Bay Area Affordable Housing

Eric Tao is tthe Managing Executive Principal of AGI. He has 20-years of experience in the real estate industry and has led the acquisition, entitlement, financing, development and disposition of over 1,500 multifamily residential units in the San Francisco Bay Area with a focus on transit oriented urban infill projects. AGI, LLC was formed in 2006 to manage multifamily development investments for CalPERS. At AGI, Tao has guided the development of nearly 700 new units and secured the pipeline of an additional 450+ new apartment units in the emerging San Francisco SoMa, Dogpatch and Mid-Market districts. Boards and Activities Boards: Urban Land Institute San Francisco, SPUR, Housing Action Coalition, Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, Art Care SF Appointments: San Francisco Mayor's Housing Trust Fund Working Group, San Francisco Inclusionary Housing Technical Advisory Committee Associations: LAI San Francisco Education Eric is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, CA and received his Juris Doctorate from UC Hastings College of Law.

Linda Mandolini has served as the Chief Executive of Eden Housing since 2001. Eden Housing (www.edenhousing.org) is one of California's oldest and most successful non-profit housing developers and owners. Linda oversees affordable housing production, resident support services, and property management components of the organization, and a staff of more than 400 employees. She is guided in her work by Eden's active volunteer board of directors, and together they just completed an ambitious 5-year strategic plan to build or preserve 10,000 affordable homes in California over the next ten years. Under Linda’s leadership, Eden Housing has become one of the most productive and successful nonprofit affordable housing developers and owners in California and is nationally recognized for its work. To date, Eden has developed or acquired approximately 11,000 affordable rental apartments in communities throughout California, providing homes for more than 22,000 low-income residents from all cultures and backgrounds. Eden currently has an additional 4,000 units in its pipeline. The organization has received numerous awards including being named as one of the Best Places to Work 2015-2017, and one of the Healthiest Employers in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Journal for the past nine consecutive years (2012-2020). Annually since 2006, Affordable Housing Finance Magazine has named Eden Housing as one of the Top 50 owners or developers of affordable housing nationally. Linda joined Eden in 1996 as a Project Developer and was promoted to Associate Director of Real Estate Development. In 1999 and 2000, she worked with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group as Director of Transportation and Housing Policy. She then rejoined Eden to serve as Director of Real Estate Development and was named President in 2001. Linda has received a number of awards including being named the Housing Champion by the Housing Trust of Silicon Valley in 2020, inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2017; named to the San Francisco Business Times' Forever Influential Honor Roll in 2016; Bay Area's Most Influential Women in Business in 2011, 2014, and 2015, Northern California's Real Estate Women of Influence in 2011; and awarded the Affordable Housing Management Association's (AHMA) Pioneer in Affordable Housing in 2011. She was also honored by the East Bay Business Times as a Woman of Distinction in 2008. Under Linda's leadership, Eden Housing has completed three portfolio mergers and acquisitions, and has launched a number of initiatives to increase affordable housing preservation and to promote sustainable practices. Eden was among the first of its peers to implement a portfolio-wide green retrofitting and resident conservation program. Linda is often called upon to share Eden's best practices at regional, statewide, and national forums. In 2018, Eden Housing celebrated its 50 year anniversary with a 50 Years/50 Stories Campaign with video, podcast and photo-stories; an ambitious effort spearheaded by Linda to demonstrate the positive impact affordable housing has on people and communities. Linda is known as a leader in housing policy on the local, state and national level. She serves or has served on and held leadership positions on the following boards: The California Housing Consortium (CHC), where she currently chairs the Policy Committee, the National Housing Conference, the Housing Partnership Network, the Housing Partnership Equity Trust, the ULI Terwilliger Center for Affordable Housing, the UC Berkeley Terner Center Advisory Board, The Factory OS and Catalyst, Advisory Boards, the Housing Trust of Silicon Valley, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH), Enterprise Communities' Community Leadership Council, and the International Housing Partnership Exchange. Linda was one of the affordable housing leaders who worked tirelessly for the passage of Proposition 46, Proposition 1C, and Propositions 1 and 2, three California Housing bonds that collectively generated $10 billion for housing. She has also helped lead local housing initiatives, including most recently the Measures A and A1 Housing bonds in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties respectively, that generated $1.5 billion in local funding for affordable housing. In early 2020, she helped lead the passage of a local sales tax in San Jose to support affordable housing. Prior to relocating to California in 1996, Linda held various community development positions in Boston. Linda received her AB degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and earned an MBA from Boston University, with a concentration in public and non-profit management. She also completed the Harvard Kennedy School/NeighborhorWorks, Achieving Excellence in Community Development program. In her free time, Linda is an avid bicyclist and frequently rides for charitable causes including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training Program, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation in support of research for cures for Parkinson's disease.

