Articles of Interest- 2023 Updates Coming Soon!

Bio Information

Ryan J. Bowen is a partner in the National Public Finance Department of Chapman and Cutler LLP in the firm's Chicago office. Since joining the firm in 2007, Ryan has served as bond counsel and underwriter's counsel on numerous single family and multifamily transactions. In this capacity, Ryan has served as bond counsel and partnership counsel to a number of local housing finance corporations in the State of Texas and also frequently serves as underwriter's counsel on housing transactions throughout the country. Ryan routinely provides advice and counsel on various securities law matters related to the municipal securities market.

Cynthia Bast is nationally recognized as a preeminent lawyer in the area of affordable housing and community development finance and leads the Firm's Affordable Housing Section. She calls upon her vast experience, including experience in the areas described below, as a frequent speaker at conferences across the country. Cynthia has been named in The Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law and in Chambers USA for 2016-2020. She is also a member of the Firm's Board of Directors.

Jay Johnson joined the Development Group of Cohen-Esrey, has a B.A. from Texas Wesleyan University and spent the past nine years at the NRP Group where he was involved in affordable housing development and public/private partnership projects in the state of Texas. During his time with NRP, Jay assisted with the development of 2,000 affordable housing units in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro. Based in San Antonio, he will help extend the CEDG development initiative throughout the state of Texas.

Bio Information

Angela Kelcher is the Senior Director of Affordable Production for Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Mortgage Business. In this position she determines production strategy and manages deliveries from Fannie Mae’s nationwide network of lenders. Her team focuses on properties with recorded rent and/or income restrictions or other affordability characteristics. In 2019, Angela led the team to a record-breaking $7.2 billion in annual production volume in this segment.

Before joining Fannie Mae in 2004, Ms. Kelcher worked for Bank of America providing construction financing for affordable multifamily properties. She also worked for AIG/SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners structuring equity investments in Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties.

Ms. Kelcher was recognized by Affordable Housing Finance as an industry catalyst and was named one of AHF’s 2016 Young Leaders. Ms. Kelcher has served on the board of the Central Arlington Housing Development Corporation and as an officer on the board of the North Texas Housing Coalition. She is a native of Dallas, Texas and a graduate of Southern Methodist University.

Curtis Melvin is a Director and Co-Head of Freddie Mac’s Multifamily Targeted Affordable Sales and Investments team. Mr. Melvin works in the Headquarters Office and currently manages a dynamic team in McLean, Virginia responsible for originating a variety of loan products supporting low and moderate income housing.

Mr. Melvin has been with Freddie Mac for almost 13 years. During his 13 year career, Mr. Melvin spent five years in the Multifamily CFO group supporting the divisions Finance, Accounting, and Board Reporting activities. Following his time in Finance, Mr. Melvin spent seven years in the Targeted Affordable Structured Transactions (“Structured Affordable”) group. Mr. Melvin was Director and head of the Structured Affordable team for the past two years responsible for all aspect of the business line which includes the securitization of large pools of TAH loans and bonds that have been aggregated on third party balance sheets. In March 2020, Mr. Melvin was named co-head of the Targeted Affordable Retail team.

Hugh A. Cobb is a Partner and one of the Owners of Alpha Barnes Real Estate Services, LLC in Dallas, Texas. He leads property management operations and strategic new business development at the firm. Alpha Barnes Real Estate Services, LLC manages over 20,000 units of affordable and conventional housing and is recognized as an industry leader in property management and tax credit compliance. Alpha Barnes also develops multi-family properties in the Dallas/Fort Worth region.

Hugh earned a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (Dean’s List) from Texas Wesleyan University in 1983. In 1984, Hugh was appointed by President Reagan, to serve as Congressional Liaison for The White House in Washington D.C. Prior to joining Alpha Barnes in January of 2017, Hugh held executive positions with Capstone Real Estate Services, The Trammell Crow Company and Integrity Properties. Mr. Cobb has over 30 years of real estate experience including management, brokerage, new construction, lending and investment. He has supervised lease-ups for more than 28,000 new and renovated units over 17 years.

Hugh is Past President of the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas (AAGD) and serves on the Executive Committee of the Texas Apartment Association (TAA). On the federal level, Hugh lobbies on behalf of issues important to real estate investment, development and housing affordability. Hugh serves several nonprofit organizations, in Board and Advisory capacities.

Mr. Cobb is a Certified Property Manager® (CPM).

As Vice President and Project Partner, Jeff Spicer is leading Dominium’s efforts in Texas and helping Dominium grow their presence in this emerging market. Spicer is responsible for originating and overseeing new project development, financing and acquisitions.

