NCP Conference
Jenny DeSilva
DeSilva Housing Group
Ms. DeSilva has over 22 years of experience in affordable housing and is a recognized industry compliance expert with extensive consulting and training knowledge in HUD's Multifamily Housing programs. Ms. DeSilva began her career in the affordable housing industry as a Director for Southwest Housing Compliance Corporation, HUD’s Project-Based Section 8 Contract Administrator for Texas and Arkansas. Over the course of 14 years, she held 2 directorships overseeing staff that processed monthly HAP Requests totaling over $400 million in yearly subsidies for multifamily owners as well as staff the that conducted 900+ Management and Occupancy Reviews at HUD communities.
After 14 years of Contract Administration, Ms. DeSilva utilized that experience and perspective to develop her new role in the industry as an approachable consultant and passionate trainer for housing professionals. Ms. DeSilva moved to New York and served as the Director of Training for PMCS, Inc, a Syracuse-based training and consulting agency. Two years later, she returned to her home state of Texas to serve as the Director of Blueprint Housing Solutions, a consulting and training subsidiary of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin.
When not training, Ms. DeSilva provides quality assurance and technical expertise to vendors offering TRACS compliance software and is an active member of multiple HUD Working Groups charged with developing new TRACS industry specifications and shaping MOR audit procedures that foster consistency amongst various oversight agencies.
She currently serves as a HUD technical assistance subcontractor, providing nationwide TRACS and Secure Systems technical assistance to owners completing Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) PBRA conversions as well to participating state level grantees and owners of HUD’s PRA 811 Program.
Ms. DeSilva is a Certified Occupancy Specialist, Tax Credit Specialist and Certified Housing Manager.
Gina Metzger
Fairfield Residential
Gina leads a team of compliance professionals in ensuring affordable housing requirements are met at the local, state, and federal levels for all properties governed by Regulatory Agreements. Gina also works in tandem with property management, asset management, portfolio management, acquisitions, development, and sales on implementing, reviewing, and maintaining affordable housing compliance requirements. Prior to joining Fairfield in 2002, Gina held both on-site and regional positions with privately held property management companies as well as a REIT. Gina received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Gina holds numerous industry certifications including Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP), Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM), and Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO).
Mark Shelburne
Novogradac & Co
Mark Shelburne is a housing policy consultant with Novogradac. His work includes consulting with state agencies, local governments, equity providers, lenders, attorneys and developers on topics including allocation, compliance, HOME, revitalization, supportive housing and tax-exempt bonds. Shelburne previously served as Counsel and Policy Coordinator at the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and Director of the Office of Housing Finance and Development at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. In his career he has revised and/or implemented 38 qualified allocation plans in 16 states, testified before Congress, administered resources to create more than 30,000 affordable apartments, and led work resulting in four national awards.
Terry Kitay
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Terry's clients include many of the leading residential housing providers and public housing authorities in the country. She provides representation for consultation, conciliation, administrative matters and state and federal court litigation and appeals. Her practice places particular emphasis on advice regarding disability and accessibility issues, including compliance with the Fair Housing Act and building code requirements for accessibility in the design and construction of new multifamily housing. Terry is a California Certified Accessibility Specialist (CASp) and an Accessibility Inspector/Plans Examiner certified by the International Code Council. She was formerly a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Terry's enforcement background with HUD, combined with extensive experience in the defense representation of housing professionals since leaving HUD, have given her a unique ability to assist clients who face civil rights issues or wish to avoid them in the future.
Terry is a frequent source and contributor on fair housing, accessibility, and related topics to such national publications as Units and Fair Housing Coach. She routinely serves as a subject matter expert on fair housing and accessibility for the National Apartment Association and has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on these issues.
Rob Oley
Royal American Management
Mr. Oley is the senior vice president responsible for compliance, reporting, and affordable training requirements for all properties in the RAM portfolio. He ensures all compliance requirements are met at the local, state, and federal levels for HUD, RD, and Housing Credit communities, as well as communities with layered funding.
With over 28 years of experience in the multifamily industry, Mr. Oley brings a wealth of expertise. He has held numerous executive positions including Vice President of Property Operations at Guardian Real Estate Services and President of Crest Compliance for nearly five years.
Mr. Oley holds numerous industry certifications including Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP), Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM®), Certified Occupancy Specialist (CSO-PH®) and Certified Specialist of Inspection - Uniform Physical Condition Standards (CSI-UPCS).
Samantha Sowards
Nan McKay
Samantha Sowards has been a full-time trainer and consultant at NMA since 2008 and currently serves as the Manager of Curriculum Development and a Senior Trainer at NMA. She works with hundreds of PHAs, management companies, state agencies, owner/agents, and investors each year in the areas of program operations, policy development, training, file reviews/approvals, and compliance. Mrs. Sowards specializes in regulations and operations for a wide array of low-income housing programs, including the HCV, public housing, project-based voucher (PBV), HOME, and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) programs as well as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and other public housing repositioning programs. Samantha frequently trains housing professionals, including state allocating agency staff, at National Council of State Housing Agency (NCSHA) events. She is also a designated proctor for the HCCP exam.
Sheryl Putnam
Nan McKay
Sheryl Putnam serves as the Senior Director of Professional Services at NMA. She has over three decades of experience in low-income housing. Before joining NMA in 2011, she managed, directed, and coordinated local and state-wide housing programs at a state housing finance agency, including the Section 8 PBRA, LIHTC, HOME, public housing, and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs. In addition to serving on NMA’s management team and directing all of NMA’s training activities, she specializes in regulations and training for the LIHTC and HOME programs. Sheryl frequently trains housing professionals, including state allocating agency staff, at National Council of State Housing Agency (NCSHA) events. She reviews hundreds of files each year and provides technical assistance to low-income housing providers all over the county. Sheryl is also a designated proctor for the HCCP exam.
Shannon Nardinelli
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee
Shannon has been with the Tax Credit Allocation Committee for over 16 years and has in that time been a Field Analyst, Compliance Manager, and is one of two Senior Compliance Managers in charge of the TCAC Compliance team. She is committed to the mission of providing affordable housing to the people of California, and to providing updated information and training on the various regulation, policy, and procedural changes of the LIHTC Program. She is currently oversees a staff of five Compliance Managers and 28 field analysts. Shannon oversees training, regulation analysis, rent and income limits, maintaining the CTCAC Online Compliance Manual, planning and implementation of the CTCAC Compliance Workshops, and Ownership Transfers/Transfer Events. Additionally, throughout the year, Shannon is often a panelist and speaker at several industry conferences - continuing the mission to provide State Agency training to the users of the LIHTC program.