Dr. John Landis
Professor, City and Regional Planning, UC Berkeley
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testimony
Ms. Sunne McPeak
Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Council
Mayoral Perspectives
The Honorable Jerry Brown
Mayor of Oakland
Remarks Delivered by Vice-Mayor Jane Brunner
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testimony
The Honorable Willie Brown
Mayor of San Francisco
Remarks submitted electronically
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testimony
The Honorable Ron Gonzales
Mayor of San Jose
Remarks submitted electronically
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Special Populations’ Housing Needs (Community Linkages)
Mr. Steve Fields
Executive Director, Progress Foundation
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testimony
Ms. Carla Javits
President, Corporation for Supportive Housing
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testimony
Ms. Marcia Rosen
Director, Mayor’s Office of Housing, City and County of San Francisco
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testimony
Preservation of Existing Subsidized Housing
Mr. Art Evans
President, A.F. Evans Company, Inc.
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testimony
Ms. Janet Falk
Executive Director, California Housing Partnership
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testimony
Mr. Olson Lee
Housing Division Manager, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency
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testimony
Production Models
Ms. Carol Galante
President, BRIDGE Housing
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testimony | view attachment
Mr. Sherman D. Harmer, Jr.
Vice Chair, The Olson Company
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testimony
Ms. Arabella Martinez
CEO, The Unity Council
Finance
Mr. Chris Block
Executive Director, Housing Trust of Santa Clara County
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Mr. Barney Deasy
President, Merritt Community Capital Corporation and National Equity Fund
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Mr. Roy L. Schweyer
Director of Housing and Community Development, City of Oakland
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testimony | view supplemental comments from City of Oakland
Consumer-Based Assistance
Ms. Candace Capogrossi
Deputy Director, Santa Clara County Housing Authority
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testimony
Ms. Deardrew Lucas
Section 8 Participant
Mr. Larry Luckham
President, Luckham Company (Section 8 Owner)
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testimony
Dr. John Landis
John Landis is Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches course in planning history, housing, project development, land use planning, and computer mapping. Prof. Landis’ recent research has focused on a wide variety of housing and growth policy issues, including transportation and land use, housing production and affordable housing, the environmental impacts of urban growth, and the extents and causes of urban sprawl. Prof. Landis has published more that two dozen book chapters and articles in such journals as Access, Urban Studies, Environment and Planning B, and Mortgage Banking. Prof. Landis is the principal author of “Raising the Roof: California Housing Development Opportunities and Constraints, 1997–2020, ” published in 2000 by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Prof. Landis’ article, “Imagining Land Use Futures, ” won the 1995 award for best feature article in the Journal of the American Planning Association.
Ms. Sunne McPeak
Sunne Wright McPeak has been President and CEO of the Bay Area Council since November 1996. The Bay Area Council is a regional business organizations representing major employers that acts to shape progressive public policy in the areas of transportation, environmental quality, economic development, housing, land use, and water resources. Prior to her current position, she served for three years as President and CEO of the Bay Area Economic Forum, a partnership of the Bay Area Council and the Association of Bay Area Governments, that was formed in 1988 as a catalyst for collaborative action to ensure and enhance the region's economic vitality.
Before joining the Bay Area Economic Forum, Ms. McPeak was a member of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors for more than 15 years, first elected in 1979. Earlier in her career, she owned a management consulting firm, served as Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Community Health Center, and was a consultant to the Contra Costa Comprehensive Health Planning Association.
She is on the board of directors of Simpson Manufacturing, Inc, and BRIDGE Housing Corporation, and is a former director of First Nationwide Bank.
Active in public service, Ms. McPeak co-chairs the CALFED Bay-Delta Advisory Council, serves on the California State University, Hayward, President’s Council and the United Way of the Bay Area, and chairs the Northern California Council for the Community. Her numerous other public service roles include involvement in water policy, transportation, housing and environmental concerns, along with other quality-of-life issues.
