Governance
Margaret McFarland, AM, JD, began her career in real estate development as an urban planner for the Toledo-Lucas County (Ohio) Planning Commissions. After completing her law degree at the University of Michigan, Ms. McFarland joined O'Melveny & Myers in private practice in Washington, DC assisting clients in financing hotel, office and retail facilities. Ms. McFarland has worked over the years in the public, private and non-profit arenas, including more than a decade as General Counsel to the State of Maryland’s housing finance agency (CDA) issuing revenue bonds for affordable housing and infrastructure projects. She spent several years thereafter at the National Association of Home Builders, where she was the Executive Director of the Housing Credit Group, before moving back to the public sector as General Counsel to the District of Columbia Housing Authority.
In 2006, McFarland joined the faculty at the University of Maryland, as chair of a new graduate program in real estate development, and the founding Director of the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development innovating and rethinking real estate education as a multi-disciplinary enterprise. In 2018 she joined the part time faculty at Menlo College in the heart of Silicon Valley to found a real estate center to connect local real estate industry professionals to real estate students and expand the real estate curriculum to a full undergraduate major – the only such program in the Bay Area.
Ms. McFarland is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland bars. She is an outside advisor to BioBulb, a Bay Area green tech start-up and serves on the Foundation Board for Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland.
David Cole has been with the Corporation since 1996 when he joined the board of directors. Almost immediately, he and John Carlisi, then the executive director, restructured the Corporation to assume a more entrepreneurial stance on affordable housing. Mr. Carlisi became the chief executive officer with Mr. Cole as the chief operating officer. Mr. Cole also serves as corporate secretary and interim treasurer.
Prior to joining the Corporation, Mr. Cole served as Director of the Multifamily Council of the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C. where he supervised NAHB’s activities related to multifamily development, construction, financing, education, and management. While at NAHB he published So, You want to Build Multifamily, a Handbook for Getting Started in Multifamily Development (NAHB Press, 1997).
Previously, Mr. Cole practiced law specializing in real estate finance, mortgage-backed securities, low-income housing tax credits, and financing of major real estate developments.
Mr. Cole is a military veteran, having served aboard a nuclear attack submarine during the Viet Nam conflict. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of William and Mary.
Esther Chavez is a dedicated and community-driven professional with over 14 years of experience working with Chase Bank, where she developed a strong foundation in customer service and financial operations. In addition to her professional background, Esther has a deep passion for community involvement and public service.
She has volunteered alongside former Councilwoman Shirley Gonzalez, contributed extensively to the Dream Center by managing its clothing donations department, and proudly represented her local community through the Prospera Group, advocating for residents of the West Side and her apartment complex. Currently, Esther serves as a Director with Commonwealth Multifamily Housing Corporation, continuing her mission to uplift and support underserved communities.
Esther is a certified Notary Public and is actively expanding her work in business and public service. She is known for her strong leadership, compassionate nature, and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact.
Jacque Woodring is Executive Director of PROSPERA and CEO of PROSPERA Property Management and was formerly the Executive Vice President of Growth. She has over 20 years of experience in real estate development and non-profit affordable housing. Originally joining the organization in 2011, she managed multiple aspects of the development process including project financing, due diligence, project underwriting, and real estate closings as well as communications with state and local agencies, lenders, and investors. She served previously as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Commonwealth Multifamily Housing Corporation as well as Real Estate Development Manager at Nevada H.A.N.D., Inc., the largest Nevada non-profit affordable housing development organization.
Jacque holds a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and an International Business Certificate from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She was awarded a four-year scholarship on the Women’s Collegiate Tennis Team at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California where she graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Minor in Psychology. She currently serves as a Director of the Texas Association of Community Development Corporations (TACDC) and holds an active Real Estate License through the Texas Real Estate Commission.
Tuana Blevins served the multi-family industry for more than 36 in the Houston and Dallas, Texas markets. Prior to joining Orion, Tuana was part of a national property management firm focused on repositioning assets for sale. She supervised all aspects of daily operations including optimizing income through vacancy control, training, risk management, and expense control. During this time, Tuana won numerous awards for income growth and achieving company goals. Tuana joined Orion Real Estate Services, Inc., a Houston property management firm in 2007, specializing in affordable housing. She was primarily overseeing all the South Texas Affordable Housing assets and rose to the position of Senior Vice President. Tuana was responsible for oversight of Orion's Real Page Training Team and Orion's educational development department. Her professional designations include Certified Apartment Property Supervisor (CAPS), Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP), Uniformed Physical Conditions Standards Specialist (UPCS), and Housing Quality Standards Specialist (HQS). She also volunteered on the Houston Apartment Association Resident Relations Committee from 2004 to 2007, served as Chairperson for the committee for 2007 and provided financial training courses for HAA as well. Tuana retired in 2021 and has been enjoying traveling with her husband Gene and being a grandmother to 9 grandchildren. Tuana is a resident of Houston, Texas.
Bob Nielsen is president of Shelter Properties, Inc., a real estate development and management company based in Reno, Nevada. Shelter Properties currently develops affordable housing for families and senior citizens, working under multiple state and federal programs.
An enthusiastic booster and believer in Reno and the surrounding communities, Nielsen actively pursues his goal of supplying high-quality affordable housing for what he calls the “base of employment” in the area, the people who make the community run: police officers, teachers, city administrators, bank tellers, health care support staff, and others in related service.
As a powerful advocate for affordable housing, Mr. Nielsen was instrumental in the creation of the State of Nevada Low Income Housing Trust Fund enacted by the Nevada state legislature in 1992. Mr. Nielsen has taken this advocacy to the national level through his participation in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) where he is a past Chairman and has served as Chairman of the Multifamily Council and Chairman of NAHB’s Build-PAC. He is the President of Overland Development Company and serves on the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board of San Francisco.
Martin Corletta is passionate about community development, architecture and housing with an emphasis on multifamily/affordable housing opportunities and solutions. In his professional life Martin has been an advocate for individuals challenged with mental health illness and or suffering from being unhoused.
Martin currently works with nonprofits as a Family Outreach Consultant for a large nonprofit family solution and service center offering a wide array of services in his Delaware community. He is a Delaware State Credentialed Behavioral Health Assessor/Screener and devoted most of his career to psychiatric social work, community outreach and volunteerism.
Martin is a former Baltimore Musicians Union member and an alumnus of the University of Maryland where he earned a BS degree. He is the son of Bob Corletta, one of the co-founders of the Neighborhood Development Collaborative and the spouse of a civil engineer. They are blessed to have two children and two grandchildren. Martin enjoys being at the seashore and spending time with his family and friends, playing music, traveling and participating in community events.
Michael Johnson is President and Chief Executive Officer of UrbanCore Development, LLC which he founded in 2012 to focus on public-private, mixed-income residential development projects. Prior to establishing UrbanCore, Mr. Johnson was the Founder and President of Em Johnson Interest, Inc., a real estate development company based in San Francisco for 20 years. Mr. Johnson began his career in a partnership for over 11 years in Atlanta where he completed several infill housing developments. Over the combined last 45 years, his companies have been one of the largest and active African American real estate businesses in the Bay Area and in the country.
Mr. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Urban Planning in1976 from the University of Mayland and a Master of Architecture with a concentration in Real Estate Development in 1979, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. While at Maryland, Michael was a student-athlete as a member of the track and field team and was an Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in 1974.
Mr. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Urban Planning in1976 from the University of Mayland and a Master of Architecture with a concentration in Real Estate Development in 1979, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. While at Maryland, Michael was a student-athlete as a member of the track and field team and was an Atlantic Coast Conference Champion in 1974.
Polly Nyberg joined the Corporation Board in 2024 and is the Director of Special Projects for the Corporation. Prior to coming to the Corporation, Ms. Nyberg was Midwest Regional Director for the Fannie Mae Foundation and served for 17 years as the Community Affairs Manager for The St. Paul Companies (now Travelers Companies, Inc.). She has extensive knowledge and experience in bringing outstanding design to fruition in projects of all types but with a focus on senior housing.
From 2007 to 2015 Ms. Nyberg was the Senior Editor for the Real Estate Review, a quarterly journal dedicated to multi-disciplinary real estate education, sustainable design and equitable development, published by the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development at the University of Maryland. Under the auspices of the University and the Corporation, she also organized and managed three multi-day symposia (2005, 2010, 2015) on the future of senior housing design and development.
Ms. Nyberg has served on the advisory board of the schools of architecture at the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois at Chicago and been engaged as a consultant to several national non-profits over the years.
Allison Gearing Kalill is the Director of Development for the Vanderbilt Medical Center. She has over 25 years of nonprofit development experience with a strong background in fundraising for higher education and healthcare institutions.
A graduate of the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and communication, Allison has led successful capital campaigns, built lasting donor relationships, and driven strategic philanthropic initiatives that have transformed communities.
Passionate about equity and access, Allison is committed to leveraging fundraising expertise to support the underserved. With a deep understanding of donor engagement and nonprofit strategy she is a valuable advocate for sustainable development and community empowerment.