Matt Franklin is a nationally recognized leader in the field of affordable housing. He has dedicated his career to producing high-quality affordable housing that improves the lives of low-income working families and seniors while enhancing the economic vitality of the regions where they live. With a unique combination of public and private sector experience, Matt has held senior positions at the federal, state and local levels. These include Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Clinton; Director of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development where he was the lead housing policy advisory to the Governor; and Director for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing where he championed innovative housing programs that have become national models. Matt currently leads MidPen Housing, one of the nation’s largest non-profit developers and owners of affordable housing with real estate assets totaling over $1 billion. With board seats on leading national and state housing advocacy organizations, Matt helps drive legislation to advance affordable housing policy and funding.

Nathan joined Jonathan Rose Companies in 2004 where he oversees the acquisition and preservation of affordable, mixed and middle income multifamily housing nationally. He has lead the investment of six equity funds, helping Rose grown into one of the country’s leading developers and investors in the field with a portfolio of 15,000 units. As a mission-driven firm, Rose acquires multifamily housing in transit-oriented or walkable locations, preserves its affordability, improves its economic and environmental performance, and works to enhance the lives of its residents. We acquire properties directly or in joint venture with local partners who share our vision and commitment to making an impact. Last year, Nathan and his team were recognized as the top acquirer of affordable housing in the country, and he is passionate about doing his part to create more vibrant and resilient communities for low-income families and seniors. Nathan lives with his wife and two kids in New York City.

Elizabeth S. Anderson is a Partner in Lubin Olson’s Real Estate Practice Group. She specializes in commercial real estate transactions, including affordable housing development. Ms. Anderson represents clients in complex commercial real estate transactions, including the acquisition, rehabilitation, financing and sale of commercial properties. Her practice focuses in particular on the representation of developers of multifamily affordable housing projects involving low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, loans from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and other public sources, and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development financing, subsidy and insurance programs. Before rejoining Lubin Olson, Ms. Anderson was a deputy city attorney in the Office of the City Attorney in San Francisco. She previously practiced with Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP in San Francisco and Troutman Sanders LLP in Richmond, Virginia.

Since joining BRIDGE in 1994, Mr. Wiblin has completed the development of over 2,000 units of affordable and market-rate housing in San Jose, Irvine, Carlsbad, San Marcos and San Diego. In 1998 he opened BRIDGE’s San Diego office, establishing a solid foundation for BRIDGE’s expanded presence in Southern California. Currently based in San Francisco, he leads the company’s Business Development Group, which sources and acts on development and acquisition opportunities and positions BRIDGE to enter new markets. Prior to BRIDGE, Mr. Wiblin was a land planner and urban designer primarily responsible for the design elements of residential and mixed-use communities. He is an associate member of the Urban Land Institute and a member of the Residential Real Estate Committee of the University of San Diego. He has a B.S. in Design from Arizona State University and a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.

As Chief Executive Officer of Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC), Donald S. Falk leads the community-based, nonprofit housing development, management and social services agency in San Francisco with nearly 325 employees and 33 properties containing about 3000 homes housing nearly 3600 people, nearly 25% of whom came to the organization out of homelessness. From 1982-1994, Falk held a variety of positions with Jubilee West, a neighborhood based nonprofit that provides services and housing in West Oakland. He chairs the Community Leadership Council and serves on the Boards of Directors of Enterprise Community Partners and the Corporation for Supportive Housing. He serves on advisory boards of NeighborWorks America, St. Francis Memorial Hospital Foundation, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. He is the past president of the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, on whose board he served for seven years. Falk has a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in Economics and Urban Studies from Oberlin College.

I am originally from Fresno, then went to Pennsylvania and played D1 baseball at Bucknell University from 2000-2004. My wife and I met while living in Baltimore, then we moved to San Francisco in 2008. Ever since graduating college, I’ve been involved in real estate in one way or another. Before joining Mission Housing, I managed real estate assets for union pension funds and various union locals throughout Northern California. I started with Mission Housing in December 2011 as an Asset Manager, then Director of Asset Management and became Executive Director in September 2013. I oversee the administration of all Mission Housing assets, programs, and services. I also make sure that each and every day our mission, and the short and long-term vision for Mission Housing are achieved. Every day is different! I am often in meetings at City Hall and throughout various San Francisco communities pushing for more support of the Affordable Housing industry. On other days, my time at Mission Housing might be spent with issues like human resources, operations, budgets or board meetings. Working in Affordable Housing is very rewarding, and I’m very thankful for finding Mission Housing. The most satisfying part of my job is watching our employees represent Mission Housing in the community, interacting with and supporting our residents and our neighbors in the Mission. Since 2012, our staff has grown from eight people to 25 people! Seeing how we can make change for the better is very gratifying. I love working on behalf of the current and future residents of the Mission. The people before me who paved the way for Mission Housing sacrificed a great deal. I’m reminded of their hard work whenever I look at one of our 35 buildings, or meet one of our residents. My wife and I enjoy seeing live music and going to Giants games. I’m also happy to play pool at my local bar and not do much else. San Francisco is such an amazing city, I’m lucky to be able to simply hang out in North Beach or the Mission all weekend, enjoying an awesome burrito!

Real Estate Developer, Affordable Housing Builder, Housing Leader, Community Builder, Attorney Passionate about equality of opportunity through housing and education for all income levels. Passionate about inclusion and diversity. • 17+ years in real estate acquisitions, contract negotiations, site selection, and brokerage. • 10+ years of experience in a corporate real estate environment (multi-family and mixed-use real estate development and portfolio/asset management leadership) • Strong focus on political and community engagement, advocacy, and building relationships with local organizations, community leaders, policy makers, and government agencies. This involves close monitoring of the political environment in order to advocate for and advance policies, programs, and projects that will positively impact the housing industry and community at large. • Exceptional relationship-building skills and people skills – ability to relate well to others and be relatable to others. • Focus on all aspects of development at a strategic level including acquisitions, feasibility, entitlements, consensus building, complex loan closings, design, construction, and sale/lease-up. • Ability to drive the planning of multiple, fast-paced and complicated projects. • Team management – up to 50 FTEs plus all vendors and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment. • Participate in speaking engagements, panels, and media interviews regarding the Silicon Valley housing crisis.

As the founding principal of NEWPORT REALTY ADVISORS LLC, Mr. Castro oversees all consulting activities of the firm. He has over 20 years of professional real estate market, economic and financial consulting experience and has conducted analyses on all types of affordable and market-rate multifamily housing. Over the past 20 years, Newport Realty Advisors has completed 350+ affordable housing market feasibility studies throughout California and has completed 60+ studies in the City of San Francisco. NEWPORT REALTY ADVISORS specializing in providing valuable market and economic insights that assist clients in formulating Affordable Housing acquisition, development, investment, asset management and disposition strategies for individual properties or a portfolio of assets. We specialize in the market feasibility for new Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) housing and the investment potential for equity syndication and debt financing. Prior to founding NEWPORT REALTY ADVISORS in late 1996, Mr. Castro worked as a Consultant for The Meyers Group, a real estate consulting firm. He was responsible for conducting analyses on a wide variety of residential product types, including: Single-Family Residential, For-Sale Condominiums, Rental Apartments, Urban Infill Projects, Condominium Conversions and Master-Planned Communities. Specific studies conducted at The Meyers Group included: Market Feasibility and Opportunity Analysis, Absorption Studies, Disposition Strategies, Residential Pricing Analysis, Residual Land Value Analysis, and Portfolio and Land Acquisition Analysis. Prior to The Meyers Group, Mr. Castro worked as an Associate with Robert Charles Lesser & Co., a nationally recognized real estate consulting and advisory firm. In this capacity, he was responsible for advising public and private sector clients on the technical and strategic aspects of real estate, including: Market and Financial Feasibility; Investment, Acquisition and Valuation Analysis; and Land-Use policy issues. He completed analysis on a number of product types including Office, Retail, Industrial, Rental Apartments and Residential Projects. Specific studies conducted at Robert Charles Lesser & Co. included: Market and Financial Feasibility Analysis, Land-Use Feasibility and Planning Analysis, Evaluation Strategies for Underutilized Land, and Pre-Acquisition (Investment) Due Diligence Analysis. Mr. Castro commenced his real estate career as an Analyst with Keyser Marston & Associates, a real estate consulting firm based in San Diego, California. Keyser Marston & Associates specialized in providing consulting services to public sector clients throughout California on redevelopment, land planning and affordable housing issues. As an Analyst, Mr. Castro was responsible for the due diligence, specifically market and economic feasibility analysis on proposed affordable (income-restricted) and market-rate housing projects. Mr. Castro completed his undergraduate studies in Marketing and Finance from California State University at Chico. In addition, he is a past member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and author of various articles published in Urban Land.

Rob Zirkle is the founding principal of brick. Under his guidance the brick team brings a rigorous, value driven design process to a wide variety of project types in architecture, interiors and urban design. Rob leads the firm’s initiatives in design, client satisfaction, new project acquisition and company culture. Channeling Rob’s entrepreneurial approach, brick has grown into a thriving 25 person team with $450m of current projects under construction ranging from commercial office, life science, housing and higher education.