She has been honored by more than thirty organizations from throughout the region, state and nation, representing various aspects of business, government, labor, academia, municipal affairs, community and social services. When she retired from Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, he colleagues renamed the public hearing room the “Sunne Wright McPeak Chambers. ” She was named in 1997 “Women Who Could be President” honoree by the Leagues of Women Voters of San Francisco. Most recently, she was awarded by California State University, Hayward and the Board of Trustees of the California State University system as an honorary doctorate in humane letters for “being an outstanding civic leader whose lifelong commitment to public service has enriched the university and the entire community. ”
A native of rural Livingston in the San Joaquin Valley, she is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
The Honorable Jerry Brown
Edmund G. Brown Jr., known as Jerry, was born in San Francisco on April 7,1938. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School in that city, studied at the University of Santa Clara and for the Catholic priesthood at the Sacred Heart Novitiate, a Jesuit seminary. He received his B.A. degree in Latin and Greek from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961, and graduated from Yale Law School in 1964.
In 1969 Brown was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. In 1970, he was elected California Secretary of State. Four years later, he was elected Governor. He was reelected in 1978 by the largest vote margin in California’s history.
As governor, Brown presided over a state where 25 percent of the nation’s new jobs were created. He established the first agricultural labor relations law in the country, started the California Conservation Corp (CCC), enacted into permanent law the California Coastal Protection Act, successfully pushed for the country’s first building and appliance energy efficiency standards, halted nuclear power development, and made California the leader in solar and alternative energy. He brought more women and minorities into high government positions than any other chief executive, including the first woman, African-American, and Latino to the California Supreme Court. Brown also legalized the practice of Acupuncture and strongly supported the rights of chiropractors, osteopaths, and lay midwives.
Finally, Brown restructured the California Arts Commission so that it was composed of practicing artists and increased funding by 1300 percent. As governor, Brown signed into law the removal of criminal penalties for sexual acts between consenting adults.
After his defeat by Pete Wilson in a 1982 U.S. Senate race, Brown spent six months in Japan and worked briefly with Mother Teresa in India. He practiced law in Los Angeles and in 1989 became chairman of the state Democratic Party.
He resigned that position in 1991, expressing his disgust with the growing influence of money in politics, and sought the 1992 Democratic Presidential nomination. During that campaign he refused to take contributions larger than $100 and used an “800” number to raise funds.
Despite limited financial resources, Brown defeated Bill Clinton in Maine, Colorado, Vermont, Connecticut, Utah, and Nevada during the 1992 Presidential primaries and was the only candidate other than Clinton to receive enough voter support to continue until the Democratic National Convention.
Brown began broadcast of his radio program, “We the People” with Jerry Brown on January 31, 1994, and continued until the start of his campaign for Mayor. Brown won his mayoral campaign in the primary with 59 percent of the vote. His strong mayor initiative passed in November with support from 74 percent of voters.
The Honorable Willie Brown
A profile and biography of Mayor Willie Brown are available on the City of San Francisco Web site.
The Honorable Ron Gonzales
A biography of Mayor Gonzales is available at the City of San Jose Web site.
Mr. Steve Fields
Steve Fields has served as the Executive Director of Progress Foundation, a non-profit mental health agency since 1969. Progress Foundation provides a range of residential treatment services as alternatives to institutional care for persons with severe mental disabilities in San Francisco and Napa counties in California. Mr. Fields has been involved in the development of social rehabilitation programs for over 30 years. Progress Foundation pioneered the development of acute residential alternatives to hospitalization, and opened the first social model residential treatment programs for geriatric clients in the country and the first social model residential treatment program for women and their children. Under the leadership of the Executive Director, Progress Foundation has also taken a lead role in developing supported housing for persons with disabilities.
Mr. Fields was a member of the President’s Commission on Mental Health Task Panel on Deinstitutionalization, Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care. He has served three terms as the president of the California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies. He is currently the consultant to the federal Center for Mental Health Services psychiatric crisis response research demonstration projects. In 1994, he was awarded the Josh Beard award for outstanding contributions resulting in lasting and decisive advances in the field of psychosocial rehabilitation by the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services.
Ms. Carla Javits
Appointed President and CEO of the Corporation for Supportive Housing in December 2000, Carla Javits founded CSH’s California programs in 1992. Under her leadership, CSH-California expanded its work into eight counties across the state, and has worked with more than fifty nonprofit organizations to create more than 2,000 supportive apartments for chronically homeless individuals. With Ms. Javits’ guidance, the California program created the award winning Health, Housing and Integrated Services Network (HHISN) in 1994. The HHISN provides integrated services to more than 1000 chronically homeless individuals in supportive housing in six counties. The program won a Best Practice Award from HUD, the 1998 PacificCare Humanitarian Award from California Association of Health Plans and was named one of the “Programs that Make a Difference” by the National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness. In 1998, under Ms. Javits’ leadership, CSH-California crafted and led advocacy efforts for the successful passage of the Supportive Housing Initiative Act (SHIA) which created a state funding mechanism of services and operating costs for supportive housing for the first time in the state’s history. In 2000, the legislature and governor allocated more than $26million for SHIA; an additional $26 million has been included in the Governor’s 2001 budget. CSH-California is a lead partner with the state in administering these funds and training applicants in the development, operation and service provision within supportive housing.
