Philadelphia Affordable Housing Summit

While completing his Masters Degree from The American University in Cairo, Egypt, Rushdy began his construction engineering career with a position as a Planning Engineer on the construction of the first-ever cement plant in Sinai, Egypt. He then moved to Kuwait for two years, where he served as the planning and project controls Engineer for the construction of Kuwait’s first Olympic stadium. Rushdy moved to the United States in 2004. He took a position with Toll Brothers and enrolled in the company’s one-year Assistant Project Manager-in-Training program, which typically is followed by a three-year assignment as an Assistant Project Manager. Within just three months of starting the training program, though, Rushdy’s skill set in analyzing and leading teams was recognized. He was pulled out of the training program and given his first assignment: a 128-unit single family development in East Bay, San Francisco. That project was one of 10 jobs in a Master Plan community, and Rushdy used his experience to develop systems and methods to get the development contracted in record time and within budget -- a rarity for a development of that size. Within months of getting his Assistant Project Manager assignment, Rushdy was promoted to Project Manager. In that new role, he was asked to work with Toll Brothers’ Philadelphia Division to lead an effort to build, sell and deliver phase 1 of Naval Square -- one of Toll Brothers’ highest profile new developments in the city at the time. Within less than a year in Philadelphia, Rushdy exceeded closings projections by over 30% and was promoted again to Naval Square’s Senior Project Manager. By age 27, Rushdy was leading a team of 25 people and responsible for a budget of more than $100 million. In early 2007, Rushdy was recruited by a regional developer, Westrum Development Company, as General Manager to launch, contract and hire a team for Philadelphia’s largest active adult community: The Arbors at Eagle Pointe, consisting of approximately 400 homes. Following the financial crash in late 2008, Rushdy also was assigned all of Westrum’s Philadelphia developments and took over the acquisition role for Westrum in 2011. Once the financial crash hit, Rushdy teamed up with Larry McKnight, a colleague from Westrum, to start developing single lot infills in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood. Their investments in the area have contributed to the revival that the city’s river wards neighborhoods -- Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Kensington, Port Richmond, etc. -- are experiencing. Now nearly 10 years later, Rushdy and McKnight are business partners at The Riverwards Group, which employs 12 staffers and 30 contractors. What started as five homes per year in 2012 has grown to 110 homes completed in 2019, and plans to deliver 400 homes over the next three years. In 2018, The Riverwards Group brought in revenues close to $35 million. The Riverwards Group, where Rushdy serves as Managing Partner, has completed more than 60 projects in Philadelphia’s booming riverwards neighborhoods, totaling close to 500 mainly single-family homes delivered over the last eight years. Under Rushdy’s leadership, the company currently is working on the following projects:

Ori C. Feibush is an entrepreneur, small business owner, and real estate developer. As President and Founder of OCF Realty, Feibush has built a successful real estate brokerage that provides comprehensive services in property management, home buying and selling, and development. His offices have developed nearly one thousand residential and commercial units throughout the city, with projects ranging in scale from one-off single-family homes to mid-rise apartment buildings. Over the years, Ori has given much of his development focus to the struggling Point Breeze community, investing millions of dollars to rehabilitate the neighborhood's once-vibrant commercial corridor and donating heavily to various neighborhood groups and schools. The OCF Realty brokerage has two offices in Philadelphia and another opening soon in Margate, New Jersey. Currently, OCF is developing 17 individual real estate projects totaling 101 Single-Family Homes, 630 apartments, and about 200,000 square feet of commercial spaces. Their offices presently manage over 1,800 rental units across Philadelphia and lease nearly 1,000 units annually. In 2021, OCF Realty brokered more than $360 Million in real estate sales and anticipate a strong close to 2022 . Throughout all of this, OCF has cultivated strong relationships with best-in-class contractors, architects, engineers, attorneys and vendors, ensuring the delivery of an exceptional quality product.