Spicer joined Dominium in September of 2017 but has a long-term relationship lasting more than 10 years as a consulting partner for Dominium. He has over 25 years of experience in affordable housing where he has worked to develop successful ventures in the state of Texas and across the southwestern part of the country.

Prior to joining Dominium, Spicer was co-founder and principal at State Street Housing Development where he developed affordable housing in Texas and the southwest. He currently owns more than 1,000 affordable housing units and has developed over 6,000 units nationwide.

Spicer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Business and a Master’s degree in Real Estate Finance and Investment Analysis both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also held a Wisconsin real estate license and has been an active member on many boards.

Spicer is a contributor to the Dominium Foundation which contributes to important housing and social service organizations in the communities where Dominium operates.

Rob Latsha is the Executive Director with the Bond Review Board; he has over twenty years of experience in public finance with over thirteen years administering the Private Activity Bond allocation for the state of Texas. While with the Bond Review Board, he has provided counsel to Leadership on a variety of debt policy topics including century bonds, local jail facility bonds, pension obligation bonds, debt limits etc. Aside from his work with the BRB, he has worked with the City of Austin Controller’s Office and the CMTA planning department. Additionally, he volunteered for the Bond Oversight Committee for the City of Austin. As an Austin native, he graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Economics and from Texas State with a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Planning. He is a certified underwater archeologist and last summer he hiked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail five times.

Kevin McKenney has served as a Director of Government Affairs at SmithBucklin for over five years, with a specific focus on federal advocacy. Kevin is a registered lobbyist responsible for advancing the policy objectives of SmithBucklin client associations in the federal legislative and regulatory arena and is one of the company’s senior advocacy professionals.
Kevin’s issue portfolio has included a wide range of housing issues, ranging from policy on residential construction to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). He has also covered energy efficiency, sustainability, environmental, tax and trade topics. Over the course of his career, Kevin has developed and strengthened critical relationships not only with congressional offices but also at federal agencies. In addition, he places value on coalition partnerships, and actively participates in several formal coalitions, in addition to fostering relationships with his counterparts at other influential trade organizations.
Prior to joining SmithBucklin, Kevin worked in government affairs for another association management company and as a legislative staffer in the U.S. Senate. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Central Connecticut State University, where he was an ROTC cadet and enlisted in the Connecticut Army National Guard.

Todd Kercheval graduated from Sam Houston State University, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics in 1997. Shortly after graduation, Todd was hired by the Texas Racing Commission as supervisor over the drug testing and investigation at all tracks in Texas.

In 1998, Todd left the Racing Commission to assume the position as Clerk for the Senate Sub-Committee on Agriculture. He continued climbing the ranks in the Capitol as he served as the Clerk of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism and finally serving as Chief of Staff for the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Jim Pitts. During his tenure as Chief of Staff, Todd was instrumental in helping the House unanimously pass HB1, the State of Texas’ Budget.

After a decade of working in the Texas State Capitol, Todd ventured out on his own and now currently owns and manages a successful consulting company with a variety of clients in Austin, Texas.

Rob Latsha is the Executive Director with the Bond Review Board; he has over twenty years of experience in public finance with over thirteen years administering the Private Activity Bond allocation for the state of Texas. While with the Bond Review Board, he has provided counsel to Leadership on a variety of debt policy topics including century bonds, local jail facility bonds, pension obligation bonds, debt limits etc. Aside from his work with the BRB, he has worked with the City of Austin Controller’s Office and the CMTA planning department. Additionally, he volunteered for the Bond Oversight Committee for the City of Austin. As an Austin native, he graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Economics and from Texas State with a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Planning. He is a certified underwater archeologist and last summer he hiked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail five times.

Dr. Jim Gaines has been with the Real Estate Center since 2005 and serving as the Chief Economist since September 2015. Dr. Gaines focuses on the Texas economy as well as housing and land development issues throughout the state. Dr. Gaines has more than forty years’ experience in a broad array of professional real estate activities in consulting, research and education, urban economics, land use analysis and development and project risk assessment.

Dr. Gaines was an Associate Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the University of South Carolina before serving as President of Rice Center, an urban research center affiliated with Rice University. Dr. Gaines provided extensive real estate consulting services to numerous businesses, financial institutions, developers, and all levels of government organizations during his tenure with Arthur Andersen and KPMG.

Dr. Gaines earned his B.B.A., M.A. and Ph. D. degrees at the University of Georgia.

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1105 Nueces St. Ste A Austin, TX 78701

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