Staff & Board

Julia Bennett joined the California Housing Partnership in 2016. Prior to joining the Partnership, Julia worked for eight years developing affordable housing communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. During her time at BRIDGE Housing and Related California Julia contributed to the development of nearly 1,000 affordable rental homes.  Julia has direct experience with a wide range of affordable housing finance tools including Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bond financing, and a variety of public funding programs administered at the local, state, and federal levels.  Julia brings expert knowledge in the use of project-based operating subsidies including project-based Section 8 and Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) vouchers.

Julia earned a Master in Urban Planning, with a concentration in Real Estate Development from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Urban Studies, with High Honors, from the University of California, Berkeley.

My joined the California Housing Partnership in 2018. Prior to the Partnership, My was a Senior Finance and Project Manager at TNDC, and a Senior Program Director at Enterprise Community Partners. She has advised dozens of nonprofit housing organizations on issues from asset management to financial sustainability.

My earned a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law, and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She serves on the board of Family Bridges.

Greg Chin joined the California Housing Partnership in 2008. As Senior Housing Finance Consultant / Central Valley Director, Greg provides financial consulting assistance and training to the Partnership’s government and nonprofit clients. He has more than 20 years of experience in affordable housing finance and development. Greg has assisted numerous housing developers, cities, and counties as a consultant on affordable housing projects that included financing with Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, redevelopment agency funds, HOME funds, the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program, and other programs. Greg has also assisted public agencies with the creation of affordable housing programs and policies, including inclusionary housing programs and commercial linkage fees that benefit affordable housing.

Greg received a Master of Public Policy from the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Lauren Maddock joined the California Housing Partnership in 2018. Prior to joining the Partnership, Lauren worked for 13 years at Mercy Housing California in a variety of roles, most recently as a Senior Project Developer specializing in the re-syndication of Mercy Housing’s existing portfolio. Prior to that, she was the Director of Asset Management for Mercy’s California portfolio encompassing 130 properties representing nearly 8,500 affordable units where she oversaw a team of five Asset Managers across the state. In this role, Lauren became a specialist in negotiating the buy-out of Low Income Housing Tax Credit investors in 18 transactions. She has extensive experience evaluating and developing strategies for older asset portfolios and has direct experience with a wide range of affordable housing finance tools including LIHTCs, tax-exempt bonds, and virtually all public funding programs administered at the local, state, and federal levels. Lauren is a frequent conference speaker and has presented on a variety of topics including portfolio analysis and management, Year 15 investor exits, re-syndications, and occupied rehabilitation and relocation strategies.

Lauren received a Master’s of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco School of Management and a B.A. in Archaeology with a minor in Earth Science from Boston University. She serves on the Community Housing Partnership Board of Directors and was appointed to the Richmond Rent Board in 2016.

Richard Mandel has been with the California Housing Partnership since 1990. As Director of Financial Consulting, he oversees the Partnership’s staff of Northern California housing finance consultants, and provides direct technical assistance and training to nonprofit and local governmental entities in affordable housing finance. Richard has particular expertise in structuring financing packages for projects utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, State of California HCD Programs, Section 8 project-based assistance, Affordable Housing Program (AHP), and other state and local housing programs. He has assisted nonprofits in the financing of thousands of apartments, including new construction and acquisition/rehabilitation projects serving families, seniors, special needs and other populations.  Richard has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops on topics including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit syndication, multifamily lending issues, preservation of federally assisted housing, and other topics.  He has conducted a range of trainings on related issues.  Richard served as Chair of the Preservation Working Group of the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California and remains active in housing finance technical and policy issues.

Prior to joining the California Housing Partnership, Richard was a Project Manager with the Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition, a major nonprofit development corporation.  

Richard received a Master of City Planning degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Claire Parisa joined the California Housing Partnership in April 2018. Prior to joining the Partnership, Claire worked as a project manager with the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) for three years. There, Claire contributed to the development of four different developments in San Francisco totaling over 500 units. She has experience with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bond financing, State (MHP and AHSC), HUD (project-based Section 8, Shelter Plus Care, and Section 811), and local San Francisco financing sources. Before turning to domestic affordable housing development, Claire worked with self-built communities across Latin America on housing rights and economic development.

Claire earned her Master’s in City Planning (MCP) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She also holds a B.A. in Urban Studies and a B.S. in Society & Environment from the University of California, Berkeley.

Claire currently serves on NPH’s Emerging Leaders Peer Network (ELPN) Steering Committee as a Professional Development Subcommittee Co-Chair.

Meg McGraw-Scherer joined the California Housing Partnership in 2000 and has more than 19 years of experience in affordable housing finance and development. As Senior Housing Finance Consultant / Peninsula Director, she provides financial consulting and technical assistance to nonprofit corporations and public agencies in Northern California. Meg has expertise in structuring financing packages for projects utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, as well as multiple public funding programs administered at the local, state, and federal level. She has helped her nonprofit clients finance new construction and acquisition/rehabilitation projects serving families, seniors, and special needs populations.

Prior to joining the California Housing Partnership, Meg worked for two years in the Los Angeles office of the National Equity Fund, a nonprofit tax-credit syndication organization that provides millions of dollars in tax-credit equity to projects throughout the country. There she worked as an underwriter on Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects sited in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to the National Equity Fund, Meg spent over three years at the King County Housing Authority in Seattle as an intern, Housing Programs Coordinator, and Housing Developer in the Housing Authority’s Planning and Development Departments where she worked on the development of projects using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, tax-exempt bonds, and various federal and local financing programs.

Meg received a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College. She is currently serving as a member of the City of Menlo Park’s Housing Commission and as a Board Member of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County.

Zorica rejoined the California Housing Partnership in 2017. As Senior Housing Finance Consultant / Director of Training, Zorica provides financial consulting, technical assistance and training to our nonprofit and government clients throughout California. Prior to rejoining the Partnership, Zorica spent two years as a Project Manager of Affordable Housing Tax Credit Investments with U. S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation where she underwrote and closed $157 million in Low Income Housing and Historic Tax Credit investments. Zorica has extensive experience with Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing, as well as a range of federal, state, and local programs, including local rental/operating subsidies. Zorica has directly contributed to the development or rehabilitation of over 1,700 units of affordable housing totaling more than $470 million in development costs. Prior to her previous five-year tenure with the California Housing Partnership, Zorica worked as a Senior Project Manager with A Community of Friends where she managed the development of 250 supportive housing units and $115 million in financing.

Zorica holds a Master’s degree in Planning with a specialization in Housing and Community Development from UCLA.

Mengxin Zhou joined the California Housing Partnership in 2017. As a Senior Housing Finance Consultant, she provides financial consulting, technical assistance and training to our nonprofit and government clients throughout Northern California. Prior to joining the Partnership, Mengxin worked for EAH Housing as a Project Manager, where she worked on complex Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, tax-exempt bond, and HUD-assisted financing and development projects, enabling the extensive rehabilitation of homes for over 750 residents. Prior to joining EAH, Mengxin was an acquisitions analyst for CREA, Inc., a national tax credit syndicator specializing in federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Historic Tax Credits investment. During her three years there, she worked closely with other members of the acquisitions team and underwriting team to identify and close 12 equity investments totaling $98 million in tax credits in eight different states, including California.

Mengxin holds a Master in Urban Planning, with a concentration in Housing and Neighborhood Development from Harvard University, and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration as an Outstanding Graduate from Renmin University of China.