Speakers

Darien Crimmin has been in the business of sustainability for more than 20 years. As vice president of Energy and Sustainability for WinnCompanies and co-founder of Open Market ESCO, he is responsible for managing a range of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across Winn’s portfolio of multifamily properties. Combining technical building science with energy policies and entrepreneurial financing, he has developed a wide-ranging portfolio of energy projects, including megawatts of solar photovoltaic, dozens energy retrofits and water conservation improvements, and innovative energy financing demonstrations. Crimmin has also pioneered the application of community solar to benefit low- and moderate-income households. Through his leadership, WinnDevelopment partners with local, state, and federal agencies to promote policy and investments at the intersection of affordable housing and climate change.

Julie Sharp is executive vice president of Merchants Capital, a national multi-family financing firm that has deployed more than $33 billion in FHA, balance sheet, and GSE debt along with tax credit equity financing to support multifamily properties across the United States, with a strong emphasis on affordable housing. Sharp is a member of Merchants Capital’s executive team and established and the firm’s tax credit syndication business in 2020 which has since grown to a national platform. She began her career at a national tax credit equity syndicator, where she closed more than $1 billion in equity financing into the firm’s multi-investor, proprietary, and secondary fund offerings. Sharp serves on the board of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition in Washington, D.C., the Indiana chapter of the Women’s Affordable Housing Network and is a mentor for the Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leaders in Real Estate.

Bryan Hollander is a vice president in the acquisitions group at Enterprise Housing Credit Investments LLC, Enterprise's low-income housing tax credit syndication business. He originates affordable multifamily housing investments, focusing on sponsors based in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and southern Virginia. Since joining Enterprise in 2011, Hollander has helped manage approximately $2.2 billion in development financed with $1 billion of low-income housing and historic tax credit equity. That encompasses 100 investments across 19 states. Hollander 's career in multifamily housing and development finance began in 2007. Before joining Enterprise, he consulted developers, investors, and local governments as an associate at the real estate analytics firm RCLCO. Hollander holds a master's degree in city and regional planning from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC, he served as a research assistant at the Center for Community Capital. He is a LEED accredited professional and a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Salvatore Ingrao, CPA, has been with the Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF) in Long Beach, CA since 2009 and is currently the Director of Development Accounting. RHF provides affordable housing for seniors and for low-income families and persons with disabilities. In his current role, Ingrao is responsible for the full cycle of development finance and construction accounting for the company’s affordable housing developments across the United States. Ingrao is involved with bond and tax credit application, finance closing, LIHTC tenant file audit, construction draws and contractor payments, cost certifications, placed in service applications, loan conversions and final equity installments. He is originally from Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from SUNY Buffalo with a bachelors in Accounting and Finance. 

Kevin Kroll is the managing director of financing at Wendover Housing Partners LLC. With years of experience in real estate development finance, including underwriting and capital markets negotiations, he is resposible for Wendover's deal originations and ongoing portfolio financial managament. Kroll earned his bachelor's degree in international business from Rollins College, where he also graduated with an MBA in finance from the Crummer Graduate School of Business. While pursuing his MBA, Kroll worked for Avenue Capital Group, a multinational investment firm focused on distressed securities. Since 2010, Kroll has helped Wendover grow into one of the Southeast's premier affordable and workforce housing companies. With more than 4,000 units in its portfolio, Wendover finances, builds and manages mixed-income communities serving both families and seniors. While employing both public and private partnerships, Wendover procures funding through local and state housing authorities, as well as private and institutional investment partners. Wendover's ability to finance affordable, workforce and permanent supportive housing for homeless demonstrates its overarching commitment to creating housing in a variety of economically and socially diverse neighborhoods.  

John Roberts is a vice president in the affordable housing group at Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC. Based in BWE’s Dallas office, he covers markets throughout the Southwest and Southeast where he specializes in originating debt through various financing sources including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, Rural Development, and private placement. Since joining BWE in 2015, Roberts has been involved in the financing of more than $1 billion in permanent debt to improve and preserve affordable housing units. Roberts holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a Masters of Real Estate Development from Auburn University.

John Sabatier is a managing director with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in its public finance housing group. Sabatier’s primary focus is multifamily affordable housing municipal bond underwriting, specializing in multifamily municipal debt structuring with 4% low-income housing tax credits. Sabatier is a registered securities representative (S.7, S.63, S.79) with more than 25 years of combined experience developing, operating and financing multifamily affordable housing communities throughout the country.

Stephanie Hynes is a Vice President of R4 Capital Funding based in the firm’s New York office with a focus on originating and executing private placement tax-exempt debt throughout the country, representing over $320 million in tax-exempt debt financing. Prior to joining R4 Capital Funding in 2018, Hynes worked at R4 Capital with the underwriting team where she was responsible for analyzing risk associated with LIHTC properties. She holds a BA degree in Economics from Union College.

Alexander Kiss is a co-founding and managing partner of Banyan Development Group, LLC ("BDG"), a developer of multifamily affordable rental housing communities based in Orlando, FL. He manages all aspects of development including real estate acquisition, site and building design and development, financial modeling, capital procurement, underwriting and transactional documentation.  He is also a principal of Kiss & Company, Inc, an affordable housing consultant and developer. 

Since 2016, Kiss has completed 9 affordable housing developments totaling 808 units, with another 3 under construction totaling 421 units and 4 others totaling another 536 units on which he is looking to begin construction early next year. Prior to 2016, he helped provide consulting services for the financing and development of roughly 2000 affordable units. Mr. Kiss has an MBA from The University of Central Florida and a BS in Interdisciplinary Physics-Biology from Florida State University.

Jerome Garciano represents lenders, equity investors and developers in real estate development, tax incentive transactions and tax credit project financing. A skilled transactional attorney and CPA, Garciano has deep and diverse experience in affordable housing, renewable energy, community and economic development project finance deals. With more than 20 years in the low-income housing tax credit industry, Garciano specializes in affordable housing and community development finance. He has closed numerous nonprofit-sponsored real estate transactions financed with new markets tax credit financing, including education, health and community services facilities. As a LEED accredited professional and with his background in design and construction, Garciano advises clients on energy efficiency and renewable energy tax incentives as well as promotes programs and tax policy initiatives for green energy and sustainable real estate development. Prior to practicing law, Garciano managed affordable housing finance transactions for a national nonprofit organization specializing in community revitalization through real estate development, finance, and management of affordable housing. He coordinated equity and debt sources for project budgets of multifamily affordable housing financed with federal and state housing, historic and new markets tax credits, HOPE VI, HUD capital and operating subsidies, taxable and tax-exempt bonds, and other forms of debt financing.

Shawn Whitney is dedicated to structuring low-income housing, historic rehabilitation, and new markets tax credit transactions. He represents developers, investors, syndicators, lenders and Community Development Enterprises (CDEs). Whitney’s primary practice focus is representing all aspects of a tax credit financed transaction. His diverse expertise ranges from extensive experience in all of the aforementioned tax credit programs. In the New Market Tax Credit representing CDE’s on the deployment of New Markets Tax Credit allocations, Qualified Active Low Income Community Business, and equity investors deployment of capital. He also has a passion for affordable housing representing a lender in the financing of hundreds of millions of dollars of LIHTC construction and permanent debt for both 4% and 9% deals. He also actively represents LIHTC developers throughout the country. Finally, he has enjoyed being involved in a billion dollars of historic rehabilitation projects utilizing federal and state historic tax credits on both the development and financing side. Many of his projects also utilizes other incentives such as tax abatements/exemptions, and tax increment financing.

David Mantilla is a manager in the metro Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, office of Novogradac and joined the firm in 2016. Mantilla has experience with clients in many industries, including low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), renewable energy tax credits, real estate, manufacturing and distribution, health care, insurance, professional service and employee benefit plans. Mantilla has worked extensively on financial statement audit, review and compilation engagements, as well as provided tax return preparation for numerous organizations, including both privately held companies and nonprofit organizations. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pennsylvania State University.

Michael Novogradac is the managing partner of Novogradac, which has been in business since 1989. He specializes in affordable housing, community development, historic preservation and renewable energy. Mr. Novogradac’s focus is in real estate taxation and accounting. He is the author of numerous real estate-related tax and accounting articles and books, including the Novogradac Opportunity Zones Handbook, the New Markets Tax Credit Handbook and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Handbook. A frequent speaker at tax incentive conferences and forums throughout the country, Mr. Novogradac also broadcasts a weekly podcast, Tax Credit Tuesday. As a leading industry expert, he is frequently quoted in national media, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Politico, Bloomberg, Forbes, CNBC News, NBC News, National Public Radio and Crain’s New York Business.  Mr. Novogradac is active in advocating for the inclusion of affordable housing, historic preservation, community development and renewable energy incentives in federal and state tax policy, and serves as advisor on industry and governmental affairs for the NMTC Working Group, LIHTC Working Group and the Opportunity Zones Working Group. Mr. Novogradac provides input to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and other federal and state agencies as well as members of Congress, including testimony before the United States House Committee on Ways and Means. Mr. Novogradac also serves on the executive committee of the Housing Advisory Group and the boards of directors of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, the National Housing Conference, the NMTC Coalition and Historic Tax Credit Coalition. In 2016, Mr. Novogradac was inducted into the Affordable Housing Hall of Fame. He also received The Affordable Housing Visionary Award from The NHP Foundation in 2018, in recognition of his contributions to the affordable housing community and in 2020 was honored as one of the top 25 OZ Influencers through Opportunity Zone Magazine. Mr. Novogradac graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He received an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. He is licensed in California, Oregon, Maryland and Texas as a certified public accountant. You can follow Mr. Novogradac on twitter @novogradac and on his blog at www.novoco.com/blog or listen to his weekly podcast at www.novoco.com/podcast.

Christopher A. Walker, partner-in-charge of the firm’s Jacksonville, Florida, office, advises investors, financial institutions, developers, builders, contractors, condominiums and civic associations, and others in the development, negotiation, and financing of complex real estate transactions, including multifamily housing, affordable housing, commercial and industrial properties, and senior housing, including working on necessary debt structures, public finance components, and economic development matters. He works extensively with for-profit and nonprofit developers in connection with substantial affordable housing portfolio sales and acquisitions, low-income housing tax credits, construction, joint ventures, HAP contracts, HUD financing, institutional financing, bonds, fair housing, and other financial programs to promote affordable housing, stability, and security of individuals and families. He regularly advises management companies in connection with real estate ventures, including compliance and insurance-related matters.

Jill Cromartie brings a wide berth of experience to the real estate and housing industries with vast knowledge in all parts of the real estate life cycle from acquisition, underwriting, asset management, property management and dispositions. She possesses strong technical knowledge of government funding programs including the LIHTC, HOME and NHTF. Cromartie provides consulting services in development, state relations and DEI in affordable housing. She is HCCP certified and currently serves on the HCCP Board of Governors and Women’s Affordable Housing Network (National) Advisory Panel.