Board of Directors
TACDC is governed by a 15-person, member-elected Board of Directors, a majority of which must represent community-based non-profit entities.
President
Mike Nguyen
VN Teamwork
(Houston, Texas)
Vice President
Fernando Godinez
Mexican American Unity Council
(San Antonio, Texas)
Treasurer
Tamara Foster
New Hope Housing
(Houston, Texas)
Secretary
Joyce McDonald
Frameworks CDC
(Austin, Texas)
Past President
Paul Turney
Brazos Valley Affordable Housing
James Armstrong
Builders of Hope CDC
(Dallas, Texas)
Vivian Ballou
Legacy CDC
(Beaumont, Texas)
Mannaser Marshall
Houston Business Development, Inc.
(Houston, Texas)
Myra Martinez
Affordable Homes of South Texas
(McAllen, Texas)
Benny Rodriguez
Houston Area Urban CDC
(Houston, Texas)
Bill Schlesinger
Project Vida
(El Paso)
Elizabeth Alonzo Villarreal
NeighborWorks Laredo
(Laredo)
Stephanie Hamby
Galilee CDC
(San Angelo)
Charles Price
Development Corporation of Tarrant County
(Fort Worth)
Jacque Haas Woodring
Prospera
(San Antonio)
Paul Turney has worked in the affordable housing arena for over 25 years. Currently serving as the Executive Vice President of the Brazos Valley Affordable Housing Corporation and President of the Brazos Valley CDC Inc. Paul started his housing career in 1990 managing 144 units of 202 Section 8 New Construction for the Methodist Retirement Services Inc.
He then went to work with the Brazos Valley Council of Governments where he managed their Housing Authority overseeing approximately 2,000 Section 8 tenant based housing vouchers and certificates. In 1995 Paul began managing the Brazos Valley Affordable Housing Corporation, a 501 c 3 non-profit created by the Council of Governments (BVCOG) to bring affordable housing opportunities to the Brazos Valley Region. Paul worked with his local units of government, through the BVCOG, to create the first HOME Consortia in Texas to receive funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2000, with investments from local banks, Paul organized the Brazos Valley CDC Inc., a multi-bank CDFI which received certification and additional investments from the US Treasury’s CDFI Fund. He has used this vehicle to provide mortgage and interim construction lending for affordable housing and leveraged this resource with those raised through the HOME Consortia to support development of single family affordable housing.
In 2013 the BVCDC became a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, the second CDFI from Texas to successfully join the FHLB and only the third CDFI from the FHLB’s five state region. In late 2014 the BVCDC became the first licensed local partner of the Community Loan Center Small Dollar Loan Program to begin lending in a market outside the pilot market of the Rio Grande Valley.
Donna VanNess
Benny Rodriguez has worked in the field of Community Development and Affordable Housing for the past 25 years either in the public, non-profit or private sector. Currently as the Executive Director to a local community Development Corporation as well as a Consultant and Real Estate Broker. Before his current position, he held a senior position within the Community Planning and Development Division (CPD) of the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) working out of the Houston, Texas Field Office. He has served as Deputy Director for one of the Texas’ Gulf Coast most diverse affordable housing partners responsible for development and implementation of all Community Development and Affordable Housing Programs and initiatives as well as served as a Senior Planner for large Urban County’s Community Development Department ensuring each project was in compliance with federal, state and local regulations and/or ordinances.
James Armstong
James Armstrong III is the President & CEO of Builders of Hope Development Corporation, a leading community development corporations in Dallas. He has served as a certified Urban Community Development expert since 2010 with expertise and experience in Non-Profit management, marketing, business development, and finance James. Additional experience includes over 10 years in the Banking industry with added knowledge of complex lending and financing. Within these years he has worked for some of the top Fortune 500 companies like J. P. Morgan Chase and New York Life Securities and Investments.
Alongside his career in finance, James is amply involved in his community. His core ideology is that community engagement is key to urban development. James serves on numerous community development driven boards such as, the Dallas Housing Finance Corporation, bcWorkshop, and The Real Estate Council Community Fund Advisory board. James is a proud graduate of Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business with a Bachelor's degree in Finance and has completed post-graduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2017 James was award the Dallas Business Journal 40 under 40 award for his accomplishments in business.
Myra Martinez has worked in non-profits for the last 20 years, filling various roles from resource development to operations. Her latest role as Deputy Executive Director – Operations for Affordable Homes of South Texas, Inc. has been one of the most rewarding yet. In her role, Myra oversees marketing, human resources, homebuyer development, information technology, and new initiatives for the organization. She often states, “This is the toughest job I’ve ever loved.”
