Congressional Testimony | Policy Statements | Comment Letters | Sign-On Letters | Hot Issues

Greater Arizona Rural Housing Forum

June 27, 2006

Biographical Sketches of Speakers

Welcome

Scott Overton was elected a member of the Flagstaff City Council in May 2006. He is the owner of SR Overton Construction, a small residential building company that works on residential projects, additions, remodeling and complete home building services. Before starting SR Overton Construction, Mr. Overton worked for the Flagstaff Unified School District as a trade and industry instructor at Flagstaff High School. Prior to working in the Flagstaff school system, Mr. Overton was a woodworking and building trades instructor at Payson High School. He attended Northern Arizona University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in secondary industrial technology education and a master of education degree in educational leadership.

Matt Ryan is Chairman of the Coconino Board of Supervisors. Mr. Ryan's current Supervisor activities include voting membership on the Flagstaff Regional Plan Executive Committee and Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization, membership with the Williams and Sedona Chambers of Commerce, and member of the Keep Sedona Beautiful - Lands Subcommittee. Mr. Ryan has worked for a bio-technology corporation, with the Flagstaff Arboretum in an educational capacity and as a freelance writer. He also started a small business making recreation map trails. He actively served in the United States Marine Corps from 1975 to 1978. Mr. Ryan received a bachelors of science degree and a secondary teaching certification from Northern Arizona University.

Moderator

Conrad E. Egan is president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC), the nation’s oldest and most broad-based housing advocacy organization. He was appointed to this position after serving for five years as NHC’s director of policy. During 2001 and 2002, he was on a leave of absence from NHC so that he could serve as executive director of the Millennial Housing Commission, established by the United States Congress to recommend ways to better support good housing for all Americans. His involvement in community development and housing dates back to 1965, when he worked on local housing activities in Detroit, Michigan. In 1969, Mr. Egan joined the staff of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) serving in a variety of headquarters and field assignments, including serving as director of the Office of Multifamily Housing Management. He would later rejoin the HUD staff as a special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary for multifamily programs, and then became a special assistant to former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. From 1986 to 1993, he was executive vice president of NHP Inc., at the time one of the nation’s largest multifamily property owners and managers. Mr. Egan’s commitment to housing issues extends beyond the workplace into community service. He is also currently serving as the chairman of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Rural Housing: A National Perspective

Joe Belden is deputy executive director of the Housing Assistance Council (HAC), a national nonprofit provider of loans, grants, research, information, and technical assistance for affordable rural housing. Previously a research associate at HAC, he has also worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on Capitol Hill, and for several policy-oriented research organizations in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Texas-Austin and the Baylor University Law School.

Overview of the Arizona Incentives for Affordable Housing Task Force

Jean Richmond-Bowmanhas been the executive vice president of Northern Arizona Building Association since June of 1993. Ms. Richmond-Bowman is vice chair of the Arizona Housing Commission and chair of its Public Education Committee. She currently chairs Governor Napolitano’s “Incentives for Affordable Housing Task Force.” She is the past president of Bothands (fka the Flagstaff Affordable Housing Coalition) and currently chairs its Sharon Manor Oversight Committee. She is also a member of the City’s Industrial Development Authority. Ms. Richmond-Bowman was a member of the City of Flagstaff’s Housing Policy Task Force, on the management team for the Coconino County Comprehensive Plan Partnership, served on the Greater Flagstaff Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan Task Force, Open Space Greenways Committee, the Management Committee of Flagstaff 2020 and the Flagstaff Affordable Housing Plan Steering Committee. Ms. Richmond-Bowman has served on the National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council Board of Directors and was the 1995 recipient of the David Lloyd Memorial award from that group, as well as several Association Excellence Awards. She holds a masters degree in public administration from San Diego State University and a bachelors degree in psychology from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts.

Employer Assisted Housing in Rural Communities

Rex Smitherman is Fannie Mae’s lead director of five Texas/Oklahoma Community Business Centers, which includes locations in the Texas Border Region, Dallas-Ft.Worth, Houston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio. There are 55 Community Business Centers in the nation to help increase affordable homeownership and rental housing opportunities for low-, moderate- and middle-income families through partnerships with lenders, local governments and other organizations. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 1998, Mr. Smitherman served as chief operating officer for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 170-person Department and its nine divisions. During his nine-year career at the department, he also served as director of its Regional Offices, Business Development and Small Business divisions. Mr. Smitherman is currently a member of Leadership Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Academy. He also serves on the advisory boards of the Oklahoma Homebuyer Education Association, and Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc.’s New Markets, LLC. Mr. Smitherman holds a B.S. in accounting and an MBA from Oklahoma State University. He is recognized by the National Development Council as a Certified Housing Development Finance Professional and as a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional.

Inclusionary Housing in Rural Communities

Dewey Bandy is the deputy director of the California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH). CCRH provides technical support to community-based stakeholders who are advocating for affordable housing policies and to ensure that the housing needs of rural and agricultural areas are not overlooked. Mr. Bandy heads up the CCRH’s technical assistance and inclusionary housing programs for rural communities. He has over 30 years of experience with affordable housing including multifamily housing development, preservation of subsidized housing, affordable homeownership programs, research, public education, advocacy and technical assistance. He holds a doctorate in planning from UCLA and has conducted research on local economic development policies, farmworker housing and limited equity housing cooperatives. He also has taught graduate courses on urban planning and community development.

State Trust Land

Ron Ruziska is the director of the Southern Arizona Real Estate Division of the Arizona State Land Department. Mr. Ruziska, a former real estate broker and appraiser, has 40 years of experience in the real estate business, with 7 years of experience as a commercial broker. Prior to his current position, he served as real estate director for the Arizona State Land Department and was responsible for sales, leasing, rights of way, engineering, planning and appraisal. Mr. Ruziska also served 10 years with the City of Scottsdale, first as a real estate manager and later as economic development director. He holds a bachelors degree in economics from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Arizona State University.