Leadership
John Taylor
President & Founder, NCRC
Board Chair, NCRC Development Corporation
Mr. Taylor is the President and Founder of NCRC, the leading national community-based membership organization promoting economic fairness for low income and traditionally underserved people, which he has run for the past 24 years.
Edward J. Gorman, III
Chief Community Development Officer, NCRC
Executive Director, NCRC Development Corporation
Managing Director, NCRC Housing Rehab Fund, LLC
Ed joined the staff of NCRC in March 2010, in the role of Chief Membership & Workforce Officer, following ten years of service on our Board of Directors. In his staff role, he directs NCRC’s Community Development Financial Institution (the NCRC Community Development Fund, Inc.), the Workforce Development Program, and the GROWTH (Generating Real Opportunities for Work Through Housing) Initiative.
John K. Adams
Chief Operating Officer
John joined GROWTH in April of 2019, and is responsible for daily operations, including oversight of the acquisition, renovation and disposition of properties in the Fund. He brings with him over 40 years of experience in the construction industry, including working with Ryan Homes, Ryland Homes and, most recently, as the President/Owner of his own company, Vogue Custom Homes and Renovations.
Tim Hawkins
Chief Financial Officer
As CFO of the GROWTH Initiative, Tim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from working with real estate and other commercial businesses, government contractors and clients in the nonprofit and association space.
Joe Lucado
National Vice President of Construction
Joe started with GROWTH in April of 2019, with over 30 years of experience working in Residential New Construction, Remodeling, and Land Development in the Washington DC Metropolitan area. Joe’s experience includes working with NV Homes, Winchester Homes, Rule 4, Greentree Homes, and most recently as V.P. of Construction for MI Homes.
Jennifer Powers
National Vice President of Acquisitions
Mrs. Powers has over 20 years’ experience in Institutional Real Estate Acquisitions and has worked for large, national investors including KBS Realty Advisors, New Boston Fund, Lowe Enterprises Inc., and Bentall Kennedy. In these positions she was responsible for sourcing, underwriting, negotiating, due diligence, authoring Investment Committee submissions, and maintaining strong industry relationships. Over the course of her career, she personally underwrote over $4 Billion of completed transactions in office, multi-family, and development projects. She has a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University in Real Estate and Infrastructure, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tulane University.
Daria Brunet
Director of Asset Management and Investor Relations
Daria has been with GROWTH since 2013 and has served the organization in a variety of roles. In her current capacity as Director of Asset Management and Investor Relations, she oversees dispositions, leasing, investor relations, human resources and technology.
Dana Novotny
Director of Marketing
Dana brings fifteen years of experience in real estate, new construction, and asset management. Her roles have included sales & marketing, operations & asset management, communications, and senior leadership for two national, award-winning builders and private mission-driven organizations. She holds Master’s degrees from Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University.
Staff
Patrick Bradford
Regional Acquisitions Manager, Atlanta
Patrick comes to GROWTH with primarily an investment analyst background. He received a degree in Building Construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology. As a Senior Analyst for Invitation Homes he contributed to the purchase of assets that laid groundwork for its expanded market penetration and SFR securitizations.
Jasmine Brewer
Program Manager, Financial Equality Center and Housing Counseling Network
Jasmine is the Program Manager for the Financial Equality Center and Housing Counseling Network with NCRC. Jasmine brings nearly 15 years of experience working in the field of community and economic development.
Danielle Edwards
Staff Accountant
Danielle has held the position of Staff Accountant since October 2019. She has worked in the accounting and finance trade for eight (8) years across various industries, including telecommunication, healthcare, beauty and professional services, among others. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in accounting with a concentration in public accounting.
Nuha Elsenussi
Assistant Construction Manager, Atlanta
Nuha joined GROWTH in November 2020. She has a background in architecture and business administration and is passionate about art and design. She has been working as an independent interior designer and finishing management contractor mostly in the south west Atlanta area.
Brenda Friend
Special Assistant to Ed Gorman
Brenda has held the position of Special Assistant to the Chief, Community Development, since June 2018. Prior to coming to the GROWTH team, she served as the Executive Director for The Greater Cumberland Committee (TGCC) for seven years.
Sarah Hansen
Assistant Construction Manager, Florida
Sarah brings over ten years of dedicated experience in residential and commercial construction with a proven record of accomplishment in the areas of customer relations, scheduling, staff supervision, and general operations.