Prior to joining CSH, Ms. Javits served as the Planning and Policy Director of the San Francisco Department of Social Services and as a program analyst in California’s State Office of the Legislative Analyst.
Ms. Marcia Rosen
Present Employment: Director—Mayor’s Office of Housing, San Francisco, CA, 1996–present. Direct the development, implementation and monitoring of the federal, state and local housing finance and production programs. Advise the mayor in the development and coordination of housing and related policies and represent the Mayor before city, state and federal administrative and legislative bodies. Supervise staff of 28, annual administrative budget of $2 million, and annual housing development budget of approximately $100 million. Convene interagency affordable housing planning process and chair Citywide Housing Finance Loan Committee.
Past Legal Employment and Experience: Deputy Director—Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, 1977–1996. Advised and represented community groups and individuals on a broad range of civil rights issues; served as counsel on major policy impact litigation and advocacy efforts; and provided technical assistance to legislators and policymakers. Major areas of concentration: land use, housing and community development; social service delivery; homelessness; economic development; children and youth issues.
Education: B.A, University of Massachusetts, 1969 (Sociology), J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1975, Loeb Fellow, Graduate School of design, Harvard University, 1999–2000.
Mr. Art Evans
Arthur Evans is President of A.F. Evans Company, Inc. (“AFE Co. ”) a residential developer and property manager of projects in California, Washington and Nevada.
AFE Co. has been in business for 24 years and has developed approximately 5,300 units, has 1,700 under construction or rehab and manages about 6,000 units. AFE Co. develops low-income housing, luxury apartments, mixed-use project and assisted living. Many projects are joint ventures with non-profits on inner city sites using Federal, State and local assistance.
Prior to forming AFE Co., Arthur Evans was Executive Director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.
Ms. Janet Falk
Janet Falk has had extensive experience in the development and financing of nonprofit housing. As Executive Director of the California Housing Partnership Corporation since October 1999, Ms. Falk specialized in the refinancing of federally assisted projects and the policy issues involved in the preservation of at-risk housing. Prior to joining CHPC, Ms. Falk was the Co-Director of Community Economics, Inc. for 19 years. She also worked for five years as a housing and community development specialist for local government agencies in the Bay Area. She received a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.
Ms. Falk has been involved in over 150 projects as a financial consultant, including new construction, rehabilitation, special needs housing, mobile home parks, tenant purchase of rental properties, and artists’ live/work space. She is particularly knowledgeable in utilizing the low income housing tax credit and tax-exempt bonds for nonprofit projects and in the ways in which local and state governments can most effectively assist in the development and preservation of affordable housing.
Ms. Falk is currently on the board of the California Coalition for Rural Housing and the California Housing Consortium. She is past Chair of Housing California, the state’s coalition of housing and homeless organizations, and was on the Board of the California Homeless and Housing Coalition from 1991 to 1996. She is past President of the Board of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH) and served for many years as Chair of NPH’s Legislative Committee. She has also served as a member of the Advisory Board for the California Organized Insurance Network (COIN) and on the Advisory Board for the State of California’s HOME program. She has been a member of the California Legislature’s Housing Task Force, the State Senate Working Group on Housing Preservation, and the HCD Advisory Group on the use of Proposition 77 funds. She also served on the LISC California Affordable Housing Cost Study Advisory Group.
Mr. Olson Lee
Olson Lee is the Housing Division Manager of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. For the past five years, Mr. Lee has been responsible for the overall administration of the Agency's housing programs, including the administration of tax increment housing funds within Agency project areas and throughout the City, the administration of the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program, the oversight of housing project development, the administration of tax-exempt multifamily financing, and the review of land disposition and owner participation agreements. Since 1989, the Agency's tax increment housing program has provided over $150,000,000 in loans and grants to assist over 5,600 units and beds. The Agency’s current tax increment housing budget is approximately $42,000,000.
