Speakers

Jeff Weiss is president of Hunt Capital Partners. Weiss has specialized in affordable housing for more than 25 years with a focus on raising equity and structuring project partnership agreements with multiple layers of debt. He is responsible for all tax credit syndication activities of the company and is a member of the Credit Committee and executive management. From 1996 to 2003, Weiss served as a guest lecturer at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy for the Dollinger Master of Real Estate Development Program where he instructed graduate students in real estate finance, feasibility analysis and affordable housing. Weiss received a bachelor’s degree in real estate finance from San Diego State University, a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California, and a juris doctor from Southwestern University School of Law. Weiss is admitted to practice law in the State of California.

Stephanie Hynes is a vice president of R4 Capital Funding based in the firm’s Boston office with a focus on originating and executing private placement tax-exempt and taxable debt for 4% tax credit developments. Since joining R4 Capital Funding in 2018, Hynes has originated and executed on more than $1.2 billion in private placement debt for more than 6,600 units across 17 states. Hynes has been with R4 Capital since 2016 where she previously worked as a financial analyst with the underwriting team and was responsible for analyzing risk associated with debt and equity multifamily housing investments throughout the country. Hynes started her career as a marketing associate at a technology-driven health and wellness start-up where she focused on developing strategic content for various product lines. Hynes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College.

Marina Wiant is the executive director of the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC). Both committees play a critical role in financing the construction of affordable rental housing in California. Prior to her appointment, Wiant served since 2012 as vice president of government affairs for the California Housing Consortium (CHC), a statewide, nonpartisan advocate for the production and preservation of housing affordable to low- and moderate-income Californians. At CHC, Wiant led a policy and advocacy team that secured the passage of a range of legislation, ballot measures and budget resources that have transformed the affordable housing industry–including the state’s first permanent source of funding for affordable housing since redevelopment and its last statewide housing bond, as well as groundbreaking legislation that has opened new sites to affordable development and accelerated local approvals. Wiant received her J.D. from Santa Clara University, with an emphasis in international law and received her bachelor’s degree from UCLA, majoring in political science and minoring in global studies and Russian language. She was admitted to the California State Bar in December 2010.

Tiena Johnson Hall, executive director of the California Housing Finance Agency, is furthering the agency’s mission of investing in diverse communities with financing programs that help more Californians have a place to call home. Through her leadership of CalHFA, the state’s affordable housing lender, she engages mortgage lenders, affordable housing developers, state and local agencies, advocacy organizations, public officials and private financing markets to work collaboratively to create housing options in reach and accessible for more low- and moderate-income Californians. Prior to her appointment, Johnson Hall served on the CalHFA board of directors from 2014 and was the senior vice president and manager of community development finance for BBVA now a member of PNC Bank. She held various leadership positions for financial, banking and housing organizations such as vice president and community development manager, Bank of the West (2014); senior vice president and relationship manager, U.S. Bank (2005-2013); director of housing, Major Projects Division of the Los Angeles Housing and Investment Department (2004-2005); senior vice president and regional manager, Bank of America Community Lending (1997-2003); finance development officer, Major Projects Division of the Los Angeles Housing and Investment Department (1995-1997); project manager, Abode Communities (1991-1994). Johnson Hall served on the board of directors for the National Council of State Housing Boards from 2016-2020 and was elected to the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) board of directors in 2023. Johnson Hall received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Howard University and master’s degree from the University of Redlands.

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.

Philip Porter is a senior vice president and the head of acquisitions at Enterprise Housing Credit Investments, an Enterprise Community Partners affiliate. While managing the originations and underwriting team as a whole, he personally originates investments with sponsors based in Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Northern California, Northern Virginia, Oregon and Washington. Since joining Enterprise in 2001, Porter has managed the investment of more than $4.5 billion low-income housing and historic tax credit equity in 416 developments with more than 33,862 homes across 26 states. Porter’s involvement with multifamily housing began in 1992. He managed market-rate housing with Oxford Management Company in California, underwrote HOME loans with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, and developed and managed affordable housing with Woodland Associates, Inc. in North Carolina. Porter has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and holds master’s degrees in Regional Planning and Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Housing Credit Certified Professional and is active with the Urban Land Institute and Stanford Professionals in Real Estate (SPIRE).