Dennis Harold
Regional Construction Manager, Atlanta
Dennis joined Growth in March 2019 as a Regional Construction Manager. He has over 30 years’ experience in land development, residential and light commercial construction, most recently working with private investors doing remodeling and rehabilitation work in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
Robert Hassinger
Workforce Employment Manager
Bob Hassinger is NCRC’s Workforce Employment Coordinator. He has worked in the workforce education field for over 25 years, much of it in the public sector. After working for three years as the Adult Education Director at Ulster Board of Cooperative Educational Services in upstate New York.
John Hay
Senior Adviser
John has been with the organization for almost three years in the role of Senior Advisor, Multifamily Investments for NCRC Development Corporation. Previously, Mr. Hay served as Managing Director for the Mid-Atlantic and Chief Financial Officer for the East Region with Alliance Residential.
Dermaine Isaacs
Senior Accountant
Dermaine Isaacs is a Senior Accountant on the GROWTH team. Dermaine has several years of accounting and financial management experience working with nonprofits, law firms, government contractors, startups, and outsourced accounting services.
Michael Klisus
Regional Construction Manager, Florida
Acting Acquisitions Manager, Florida
Michael has been in the construction industry all his life, and, specifically, in construction management for the last 15 years. He truly loves this field and couldn’t think of a better career path for himself. When he’s not working, he gives back to the community by working with Habitat for Humanity,
Lorraine Kudayah-d’Almeida
Closings Manager
Lorraine Kudayah-d’Almeida serves as GROWTH’s Closings Manager, overseeing the closing of all acquisition and disposition transactions. She also provides portfolio analysis support, working with the Executive Team to track progress on all assets and analyze portfolio management for the Fund.
Derek Light
Assistant Construction Manager, Chicago
Derek joined the team as Assistant Construction Manager, Chicago in August 2019. Derek has a great knowledge of real estate; he is a broker focusing on Airbnb, fix and flip and small developments.
Kathy Linville
Staff Accountant
Kathy Linville serves as a staff accountant for the GROWTH Initiative. Kathy brings more than 30 years of accounting experience with her. Her background includes not only construction but also association, legal, and marketing.
Jason Mitchell
Construction Manager, Pittsburgh
Jason joined GROWTH in June 2019 as Assistant Regional Construction Manager for the Pittsburgh market and was promoted to Construction Manager in January 2020. Jason brings extensive experience in construction and construction management.
Chuck Mize
Construction Manager, New Jersey
Acting Acquisitions Manager, New Jersey
Chuck joined GROWTH in August 2019 as the Assistant Regional Construction Manager for the New Jersey market and was promoted to Construction Manager in January 2020. Chuck comes from a varied, albeit highly successful, background most recently as a Software Test Engineer for Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Greg Pacholski
Regional Construction Manager, Ohio
Greg has 25 years of construction industry experience, including new residential construction, remodeling, commercial construction and land development. He has worked for top national home builders and ran divisions for the homebuilding and land development operations.
Anne Slifka
Financial Analyst
Anne Slifka serves as Financial Analyst for GROWTH on the finance team. Anne brings over 15 years of experience in the construction industry including new residential construction, remodeling, commercial subcontracting and commercial construction.
Craig Vermeulen
Regional Construction Manager, Chicago
Prior to joining GROWTH, Craig worked for both large national home builders and small private home builders. Craig has been responsible for property identification, construction cost management, scopes of work, construction inspections, purchasing, safety and operations management from sale through warranty services.
Ryan Walderman
Controller
Ryan is the Controller for the GROWTH Initiative. As Controller, Ryan Walderman manages the day to day accounting functions for the initiative and its related entities. Ryan comes to GROWTH with wide-ranging Accounting experience in industries such as Real Estate, Legal, Construction, Non Profit, Finance, and Government Contracting, to name a few.
Aa’liyah Walker
Marketing and Construction Coordinator
Aa’liyah Walker joined NCRC GROWTH in November 2019 and currently serves as Marketing and Construction Coordinator. In this role, she assists the Marketing Director with social media and a wide variety of marketing and communications initiatives. She also ensures that our properties are ready for inspections and closings. Aa’liyah also brings knowledge of advertising and public relations, by having a degree in both.
Natasha White
Sales Manager
Natasha White joined the team as Sales and Closings Associate in October 2019. Natasha brings over 18 years of real estate experience including Residential, Commercial and New Construction sales. She’s helped numerous real estate agents with the growth of their business through transaction and coordination management. She holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Central Washington University in Seattle, WA and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Digital MBA through Strayer University.
Dawn Williams
Staff Accountant
Dawn Williams joined the team as Staff Accountant in December 2020. She brings over 20 years of accounting experience to GROWTH. Her background includes nonprofit work, as well as real estate and construction.