Prior to this position Mr. Lee worked for six years as Chief Housing Finance Officer for the Mayor’s Office of Housing in San Francisco, California. Prior to the Mayor’s Office, Mr. Lee worked for nine years as Senior Multifamily Field Service Officer for Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
Mr. Lee serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies. Mr. Lee also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Association of Housing Finance Agencies. Mr. Lee is a member of FNMA Bay Area Partnership Advisory Council. Mr. Lee served for six years on the Loan Committeeand the Board of Directors of the Northern California Community Loan Fund. Mr. Lee is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Ms. Carol Galante
Carol Galante is President and CEO of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, BRIDGE Property Management Company (BPMC), and Bay Area Senior Services (BASS). She joined BRIDGE as Vice President in 1987 and became President in 1996. In her 14 years with BRIDGE, she has overseen the development of more than 6,000 homes.
Ms. Galante provides strategic direction to all of BRIDGE’s developments and has been extensively involved in structuring three of BRIDGE’s major mixed use developments—Richmond City Center; Marin City, U.S.A.; and the redevelopment of the Acorn Apartments in West Oakland.
Prior to joining BRIDGE, Ms. Galante served as the Executive Director of Eden Housing, Inc. In that capacity she formed a property management subsidiary for Eden and developed over 400 homes. Galante has also worked for the California Cities of Santa Barbara and Richmond, as well as the City of Philadelphia. She holds a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a California licensed real estate broker.
Professional Affiliations
- Advisory Board, Bay Area Council
- Silicon Valley Housing Leadership Council
- Advisory Council, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
- Board of Directors, Center for Housing Policy in Washington DC
- Community Council, Washington Mutual Bank
- Board of Directors, The Housing Partnership Network
- Policy Advisory Board, Fisher Center for Real Estate at Berkeley
- Member, Lambda Alpha, an honorary land economics society
- Gubernatorial Appointee, California Housing Partnership Corporation
Mr. Sherman D. Harmer, Jr.
Sherman D. Harmer, Jr., a 30-year veteran of the homebuilding industry, has built and marketed more than 12,000 homes throughout Utah and Southern California.
The Olson Company is California’s leading Builder of Urban Housing with offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Northern California. Mr. Harmer, in addition to serving as Vice Chairman of the Board, is Managing Director of Marketing for California.
The Olson Company has been selected as America’s Builder of the Year for 2001 by Professional Builder magazine.
Mr. Harmer previously served as President of California Pacific Homes of San Diego, which planned and managed the building of the 1,250 unit urban master-planned community of “Stonecrest Village in San Diego.
For six years prior to joining California Pacific Homes, Harmer was the Senior Vice President of McKellar Communities. He was actively involved in developing the award-winning project “Renaissance-La Jolla,” a 2,500 unit master-planned community in San Diego.
Earlier, Harmer was the Chief Executive Officer for two Utah homebuilding companies, developing single-family and multi-family homes as well as commercial, retail, and office complexes. Harmer’s other noteworthy accomplishments include:
- 2001: California Building Industry “Hall of Fame”
- 1999/2000: Chairman, Board of Trustees of the California Building Industry Foundation
- 1999/2000: Chairman, Century 2000, Four Million Dollar Capital Fund Raising Campaign, California Building Industry Association
- 1999/2000: Chairman, President’s Council, San Diego Building Industry Association
- 2000: Life Director, Home Builders Council, San Diego Building Industry Association
- 2000: Recognized as the Founding Director of the “BIG Awards”
- 1999: Named in Builder and Developer magazine’s “Who’s Who In The California, Nevada and Arizona Home Building Industry” among the top building industry professionals
- 1996–97: Recipient of the California Building Industry Association’s “President’s Award”
- 1995–98: Chairman, Board of Trustees’ for Village Church, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
- 1995: President of the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) and Western Building Show
- 1994: San Diego’s “Building Executive of the Year” Award
- 1991–92: President, Home Builders Council, San Diego Building Industry Association
- 1989: Recipient of the “Marketing Director of the Year” Award, San Diego Building Industry Association
- 1985: Received Professional Builder magazine’s “Professional Achievement Award”
- 1974–1984: Member of the Utah House of Representatives for 10 years
- Assistant Professor of Marketing and Finance at University of Utah for 15 years
- Graduate of University of Utah with a MBA degree Post Graduate studies at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Member, PI Kappa Alpha, National Fraternity
- Delta Sigma PI, National Business Fraternity Lambda Alpha, National Land Economics Honors Society
Ms. Arabella Martinez
Arabella Martinez has extensive experience in a wide range of activities affecting the role of minorities and women in the economy and larger society. Her early experience in social work, the community action program, and community development led to the conviction that economic development, evolving from strong, community-directed institutions, was the most effective path toward economic self-sufficiency and empowerment. This experience was recognized by President Carter, who appointed her Assistant Secretary for Human Development Services in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the first Hispanic woman so honored.