Myra is a Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Certified Professional and sits on national committees involved in homeownership. Myra also recently graduated from the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program in association with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Myra was one of forty-seven leaders to graduate with this Achieving Excellence class – a prestigious and highly selective training program offered by NeighborWorks America® in collaboration with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Leo Barrera graduated from the University of Texas Pan American in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Mr. Barrera worked as a Field Operations Manager with Rebuilding Together in Dallas and New Orleans prior to joining CDCB in 2009. Mr. Barrera has a wide range of experience within the CDCB organization focusing on production and project management. Prior to being promoted to Construction Administration Manager, he was the CDCB’s Special Projects Lead where he managed the successful completion of the RAPIDO and El Naranjal projects. Mr. Barrera acts as a liaison between CDCB’s design professionals, contractors and the client. He prepares and manages all construction contract documents and vendor contracts. He oversees all bidding and procurement activity. He also reviews and manages all project budgets, billing and environmental clearances. Mr. Barrera is currently completing a certification in Construction Management with NeighborWorks America
Jill Miller began working in the mortgage industry, originating and processing mortgage loans. This experience gave her the first glimpse into the need for quality housing for hard working, lower-income families. She saw a strong need for educating these families in the credit and homebuying process. In 2002, she accepted a position with Odessa Housing Finance Corporation/Odessa Affordable Housing, Inc. (OHFC/OAHI) as a housing specialist. This position allowed her to quickly develop new programs for the organization.
Jill has been in her current position as Executive Director for eight years, and is responsible for administering of all programs, including affordable new construction development and rehab, credit counseling and homebuyer education program, as well as handling all financial aspects of the organization. She also developed a mortgage loan program for individuals that are enrolled in OHFC/OAHI credit counseling program and want to purchase a house owned by OHFC/OAHI. OAHI became a HUD certified Counseling Agency in 2010. She passionately believes in OHFC/OAHI mission of providing decent, safe and sanitary housing for residents of the City at prices they can afford.
Tamara Foster joined the New Hope Housing team in 2003. In her role now as Vice President of Onsite Operations, Tamara is responsible for the overall fiscal accountability, and property and asset management of New Hope’s seven (7) single room occupancy (SRO) supportive housing communities along with a 187 unit family project. She is charged with recruiting/training/oversight of personnel (95+), and physical asset management of New Hope’s non-profit residential housing portfolio. Additionally, she ensures operational compliance with all public and private funding obligations. Tamara works closely with architects and project managers in the development of sites under construction to ensure durability, and practical, efficient use. Also under her purview is development and implementation of New Hope’s Resident Programs providing life-stabilizing services to 826 adults and 187 families.
As part of New Hope’s housing + services program model, Tamara also works diligently within the greater Houston community to foster strong collaborations with the Houston Housing Authority and area social service agencies, such as Star of Hope, SEARCH, Health Care for the Homeless, Harmony House, Salvation Army, Harris Center, and Area 360 (formerly HACS). Through these strong collaborations, vulnerable individuals are afforded high quality affordable housing along with intensive case management, and with access to badly needed health education and medical services. Many of the individuals served are formerly homeless, aging, and have complex health and social support needs, along with cognitive disabilities.
Tamara is a graduate of the National Apartment Association’s CAPS (Certified Portfolio Supervisor) program, and holds certifications through the National Center for Housing Management in Low Income Tax Credits and Fair Housing. She is a graduate of St. Luke’s Collaborative Leadership Academy (2014) and a graduate of Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders Emerging Leader program (2011). She has been a proud member of Comerica Bank’s Texas Community Development Advisory Council since 2010 and a sits on the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Community Development Corporations, Houston Apartment Association and Texas Homeless Network.
Joyce McDonald, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Frameworks Community Development Corporation, is devoted to improving the lives of disadvantaged families and lifting up underserved communities. Her vision is a broad Community Development strategy that includes Homebuyer Education, Foreclosure Prevention, Financial Literacy Education, acquiring and rehabilitating distressed houses to create Affordable Housing and Nonprofit Real Estate Brokerage services. Under her direction, Frameworks has helped more than 11,000 families.
As Executive Director, she has overseen over $6 million dollars of acquisition and redevelopment activity which has included single family and multifamily transactions which has resulted in over 60 single family projects and an affordable rental portfolio for Frameworks CDC of 25 units. She has successfully led the transition of Frameworks CDC from an organization providing homebuyer education and counseling for first time homebuyers and foreclosure prevention counseling for families struggling to keep their homes to a comprehensive community development corporation that offers homebuyer counseling, foreclosure counseling and affordable rental and affordable for-sale housing.
