About the Center for NY Homeownership

Colvin W. Grannum served as the president and CEO of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation from May 2001 through June 2022. Restoration is recognized as the nation’s first community development corporation. Colvin is also a founder of Bridge Street Development Corporation and served as its first CEO. He serves on the boards of directors of several organizations including Carver Federal Savings Bank, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Center for New York City Neighborhoods, Billie Holiday Theatre, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. City and State Magazine named him to the Brooklyn Power 100 and New York Economic Development Power 75. He has authored articles and op-eds on issues related to African American wealth creation including homeownership. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center.

Gwen Robinson is the Director of Community Investment Data and Strategy at KeyBank. In this role she will serve as KeyBank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officer and develops strategies to support Key’s companywide commitment to maintain its “Outstanding” CRA rating. Gwen has over 25 years of cross-sector community development experience. Before joining KeyBank, Gwen led a market research and strategic consulting practice for financial technology companies and impact investment funds. She has served as an executive in the New York State Department of Financial Services and as the CRA Officer for GE Capital Retail Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank, and Santander Bank. At Santander she led the turnaround of the bank’s community development programs and the creation of the bank’s $11 billion Inclusive Communities Plan. Prior to entering banking, Gwen was a program officer at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, where she managed a philanthropic portfolio supporting economic and financial inclusion. She began her career as a community organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation, the nation's largest and longest-standing network of local faith and community-based organizations. Gwen holds a BA in political economy from Harvard College and a MS in economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is currently enrolled in the business analytics program offered jointly by Harvard Business School and the Paulson School of Engineering at Harvard and serves on the New York Advisory Board for Enterprise Community Partners.

Joe Weisbord, the Board Secretary, is a housing finance and policy consultant with more than 35 years of experience at the intersection of mortgage markets, community development finance, housing policy, and development. He has held senior roles at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, and CSH, a national community development financial institution. For more than 20 years, Weisbord taught housing finance and policy in the graduate planning program at Pratt Institute. He currently serves on the boards of Community Housing Capital, the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, and the Center for Urban Community Services. Weisbord holds a BA in urban studies from Oberlin College and an MS in city and regional planning from Pratt Institute.

Selvena N. Brooks-Powers represents the 31st City Council District, which includes the communities of Arverne, Brookville, Edgemere, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Rosedale, and Far Rockaway. She is the first-ever Black woman to serve as Majority Whip of the City Council as well as Chair of its Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Selvena has devoted her time at the Council to ensuring Southeast Queens and the eastern end of the Rockaway Peninsula have equitable access to city resources. She has directed tens of millions of capital and discretionary toward infrastructure and community-based programs in her district, including for schools, parks, firehouses, and so much more. She continues to fight for resources for a community that has been too long underserved by the city. She worked, for example, to secure $95 million in restoration funding for the 116th Precinct, and continues to advocate for the construction of certified trauma center on the Rockaway Peninsula. A dedicated public servant for 20 years and lifelong resident of Southeast Queens, Selvena Brooks-Powers is the proud daughter of immigrant parents and devoted to fighting for what’s right and delivering results. As a community organizer, Selvena drove high-impact initiatives on critical issues, including education, voting rights and empowerment, racial and economic justice, relief efforts post-Hurricane Katrina, M/WBE opportunities, and workers’ rights. Immediately prior to elected office, Selvena was a manager for M/WBE compliance, external affairs and community outreach on the $13 billion JFK International Airport Redevelopment Program. Previously, Selvena worked for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) family as a communications director for various campaigns, including the Fight for $15 campaign across numerous states, and on one of the tightest Congressional races to win back the majority in the U.S. Congress. Selvena also helped mobilize and ultimately unionized co-workers under the United Media Guild of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), where she was unanimously elected delegate for the northeast region. Selvena’s prior experiences in government range from the New York State Senate Majority Conference Leader to the New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence to even the first New York City Public Advocate’s Office, where she volunteered as a teen. Selvena has always been committed to service throughout Queens. She served as an advisor to the NAACP Jamaica Youth Branch, chair to a number of committees within the Queens Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Board Member to the Ocean Breeze Condominiums and Martin de Porres Youth and Family. A proud HBCU alumna, Selvena is a graduate of Wilberforce University, the first privately owned and operated HBCU. She also holds a M.S. in International Law from New York University. Selvena is a homeowner in Rockaway Beach with her husband, their daughter, and dog.

As Commissioner, Dina Levy oversees all aspects of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and leads the agency’s work across every division to advance the city’s mission of ensuring quality, affordable housing and strengthening the diversity and resilience of New York neighborhoods. She leads HPD’s team of public servants and works closely with community leaders and city partners to expand housing access, support equitable development, and deliver results for New Yorkers. Dina has spent her career fighting for safe, affordable housing for all New Yorkers, specializing in building and advancing initiatives designed around real needs in the areas of community development, affordable housing, and resiliency. As both an advocate and a public servant, she has championed tenants and homeowners alike. She has a wealth of experience organizing tenants, managing housing finance, and advancing community development. Prior to joining HPD, Dina served as Senior Vice President of Homeownership and Community Development at Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), New York State’s affordable housing agency, where she was responsible for the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), Office of Community Renewal, and Faith-Based Initiatives. Dina also spent 20 years in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on social and economic justice. She worked for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) where she served as Director of Organizing, building strategic coalitions to preserve, expand, and improve the quality of affordable housing across New York City. Dina received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) focused in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Delaware.

Louise Carroll is currently Partner, Real Estate, at Katten Muchin Rosenman. Prior to that Ms. Carroll was the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the nation's largest municipal housing agency. There she helped design and implement the city's groundbreaking Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program (MIH) requiring that permanently affordable housing be part of residential rezoning. Ms. Carroll was recently awarded the James W. Rouse Civic Medal of Honor for using housing as a platform for economic opportunity, collaborating on urgent work related to the effects of the pandemic and empowering BIPOC developers in New York City. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Ms. Carroll as housing commissioner and chair of the Housing Development Corporation (the city's bond financing agency) in 2019 after she had served as associate commissioner for housing incentives and before that, assistant commissioner for inclusionary housing.

Eric Enderlin joined the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) as its President in October 2016, following a formal nomination by Mayor Bill de Blasio. As President of HDC, Mr. Enderlin is tasked with leading the nation’s largest municipal Housing Finance Agency towards furthering the Administration’s goals under the Housing New York plan.

Baaba Halm is senior vice president of programs for Enterprise Community Partners, where she leads continued expansion of the Solutions division, which oversees programmatic growth, prioritization, partner relations, stakeholder collaboration and state and local policy advocacy across U.S. regions. She oversees Enterprise's California, Mid-Atlantic, New York, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, Tribal Nations & Rural markets, and other national efforts.

She previously served as vice president and New York market leader, guiding Enterprise’s advocacy efforts in New York and establishing the organization as a leading voice on housing matters statewide. She launched essential initiatives during her tenure, including weatherization and electrification pilot programs and Asset Management University 2.0 for affordable housing operators; Home 4 Good, an upstream eviction prevention pilot program leveraging an outcomes-based financing approach; and a home-sharing program to support new immigrants.

Baaba has over two decades of experience in housing, community development, and policy, and a deep commitment to racial equity. Prior to Enterprise, Baaba held senior roles in government including as the executive deputy commissioner and chief diversity officer at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD); as assistant commissioner of Government Relations and Regulatory Compliance at HPD, in which she led legislative strategy and negotiation. Baaba also served for eight years with the New York City Council, in various legal and leadership roles, with responsibilities ranging from steering communications strategy to negotiating and drafting legislation. Baaba also worked as a public interest attorney in the nonprofit sector at Covenant House New Jersey and Housing Works, where she focused on issues such as homelessness and housing discrimination. Baaba received a bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University and a law degree from Brooklyn Law School.

Frederick S. Harris has been a leader in the real estate and housing finance industries for more than 30 years. He is the Executive Vice President – Multifamily Development at Vornado Realty Trust and a member of the board of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. Mr. Harris has served as: the Director of Real Estate for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Executive Vice President of Real Estate Development at the New York City Housing Authority, and a Project Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He received a JD and MS from New York University. He is the recipient of HUD’s John J. Gunther Award for Blue Ribbon Practices in Housing and Community Development, the Community Builder Award from Phipps Houses, and the Spirit of the City Award from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Tanya Johnson-Barnett, Managing Director, is the Global Head of Mortgage Solutions at J.P. Morgan Private Bank with over 28 years of experience in the industry. In her current role, she is responsible for driving proactive market engagement, harnessing strategic partnerships, and streamlining the mortgage end-to-end process for an improved client and advisor experience. She leads a team of over 100 professionals globally who specialize in complicated deals for high profile clients with complex balance sheets. While buying a home can be an emotional event, Tanya ensures that the Private Bank Mortgage Solutions team takes a strategic and advice-driven approach to customize a mortgage to fit a client’s personal situation and needs. With this, JPM Private Bank has become the #1 mortgage provider for households of a net worth of over $10MM. Before joining J.P. Morgan in 2022, Tanya worked at Bank of America (BofA), where she was the Head of Home Lending Products for Consumer Banking, with responsibility for delivering mortgage and home equity solutions to clients across channels. Prior to that role, Tanya served as COO of the Investment Solutions Group in BofA’s Global Wealth Management business. Tanya’s industry experience also includes a number of diverse mortgage, corporate lending and capital markets roles. Outside of Tanya’s love for mortgages, her leadership also extends into continued advocacy of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace. Tanya was an Advisory Council Member for the Asian Leadership Network, an ally and mentor for the LGBTQ Employee Network, and a member and mentor of the Bank of America/Merrill Women’s Exchange. She is an advocate for equity in the workplace, gender equality at home, financial literacy, and achieving homeownership for all.

Ms. Mahon is President/CEO of Inclusiv, which works to bridge the credit union movement to the community development field, promoting financial inclusion and identifying and connecting credit unions to unserved and untapped markets and communities. Previously, Ms. Mahon served as Deputy Commissioner for Financial Empowerment with the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and as the Policy and Program Director for the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.

Mr. Marks is CEO of FJC – A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, a boutique public charity that offers a diverse menu of philanthropic services to a range of stakeholders, including donor advised funds and fiscal sponsorships. Sam comes to FJC from his role as executive director of the New York City office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC NYC) which supports local champions to advance equitable development of historically underinvested neighborhoods. Before joining LISC NYC, he was Vice President at the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, and director of housing development at WHEDCo. Earlier in his career he founded Breakthrough New York, a youth development program.

Hakim Thompson is an Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase & Co., in the consumer home lending division. In this role, Hakim is focused on transforming the customer’s end to end experience when getting a mortgage with Chase. Hakim is a part of an innovation team who provides the strategy, design & execution of new home lending products that Chase customers experience via both mobile app, chase.com, and in-branch. Prior to working at Chase, Hakim co-founded a mortgage startup focused on first time homebuyers, and before that, spent 9 years at Goldman Sachs, working as a Vice President covering institutional clients investing & trading mortgage products. Hakim graduated from Princeton University undergrad in 2006, and received his MBA from MIT Sloan in 2010. Though he originally hails from Washington, DC, Hakim currently resides in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife Lauren, German Shepherd Bello, and baby girl due July 2019.