She was one of the founders and the first Executive Director of the Spanish Speaking Unity Council. After a fifteen-year absence, she returned to the Unity Council in December of 1989 to rescue it from near bankruptcy. It is now one of the largest and most successful community development corporations in the nation. Besides founding the Unity Council, she helped build the Women’s Initiative for Self Employment as a Board member and consultant. She also raised over $800,000 for the Oakland YWCA’s capital campaign to save its historically significant Julia Morgan building.
Over the past ten years, she has successfully worked to revitalize the Fruitvale district, an inner-city neighborhood in Oakland, California. This success is based on a comprehensive community revitalization strategy, which includes major real estate development projects, community building activities, and a range of community and family asset development programs. Her major responsibility has been the development of a $100 million, mixed-use, transit-oriented development around the Fruitvale BART station. The Fruitvale BART Transit Village includes new construction, major renovation, and street and façade improvements along Fruitvale’s main commercial street. More than $50 million has been raised to date. The first project, a $6.8 million senior housing development, has been completed, and over 100 commercal façades have been improved. Construction of the Transit Village’s central core has begun, and it will be completed in the fall of 2001. It includes 245,000 square feet of community facilities (child development and senior centers, a community clinic, a library, and a technology center), retail space, housing, and podium parking in two multi-level complexes, bisected by a pedestrian plaza.
Her responsibilities include oversight of four HUD subsidized housing projects (three for the elderly and one for families); a homeownership counseling program; two Head Start programs serving 445 children; an employment training and placement program, including a “welfare to work” program for limited English-speakers; a senior citizen program; and a program of community building around issues of crime, alcohol outlets, drug dealing, graffiti, neighborhood cleanliness, open space and recreational services, and resident and youth leadership development.
Ms. Martinez holds a Master of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Chris Block
Chris Block, Executive Director of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, has been involved in affordable housing for over 15 years in Silicon Valley. He was the founder and first Executive Director of the Charities Housing Development Corporation. This affiliate of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County is now one of the premier developers of affordable housing in the Valley. Currently, Mr. Block is the first Executive Director of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara and was instrumental in its formation. Chris has also been the recipient of two of the most prestigious awards offered in Silicon Valley: The Don MacGaffen Award for Affordable Housing and the Human Rights Commission’s “Pillar of the Community” honor. Mr. Block was also recognized by the WK Kellogg Foundation as a fellow in the Kellogg National Leadership Program.
Mr. Barney Deasy
Mr. Deasy, with over thirty years of senior management and finance experience in both the public and private sectors, has been Merritt Capital’s President since February 1997. Before joining Merritt, he was employed by Bank of America as Vice President for Investment Management Services and also worked as the California Account Manager for FGIC Advisors, Inc. Prior to that Mr. Deasy had nine years of experience as a public finance banker with two municipal firms, Prudential Securities, Inc. (1986 to 1992), and Rauscher Pierce Refsnes (1992 to 1995).
From 1980 to 1986, Mr. Deasy served as Deputy Executive Director of the San Francisco Housing Authority. Mr. Deasy also served as the Program Manager of the San Francisco Area Office of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in the community planning and development division and as Deputy Area Office Director for Housing Management, where he directed HUD’s Loan Management, Property Disposition, and Public Housing management functions. During his tenure with HUD, Mr. Deasy took a two-year leave to serve as the local Country Director for the United States Peace Corps program on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
Mr. Deasy received a Master of Business Administration degree in 1966 and a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963 in Real Estate and Finance from San Jose State University. Mr. Deasy is a licensed California Real Estate Broker. Mr. Deasy is a member of the Board of Directors of two nonprofit organizations based in Oakland, California: Bay Area Community Services and Oakland Housing Initiatives, Inc. He is on the Board of Directors of California Community Reinvestment Corporation and serves on the Loan Committee for the Low Income Housing Fund.
Mr. Roy L. Schweyer
Mr. Roy L. Schweyer is the Director of Housing and Community Development of the City of Oakland’s Community and Economic Development Agency (CEDA). During his tenure, the City has established the Oakland Homeownership Alliance (with Freddie Mac) with the goal of increasing the number of homeowners in Oakland by 10,000 in 5 years. Commitments from lenders to help with this effort exceed $2 billion. New local financing for affordable housing has increased by more than $100,000,000.
Until July 1998, he served as Chief of Projects, responsible for all real estate development projects (including housing and economic development) and functions including project management oversight, commercial real estate, housing development, and other development-related activities. During his tenure over 750 units of new market-rate and affordable housing was completed and 100,000 square feet of office space was constructed while a variety of programs to address blighted commercial areas were initiated.
Prior to this assignment, Mr. Schweyer served as Deputy Director of Housing for the City of Oakland’s Office of Housing and Neighborhood Development. He served in this capacity for 12 years and was responsible for administering a wide range of programs, including housing rehabilitation, housing finance, and housing development.
Under his leadership, the size and effectivenesss of the City’s housing division blossomed in spite of the expansion of local government’s role in the provision of housing services and diminished federal and state programs. In addition, Oakland’s housing programs received national recognition for their innovation. Two examples include the creation of the Community Alliance for Syndicated Housing, Inc., for which Mr. Schweyer served as Executive Director, that resulted in the raising of over $50 million in investment capital. The House Oakland program, another innovation, resulted in a $1 billion effort by FNMA to increase capital for housing and has been replicated across the country.
Mr. Schweyer has been with the City of Oakland since 1973 and has held a variety of progressively rseponsible positions in the fields of economic development and housing. Before coming to Oakland, he spent three years working as an Assistant Director for a nonprofit housing developer in Cleveland. Mr. Schweyer received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Colgate University in 1969.
Ms. Candace Capogrossi
Candace Capogrossi is Deputy Director of the Housing Programs Department, with the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara. She received her BA from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, and her AA from Stephens College, Columbia, MO. She is a certified Public Housing Manager (P.H.M.) from I.R.E.M. and is certified in Conflict in Mediation.
Candace Capogrossi began her career with the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara in 1976. She started as a Tenant Relations Specialist and moved on to Section 8 Supervisor, Section 8 Director, and is currently Deputy Director, overseeing the Housing Programs Department. She is a member of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), serving as Chapter President for the Northern California / Nevada Chapter and Vice President of Housing for the Pacific Southwest Regional Council. She also serves as Board President for the Emergency Housing Consortium and is an officer for the NOVA Work Force Investment Board.
As Deputy Director, Candace Capogrossi enjoys the challenge that her job brings her.
Ms. Deardrew Lucas
Deardrew Lucas and her three daughters became participants in the Housing Authority of Alameda County, California’s, Section 8 program in 1997. Realizing that she needed to make positive changes in her life, she joined the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program two years later in 1999. When she joined the FSS program she was unemployed and receiving government benefits, but was consistently looking for employment. Upon joining the FSS program, Deardrew’s five year goals were to find stable employment, earn a living wage, and purchase her own home; she’s currently working on the last goal.
Deardrew worked several jobs, including working through a temporary agency, in order to gain valuable work experience and bring earned income to her household. A year after joining the FSS program, she secured a job as a Benefits Specialist earning over $35,000 a year. Through her own determination, Deardrew has researched every first time homebuyer’s program in the Bay Area that she may qualify for. She has attended several workshops and seminars and even attends the workshops given by the Housing Authority to offer advice and information to other FSS clients. While preparing herself for homeownership, she continues to focus on expanding her skills and looking for advancement opportunities with her current employer. Deardrew expects that she will graduate from FSS and purchase her own home before her goal of five years.
Mr. Larry Luckham
Larry Luckham is President of The Luckham Company. The Luckham Company is a small San Francisco area-based owner and operator of Section 8 housing. Mr. Luckham has been involved in the purchase, rehabilitation, and operation of rental properties varying in size from 8 to 152 units under the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program, and the development of a new senior housing project. He is the former CEO of general contractor Specbuildco, Inc. Mr. Luckham also has 27 years experience in building low and moderate income housing in partnership with local nonprofits, as well as building custom housing and light commercial buildings.