As Regional Vice President of Development for the Northeast Region, Kristina is responsible for oversight for all affordable, workforce, market-rate and student development activities in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. She is also the lead developer on major projects in New Hampshire, Virginia, and Atlanta, GA. Ms. Vagen has always been passionate about responsible and sustainable development. She began her career serving the most vulnerable populations with permanent supportive housing. Upon joining Michaels in August of 2008, Ms. Vagen joined Michaels and the affordable division and served as a developer and project manager overseeing the financing, construction, and lease up for seven mixed finance developments in Jersey City and Camden, NJ which have been key to the transformation of those cities. Shortly after transitioning to the Student Housing and Market Rate division of Michaels Development, Ms. Vagen was promoted to Vice President in 2013 and has since led development teams in new conventional and apartment communities throughout the country. In 2023, when Michaels combined all of its development activities, she was promoted to Regional Vice President of the Northeast. She is a role model for Michaels, to both young developers and women, and a mentor. She also is very active in an advisory role to the Corporate Specifications team, Ms. Vagen received her Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Rutgers University as well as her Master’s Degree in City Planning from University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Vagen has been a member of the Urban Land Institute since 2006 and regularly volunteers at the Community Design Collaborative in Philadelphia and personally, at Crossroads Church in Shamong, NJ where her brother is Lead Pastor.

Joseph Duffey is CEO and President of NewCourtland, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit dedicated to improving health equity by accelerating access to coordinated health, housing, and social services in Philadelphia. NewCourtland services include operating a nursing home, senior centers, and supportive housing for older adults, veterans, and previously homeless individuals.

Aaron Smith is a Partner and Founding Member of MMPartners LLC, a real estate development and management firm. He is responsible for all stages of development, including diligence and acquisition, documentation, construction, and stabilization of an asset. Prior to founding MMP, Mr. Smith was part of Switzenbaum & Associates, where he provided consultation for real estate development and management, specializing in garden-style multifamily and hospitality assets. He is also the founder and serves as the CEO of Bambrey Building Co. (a General Contracting firm—a subsidiary of MMP), specializing in residential and mixed-use development, including adaptive reuse and new construction. Additionally, he founded PSCo in early 2020, a full-service in-house property management company that currently manages MMPartners’ 700+ units. Mr. Smith graduated from Muhlenberg College with a B.A. in Political Science, has over 16 years of experience in the real estate industry, and has been involved in developing over $400 million of properties.

As President and Founder of Axis Construction Management, Bill’s focus is developing and implementing high-level long and short-term strategies, making corporate decisions, managing the overall operations, and demonstrating effective leadership. Bill’s decades of construction experience include a former position as Senior Project Manager and Director of Business Development for a prominent design/build firm with extensive experience in high-end office design and construction. Bill establishes the strategy and goals for Axis in collaboration with the upper management team and guides the organization’s growth through career development, community impact, and financial forecasting.

Dyann Roth is the President & CEO at Inglis, bringing over three decades of nonprofit leadership experience with a strong focus on human services and housing. She is deeply committed to empowering people with disabilities by providing long-term care, accessible housing, and comprehensive support services. Throughout her career, Roth has held key leadership roles where she successfully spearheaded program development and strategic planning initiatives. At Inglis, she has been instrumental in expanding innovative housing solutions that foster independence and community integration for individuals with disabilities. Her expertise in aligning mission-driven goals with sustainable growth continues to position Inglis as a leader in creating inclusive living environments. Dyann holds a Bachelor of Arts from Penn State University and a Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Eli is a senior associate for LRK, a national architecture, planning, and interior design firm. He primarily leads new construction and adaptive reuse multi-family projects. Additionally, Eli serves as Chair for the Design Advocacy Group and is on the board of AIA Philadelphia’s magazine, Context.

Anne Fadullon has nearly 40 years experience in the planning, community and real estate development fields. This experience has been split between the public and private sectors encompassing both market-rate and below-market development across commercial, residential and facilities development. Further experience encompasses leading large-scale organizations and budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars.