Speakers

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.

Coleen Danaher is JTC’s regional vice president of business development for the Western United States. In this role, she builds and maintains key relationships within our EB-5, opportunity zones, 1031 Exchange and Private Equity Administration business lines. Danaher’s skillset has been honed over more than 20 years working in financial services, with experience across industries as diverse as banking, real estate, and oil and gas. Her expertise in navigating complex financial transactions is complemented by a dedicated and meticulous approach to client services. Danaher is a frequent presenter at events around the country as well as an author of industry articles and blogs. Prior to joining NES Financial (acquired by JTC in 2020) in 2005, Danaher worked as a vice president at Cole Taylor Bank, specializing in 1031 Exchanges.

Jimmy Atkinson is the founder of OpportunityDb, an independent media and events company covering the opportunity zones industry. He is also host of The Opportunity Zones Podcast, the No. 1 show for high-net-worth investors and advisors who place capital in tax advantaged qualified opportunity funds.