HCA is focused on closing the wealth gap.

Gabe is President & CEO of Homeownership Council of America (HCA) providing vision, technical assistance, and lender services to CDFIs and investors in affordable lending. Gabe has extensive experience in building products, delivery systems, and technology focused on increasing access to credit for underserved communities.  Gabe has been instrumental in providing transformational consulting to nonprofit lenders through HCA’s CLIMB program nationally.  Gabe has authored a technical paper entitled “Untapping the Potential of Underserved Communities” illuminating underserved homeownership lending problem statements and solution options.  Prior to joining HCA, Gabe was the President of Springboard CDFI and the Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative, where he created the first national nonprofit CDFI mortgage bank, laying the groundwork for hub & spoke models.  Before that, Gabe was COO for Community Housing Works, while serving on several boards for housing, community development, banking, and homeownership. He previously trained community development and housing counseling professionals for 7 years with NeighborWorks America. Gabe has spent decades implementing and building best practices in housing counseling & education, down payment assistance lending, affordable housing, and mortgage lending for underserved communities. He currently serves on two Mortgage Bankers Association committees – the Consumer Affairs Advisory Council and the Small Loans Task Force. Gabe has a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University, and is a graduate of the School of Mortgage Banking with and Accredited Mortgage Professional designation – as the only AMP working in nonprofit nationally.  Gabe also completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Program; Achieving Excellence in Community Development.

Jennifer joined HCA in 2019 as Vice-President.  She is responsible for HCA’s communications, resource development, grant management, whitepapers, research, and implementation of programs and services.  Jennifer also provides technical support to HCA’s CLIMB participants. Jennifer has over 25 years of non-profit and community development banking experience.  She began her career in Housing Counseling in 1994.  She later moved to community banking then returned to non-profit leadership.  Jennifer has significant experience providing training, capacity building, and technical support to non-profit organizations.  Her specialty is incorporating housing counseling services into loan programs to increase access for low-to-moderate income homebuyers and homeowners.  Jennifer’s prior experience includes Executive Director of HomeSmart NY, New York’s coalition of HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agencies;  Director of Lender/Servicer Relations at the Center for New York City Neighborhoods; developing and managing loss mitigation for NJ Community Capital’s ReStart Home Preservation Program; Community Development Specialist at Bank of New York; Executive Director of All AHEAD, Inc.; and Counseling Director for NJ Citizen Action.  Jennifer serves on the advisory board of the National Housing Resource Center.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgian Court University with a major in History. 

Howard Banker joined HCA in 2021 as a Subject Matter Expert and has since moved into a role as Chief Lending Officer for the organization.  Howie leads strategy and partnership work for our National DPA Platform and emerging CDFI. Howie provides training, guidance, and capacity building as a Subject Matter Expert in HCA’s CLIMB program. Mr. Banker brings over 40 years of experience as a mortgage lender and nonprofit leader. Howie has deep expertise in housing finance organizations and CDFI lending. Howie strives to build homeownership opportunities for underserved people through collaborative, credible programs.   His expertise includes nonprofit mortgage banking, innovative financing vehicles, partnership development, fair housing policy and programs, and consumer lending. Howie’s experience includes Chief Lending Officer at Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Director of Housing Finance at NJ Community Capital, Executive Director at Fair Mortgage Collaborative, Managing Director at Energy Programs Consortium, EVP of Financial Services at Opportunity Finance Network, Special Assistant to the President at BNY Mortgage Company, and many other leadership positions.  

Rashmi provides expertise on community development strategies and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). She is a systems thinker and problem solver who translates strategic priorities into executable programs, partnerships, and operating models that create value and drive impact. Rashmis collaborates across corporate, philanthropic, government, and nonprofit sectors to improve stakeholder experiences and outcomes, with experience spanning impact investing, health and aging, financial inclusion, and housing and community development.

Rashmi led a $27M portfolio at Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth, co-designed and launched the Citi Impact Fund—now a $500M initiative—and supported cities in using data to strengthen policy, investments, and service delivery. Her recent work includes advising New York City agencies on aging in place and health equity as an Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow, directing small business and workforce initiatives at Mastercard, and leading community development strategies that expand access to capital and services for underserved communities.

Rashmi’s past experience includes roles with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group; DAI/USAID; and Merrill Lynch.

Brad provides expert advice on fair lending, fair housing and consumer protection issues, including development of Special Purpose Credit Programs and responsible model development and use of artificial intelligence and data. Brad’s wide-ranging experience includes working as General Counsel at both the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Hope LoanPort, counsel at the civil rights law firm Relman Colfax, head of fair lending at American Express and a senior attorney at the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. Throughout his career, Brad has focused on expanding access to financial services to underserved communities.

Julie provides expert advice for emerging CDFIs and organizations considering becoming or building a CDFI. Her extensive background in community development spans national intermediary work and local/regional housing and CDFI program leadership in Southern CA. In addition to being a SME with HCA, Juie provides CDFI application writing direct assistance to organizations, and has a long track record with the US Treasury applications and programming.