank-supported development organization. Ms. Andrews also consulted for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Treasury during the Clinton administration. She received an M.S. in Urban Planning with a concentration in Real Estate Finance from Columbia University. 

Ted Chandler is a founding board member and director emeritus of the California Housing Consortium, a regional affiliate of the National Housing Conference. Mr. Chandler currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. As vice president of marketing for Fannie Mae’s Western Regional Office in Pasadena, CA, Mr. Chandler was responsible for managing relationships with national mortgage banking customers. Previously at Fannie Mae he served as Vice President of housing and community development for the western region. He joined Fannie Mae as Director of the Boston Partnership Office, where he worked with lenders, developers, government officials, community and nonprofit organizations, and industry partners to customize Fannie Mae financing to meet local needs. During his time with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Mr. Chandler served as Chief Executive and Chief of Staff. He was later Deputy Executive Director of the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency in Boston. Mr. Chandler is also a member of the advisory board of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and the advisory board of Greystone Community Development Enterprise.

Chris Estes joined the National Housing Conference in 2012 after nine years as the head of the North Carolina Housing Coalition, one of the nation's best-known state housing groups. He leads NHC's policy and advocacy work both in Washington and throughout the country. While head of the North Carolina group, he served as a Local Community Advisor for the Urban Land Institute. Prior to his work at the Coalition, he served as a development officer for several different nonprofits in the Raleigh-Durham region. He holds MAs in City and Regional Planning and Social Work, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a BA in Labor Relations from UNC-Chapel Hill. He also completed an executive education course for state and local leaders at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.

John L. Kelly is a partner with Nixon Peabody LLP in the real estate department and serves as the co-chair of the New York Housing Conference as well as president of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association. Mr. Kelly serves on New York City Mayor Bloomberg's Neighborhood Investment Advisory Panel. He started his legal career as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Kelly has extensive experience representing both for-profit and nonprofit developers, owners and operators in complex real estate transactions. He has developed specific expertise in federal, state and local housing programs. He has a Bachelor's degree from Ithaca College and a JD with honors from University of Connecticut School of Law.

Sydelle Knepper is the founder of SKA Marin, a real estate development firm and consulting firm specializing in affordable housing, senior living and community development in the New York metropolitan area. She has more than 25 years in community-based development, public policy consulting and construction management. Prior to founding SKA Marin, Ms. Knepper served as Assistant Commissioner for Development and Policy at the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Ms. Knepper has also held positions as Director of Project Finance at the New York State Housing Finance Agency, Special Assistant at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Director of Local Legislation for Mayor Ed Koch. Her career in government began as a New York City Urban Fellow.

Daniel A. Nissenbaum is the chief operating officer of the Urban Investment Group, a division of Goldman Sachs Bank USA, with responsibility for overseeing Production, Portfolio Management and Operations/Finance. Mr. Nissenbaum manages a team providing community development loans and investments across a range of products which fulfill the Bank's Community Reinvestment Act obligations. Mr. Nissenbaum has worked in the field of real estate and community development finance for 21 years with positions at Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank CDC, JPMorgan CDC, Merrill Lynch CDC and HSBC Bank. Mr. Nissenbaum also has overseen CRA regulatory compliance, philanthropy and outreach programs. Mr. Nissenbaum holds positions on several boards in addition to the Center for Housing Policy which include: NHC, the Low Income Investment Fund, The Center for NYC Neighborhoods, and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Foundation. Mr. Nissenbaum earned a Bachelor's Degree from Grinnell College and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia Business School.

Christine M.J. Oliver is the president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Dwellings Association (CDA), the oldest not-for-profit housing development corporation in Chicago. Prior to joining CDA in 1991, Ms. Oliver served as the director of development and special housing programs for the Chicago Housing Authority. From 1983 to 1989, she held several senior level policy positions with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC. From 1993 to 1998, Ms. Oliver served as the first woman chair of the National Housing Conference and from 1998 to 2003 she served as regional vice president. In 1996, the Low Income Housing Coalition honored Ms. Oliver for her leadership in affordable housing. Ms. Oliver is a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Housing Policy. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Enterprise Mortgage Investment Corporation and serves on the Board of the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities.

Ann B. Schnare is principal at AB Schnare Associates and a senior expert at Navigant Economics specializing in housing finance, housing policy and real estate markets. Between 1996 and 1999, she was senior vice president of corporate relations at Freddie Mac, where she served on the company's operating committee and was responsible for industry relations, issues management, corporate communications and philanthropic giving. Between 1993 and 1996, she was Freddie Mac's vice president of housing economics and financial research. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Dr. Schnare was senior vice president of ICF Incorporated. She served as director of the Urban Land Institute's Center for Public Finance and Housing from 1983 to 1987. Dr. Schnare holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and an AB in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.

Brian K. Tracey is Community Development, Lending and Investments Executive for Bank of America. In his role at Bank of America, Brian Tracey leads a team of real estate professionals in providing equity and debt financing for affordable housing and other community development projects coast-to-coast.  

William C. Apgar, Jr., Harvard Kennedy School
Raphael Bostic, USC Price School of Public Policy
Donald Bradley
Xavier de Souza Briggs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David A. Crowe, National Association of Home Builders
Helen M. Dunlap, Dunlap Consulting
Conrad Egan, Affordable Housing Institute
Jane Fortson Eisenach, Fortson Eisenach Associates, Inc.
Joseph Errigo
David F. Garrison, The Brookings Institution
Richard K. Green, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate
Charles M. Hill, Sr., Charles Hill & Associates, Inc.
Bruce J. Katz, The Brookings Institution
G. Allan Kingston, National Community Renaissance
Carol Lamberg, Settlement Housing Fund, Inc.
David Lereah, Reecon Advisors
Chris Lord, Chris Lord & Associates, LLC
Kenneth C. Lore, Bingham McCutchen LLP
Terri Ludwig, Enterprise Community Partners
Stuart A. McFarland, Federal City Capital Advisors, LLC
Kathryn P. Nelson
Sandra J. Newman, Johns Hopkins University
Jim Park, Asian Real Estate Association of America
Munson Park, Jonathan Rose Companies
J. Michael Pitchford, Community Preservation and Development Corporation
Nicolas P. Retsinas, Harvard Business School
Michael Rubinger, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Kris Siglin, Housing Partnership Network 
Dianne J. Spaulding, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
Stacey D. Stewart, United Way Worldwide
Monica Hilton Sussman, Nixon Peabody LLP
J. Ronald Terwilliger, Trammell Crow Residential
Steven J. Tuminaro, NeighborWorks^® America
John C. Weicher, Hudson Institute