1. WHO’S WHO AT HUD

2. HUD LEADERSHIP TEAM
The new leadership team at the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is falling
into place one-by-one.
In the last few weeks, President Barack Obama has
announced his picks for most of the top department
posts, selecting housing experts from across the
country. Several of the nominees are being plucked
from deep within the industry, and several are
marking a return to HUD.
Affordable Housing Finance takes a look at the new
team. Where will the new leadership put affordable
housing on its list of priorities?

3. SHAUN DONOVAN
Secretary Shaun Donovan
was sworn in Jan. 26, 2009.
Prior to joining HUD, Donovan
was commissioner of the New
York City Department of
Housing Preservation and
Development. He has also
worked at Prudential Mortgage
Capital Co. as managing
director of its Federal Housing
Administration lending and
affordable housing investments.
Donovan’s extensive housing
experience includes an earlier
stint with HUD as deputy
assistant secretary for
multifamily housing during the
Clinton administration.

4. RON SIMS
The other HUD nominees,
many of whom are in the
confirmation process, include:
Ron Sims, deputy secretary:
As deputy secretary, Sims will
be charged with managing
HUD’s day-to-day operations, a
nearly $39 billion annual
operating budget, and the
agency’s 8,500 employees. He
is county executive of King
County, Wash. Sims is a board
member for Reconnecting
America Center for Transit
Oriented Development, an
advisory board member of the
Brooking Center of Urban and
Metropolitan Policy, and co-
chair of the Committee to End
Homelessness in King County.

5. CAROL GALANTE
Carol Galante, deputy
assistant secretary for
multifamily housing programs:
An experienced affordable
housing developer, Galante is
the longtime leader of BRIDGE
Housing, a major nonprofit
housing builder and operator in
California.

6. SANDRA HENRIQUEZ
Sandra Henriquez, assistant
secretary for public and Indian
housing: Henriquez would
bring her experience of
leading the Boston Housing
Authority to the role of
assistant secretary for public
housing. She has been CEO
of the Boston agency since
1996.

7. MERCEDES MARQUEZ
Mercedes Marquez, assistant
secretary for community
planning and development:
Marquez has been general
manager of the Los Angeles
Housing Department since
2004. Her resume also
includes serving as vice
president of McCormack Baron
Salazar, Inc., a national
development firm. Marquez
also has prior HUD
experience, having served as
senior counsel to the secretary
and general counsel for civil
rights and fair housing at HUD
during the Clinton
administration.

8. DAVID STEVENS
David Stevens, assistant
secretary for housing, Federal
Housing commissioner: Stevens
is president and COO of the Long
& Foster Cos., which includes
Long & Foster Real Estate and its
affiliated business, including
mortgage, title, insurance, and
home service connections. He
was executive vice president and
national wholesale manager at
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s
wholesale channel and vice
president of single-family
business at Freddie Mac.

9. JOHN TRASVINA
John Trasvina, assistant
secretary for fair housing and
equal opportunity: In 2006,
Trasvina was named president
and general counsel of the
Mexican American Legal
Defense & Education Fund. In
1997, President Bill Clinton
appointed him as special
counsel for immigration-related
unfair employment practices,
leading the only federal
government office devoted
solely to immigrant workplace
rights and was the highest-
ranking Latino attorney at the
Department of Justice.

10. HELEN R. KANOVSKY
Helen R. Kanovsky, general
counsel: She is COO of the
AFL-CIO Housing Investment
Trust, a $3.4 billion firm that
invests in housing securities
for its institutional investors.
Kanovsky previously served
as chief of staff to Sen. John
Kerry (D-Mass.) and was
executive vice president and
general counsel of GE Capital
Asset Management and its
predecessor, Skyline Finance
Services Corp.

11. RAPHAEL BOSTIC
Raphael Bostic, assistant
secretary for policy
development and research:
Bostic is a professor at the
University of Southern
California’s School of Policy,
Planning, and Development.
He studies the roles that credit
markets, financing,
and policy play in enhancing
household access to economic
and social amenities.

12. PETER KOVAR
Peter Kovar, assistant secretary for congressional and
intergovernmental affairs: A congressional staffer for 25 years,
Kovar has been chief of staff for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
since 1991. He has played a key role in coordinating the
interaction between Frank’s office and the House Financial
Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal housing
policy.