Equity Marketplace Trends to Watch for in 2016
Brad Elphick
Partner
Novogradac & Company LLP
Brad Elphick is a partner in the metro Atlanta office of Novogradac & Company LLP. He has extensive experience in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), historic tax credit (HTC) and new markets tax credit (NMTC) programs. Mr. Elphick specializes in developer consulting with an emphasis in forecasting and partnership taxation. He also works extensively with real estate partnership audits and compliance audits, as well as the structuring of LIHTC and NMTC applications. Mr. Elphick also leads and coordinates the NMTC Working Group, a membership organization that is highly regarded for the work it does addressing technical programmatic issues surrounding the NMTC industry. He is a regular contributor to the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits’ NMTC content, a frequent speaker at industry events, and serves as chairman of Novogradac & Company’s annual fall New Markets Tax Credit Conference. Mr. Elphick received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from Emory University and a master’s degree in taxation from Georgia State University. He is licensed in Georgia, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia as a certified public accountant.
Omar Chaudhry
Director of Acquisitions
Alden Torch Financial LLC
Omar Chaudhry joined Alden Torch Financial (previously Hunt Capital Partners) as a director of acquisitions in August 2015. In this role, Mr. Chaudhry is responsible for business development and acquisition of low-income housing tax credit- (LIHTC-) funded multifamily developments throughout the United States with a primary focus on Texas. Mr. Chaudhry has extensive experience in debt and equity financing of conventional and affordable commercial real estate. He brings more than 15 years of experience in commercial real estate finance with more than a decade focused primarily on affordable housing. Before joining Alden, Mr. Chaudhry has held various positions at National Equity Fund, Wells Fargo/Wachovia and JPMorgan Chase. Over his career, Mr. Chaudhry has worked with private, public and nonprofit development companies to invest or lend more than $1 billion, leading to the development of more than 7,000 multifamily units.
Darrick Metz
Senior Vice President
WNC & Associates Inc.
Darrick Metz is senior vice president of originations for WNC, responsible for the originations department’s $400 million production goal and department oversight. Mr. Metz is a 20-year veteran of the tax credit and real estate industry with expertise in multifamily underwriting, property acquisition and investment valuation. Before joining WNC Inc., Mr. Metz worked as a project manager for a Minnesota real estate development company and held a senior housing development officer position at the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA), where his duties included the allocation of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and multifamily loan program underwriting. Mr. Metz has developed several tax credit and market-rate residential properties, has been active in the QAP tax credit advisory committees in several states and has been an invited speaker for state, regional and national conferences/events. Mr. Metz holds a bachelor’s degree in finance/economics from St. Cloud State University.
Raoul Moore
Senior Vice President, Tax Credit Syndication
Enterprise Community Investment Inc.
Raoul Moore is senior vice president for Enterprise Community Investment Inc., and oversees the efforts to originate, analyze, structure and acquire low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) developments throughout the United States for Enterprise’s national, regional and proprietary LIHTC investment funds. Since assuming this role in 2009, he has directed the investment of more than $3 billion. In addition, Mr. Moore is responsible for Enterprise’s Opportunity Fund, a non-LIHTC investment fund targeting the preservation of existing affordable and workforce housing stock. Mr. Moore has spent more than 30 years in the real estate industry and has extensive experience in development, finance, deal structuring, asset management, leasing and sales. Before joining Enterprise, Mr. Moore spent more than 13 years with a national LIHTC syndicator, most recently as vice president of acquisition, where he co-directed all LIHTC acquisition transactions in the United States. Mr. Moore holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Denver.
Michael Ramires
Executive Vice President
The Richman Group
As senior vice president for Enterprise Community Investment Inc., Raoul Moore oversees the efforts to originate, analyze, structure and acquire low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) developments throughout the United States for Enterprise’s national, regional and proprietary LIHTC investment funds. Since assuming this role in 2009, he has directed the investment of more than $3 billion. In addition, Mr. Moore is responsible for Enterprise’s Opportunity Fund, a non-LIHTC investment fund targeting the preservation of existing affordable and workforce housing stock. Mr. Moore has spent more than 30 years in the real estate industry and has extensive experience in development, finance; deal structuring, asset management, leasing and sales. Before joining Enterprise, Mr. Moore spent more than 13 years with a national LIHTC syndicator, most recently as vice president of acquisition, where he co-directed all LIHTC acquisition transactions in the United States. Mr. Moore holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Denver.
Ronne Thielen
Executive Vice President
R4 Capital Inc.
Ronne Lynn Thielen is an executive vice president of R4 Capital Inc. She is based in the Newport Beach, Calif., office, where she is responsible for running West Coast operations as well as acquiring housing tax-credit and bond-financed properties throughout the United States. Ms. Thielen has spent her 39-year real estate finance and investment career as an affordable housing advocate and has been a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) industry leader since inception of the program in 1986. Immediately before joining R4 Capital, Ms. Thielen formed the Housing Resource Connection, a consultancy based in Southern California to assist those working in the LIHTC industry. Before that, from 1994 to 2011, she was a managing director in the affordable housing group at Centerline Capital Group, where she managed its California office and grew its LIHTC portfolio into the largest segment of the company’s tax-credit portfolio. Preceding her 17-year tenure at Centerline, Ms. Thielen was executive director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee from 1991 to 1994. Before that, she was deputy director for program and policy development at the National Council of State Housing Agencies and before that, served at the Vermont Housing Finance Agency in the multifamily finance and asset management arenas. Ms. Thielen is a past president and current president emeritus on the board of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition and is an active member of several national and state associations that address affordable housing issues, including serving as a past chairwoman and current board member of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association, member of the Tax Credit Advisor Editorial Advisory Board and member of the California Housing Consortium policy committee. She is also on the board of Abode Communities, a nonprofit LIHTC developer in Los Angeles. She has been inducted into the Affordable Housing Finance Hall of Fame. Ms. Thielen earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.