HCA is focused on closing the homeownership 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.

Don joined HCA in 2022 as a Vice-President.  Don is responsible for HCA’s Equity DPA program.  Don has more than 20 years of mortgage operations experience.  Don is a motivating leader with a long history of building mortgage departments and developing team production.  Don specializes in identifying operational issues and finding innovative solutions for them.  Don excels at building relationships and collaborating across sectors to unite HCA’s partners in their shared goals.  Before joining HCA, Don served as Director of Lending for NHS of NYC.  He has also held many positions in mortgage banking, including First Republic Bank, Equity Mortgage, and the Clayton Group.  Don has a BA in Organizational Leadership from Biola University.  Don has certifications in Credit Risk Management from American School of Mortgage Banking and Fair Lending & Compliance from National Training Institute.  Don also has accreditation in Theology from Oxford University.  Don’s affiliations include United Nations Association, National Mortgage Bankers of America, National Coaches Alliance, National Minority Mortgages Association, and National Speaker Bureau of NYC.

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. 

Jeff joined HCA in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer.  He manages fiscal and human resource operations.  Jeff is a licensed CPA in CA & VA and a California Real Estate Broker.  He has a long history of experience in real estate, lending and nonprofit management.  Jeff’s previous positions include Controller at Riverside Community Health Foundation; Senior Staff Accountant/Auditor at Roorda, Piquet & Bessee, Inc. CPAs; Staff Accountant/Auditor at Considine & Considine; Broker at Great Finds Realty, Mortgage Processor at U.S. Bank; COO at New Earth Capital and Lending Consultant at Citi.  Jeff has a Master’s of Science in Accounting and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from San Diego State University

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. 

Howie provides training, guidance, and capacity building as a Subject Matter Expert in HCA’s CLIMB program. Howie 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.  

Lupe joined HCA in 2019 as Chief Operating Officer.  Lupe provides direct oversight for all programs and operations.  She is responsible for supporting our National Leadership Advisory Council, oversight and coordination of the individual CLIMB organizations, and ensuring excellent service to our investor and nonprofit clients.  Lupe brings over 30 years of experience in banking, lending and homeownership services.  She brings a wealth of knowledge on serving disadvantaged communities from direct service provision to professional capacity building and training.  Lupe’s previous experience includes Vice-President of Community Development at Springboard CDFI where she was responsible for design and implementation of Nationwide Mortgage Collaborative; Homeownership Management Consultant for NeighborWorks America, Pacific Region; and Home Ownership Director of NeighborWorks of Orange County. Lupe also served as the Convener for the NeighborWorks America Homeownership Specialty Team for 9 years. Lupe has a Real Estate License and is working on accreditation with the Mortgage Bankers Association.  Lupe is a founding member of NAHREP, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.  Lupe has a two-year certification in Banking from the University of San Diego.

Dee joined HCA in 2020 as Vice-President, Compliance & Underwriting.  She is responsible for HCA’s contract underwriting service providing external, comprehensive mortgage loan underwriting for nonprofit lenders.  Dee also oversees guidance and management of lending compliance, loan policies and procedures, and risk governance for HCA’s CLIMB participants.  Dee brings over 25 years of experience in all areas of mortgage lending.  This experience includes ten years at a leading CDFI with first mortgage, in-house DPA, and multiple municipal DPA management contracts. Dee is versed in Conventional, FHA, HFA, and all Affordable loan program types.  Her expertise includes current compliance regulations and best practices. Prior to joining HCA, Dee has worked with Banks, small and large companies and organizations as well as Wholesale /Retail lending operations and has direct lending experience. She has a deep understanding of what happens to a borrower and the transaction from start to finish as well as post-closing operations Dee is well versed in ways to make loans work and to be profitable. Dee has an NMLS license and California Real Estate Broker’s license. Dee holds a BA in Business from San Francisco State University.

 Cruz joined HCA in 2018. She is a processor in our Lender Services Department where she is responsible for working with our partner organizations and their customers on documenting mortgage loan packages for underwriting. Cruz is also a HUD-certified Housing Counselor and she brings that extra touch to her interactions with homebuyers.  She is fluent in Spanish. Cruz is an experienced professional with a history of work in both the financial services industry and nonprofit organizations.  Cruz began working as a Loan Processor and Transaction Coordinator in 2015. She is experienced in processing, credit analysis, and loan packaging. She is well versed in all aspects of conventional lending and downpayment assistance guidelines. Her areas of expertise in nonprofit management include program evaluation, contract and partner management, and CRM development. Cruz’s previous positions include Housing Opportunities Collaborative and Community HousingWorks. Cruz holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, San Diego. Cruz also provides IT Systems Administration and Project Delivery Support to HCA.