DAY 1 SPEAKERS

Toni Lewis, AIA
2026 President, AIA Los Angeles &
Principal, Lewis|Schoeplein Architects

A third generation Los Angeles native, Toni is founding principal of Lewis/Schoeplein architects, a multi-disciplinary practice focused on sustainable community-based projects for institutions, government, non-profits and private developers. She has served as AIA/LA Treasurer (2022-present), as CFO of AWA+D (2019-2021), and on the Mulholland Scenic Corridor DRB (2012-2014). Her previous gigs included stints at Frank Gehry’s office, and at Gensler. Toni has a BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley and an M.Arch from UCLA. She lives in an empty nest in Los Angeles with partner/husband Marc Schoeplein, two chickens, and a clownish pit-bull.

Abbey Ehman
President, Los Angeles Headquarters & Global Head of Real Estate, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Abbey Ehman is a prominent real estate development and sustainability executive with over 16 years of experience. She is the Global Head of Real Estate at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and formerly a Vice President at Lincoln Property Company (LPC West), specializing in sustainable development, inclusive design, and community impact.

Lew Horne
President, Greater LA, CBRE & Chair, ULI LA District Council

Lewis C. Horne is President for Advisory Services for CBRE’s Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire region.

In this role, Mr. Horne leads the strategic direction and performance of the firm’s Advisory Services business, which includes Advisory & Transaction Services, Asset Services, Capital Markets, Local Project Management and Valuations.

Mr. Horne is passionate about collaboration and actively promotes the integration of multiple disciplines to ensure well-conceived, strategic solutions for complex client assignments. This passion led him to becoming an early adopter and champion for workplace transformation, including Workplace Strategy, Experience Consulting, Change Management and Occupancy Management.

Mr. Horne is an active and well-respected leader in the Greater Los Angeles community, regularly lending his voice, experience, and time to help create meaningful solutions for a wide variety of business and social issues, including the complex challenges regarding the homelessness crisis.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Horne held a variety of leadership positions at the company after his start as an industrial brokerage professional in 1984 and successfully growing his career at CBRE for more than 30 years.

Nelson Algaze, AIA, CID, LEED AP, NCARB
Founding Principal & CEO, SAA interiors + architecture

As CEO and Founding Principal of SAA interiors + architecture, Nelson Algaze has been the driving force behind the firm’s evolution into a dynamic, multi-market firm recognized for simplifying complexity, delivering long-term value, and guiding clients through an ever-changing real estate landscape. Since founding SAA together with Rick Shlemmer in 2000, Nelson has fostered a culture of innovation, accountability, and client-focused collaboration, taking the company from a bold startup vision to a recognized leader in corporate interior design with offices throughout Southern California and New Jersey.

Brian Wickersham, FAIA
Founding Partner & Design Director, AUX Architecture

Brian Wickersham, FAIA, is the founding partner of AUX Architecture. With more than 20 years of experience, he creates meaningful spaces that promote creativity and community. Bringing both rigor and spontaneity to his designs, he cultivates research and collaboration in his Los Angeles studio to produce bespoke architecture that best serves client needs. He likens this robust process to jazz: improvisational and collective. AUX Architecture’s diverse body of work includes award-winning residential and multifamily homes, retail environments, art galleries, and education and cultural arts centers. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Brian strives to mitigate architecture’s impact on the environment. He integrates care and sustainability into all aspects of the studio.

Shay Yadin
Principal, St. Vincent Behavioral Health Campus

Shay Yadin is a seasoned leader in real estate development, with over 18 years’ experience in acquiring, developing, and transforming facilities that meet the growing healthcare and housing infrastructure demands.

Shay has spearheaded numerous projects to create purpose-built healthcare facilities and residential care spaces that are functional, sustainable, and enhance community well-being. His development approach combines value-add strategies, efficient financial structuring, and a focus on environmentally responsible practices.

With a dual background in law and business administration, Shay skillfully navigates the unique complexities of healthcare real estate transactions, including regulatory and compliance challenges. His reputation for integrity and excellence is built on a commitment to ethical practices, community-oriented design, and innovative solutions. Shay holds a master’s degree in law (LLM) with a focus in Real Estate Law and brings a disciplined leadership perspective as a retired Lieutenant from the Israel Defense Forces.

Shay oversees the entire development lifecycle of projects—from underwriting and acquisition through planning, construction, and stabilization—ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery. Renowned for his expertise in complex facilities and adaptive reuse projects, Shay has completed over a variety of projects, including affordable multifamily communities, mixed-use developments with integrated healthcare services and purpose-built dedicated healthcare facilities. His success is driven by rigorous market analysis, a proactive approach to regulatory challenges, and meticulous execution strategies, consistently creating high-quality spaces that positively impact local communities. Shay’s values drive his commitment to excellence and positive community impact.

Mark Lahmon, AIA, LEED AP
Principal, Lahmon Architects

Mark brings over 25 years of architectural leadership built upon his seven years of construction experience. His portfolio covers all realms of housing with a focus on publicly funded multifamily housing in addition to mixed-use project types, adaptive-reuse, educational, civic work, performance theaters, museums, restaurants and hospitality. Prior to founding Lahmon Architects, he was a founding partner at PSL Architects, where his projects earned national AIA/HUD award recognition. This experience was built upon his early design experience at OMA and Gehry Associates where he gained international design skills prior to moving into his focus on local housing at KFA contributing to research that informed the City’s Adaptive Reuse Ordinance. He is a California-licensed architect, AIA member, LEED AP, and a South Bay resident, happily married for over 20 years raising 2 boys and contributing to his community through coaching and officiating soccer among other contributions. Mark passionately devotes himself to finding solutions to our housing crisis through continuous efforts with the AIA LA chapter, local non-profit organizations in a personal effort to support and house those in need through political outreach, devotion and architecture.

Annette Wu, AIA
Principal, NAC Architecture &
2024 AIA|LA President

Annette Wu has 27 years of experience as a designer and architect. She excels in listening to clients and translating organizational objectives into design vision. Annette leads with open lines of communication. She brings continuity and a consistency of approach to projects, sharing lessons learned and building efficiencies between our multiple project teams. Annette holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California and a Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Melissa Vollbrecht, LCSW
Deputy Chief Programs Officer, Project-Based Housing, The People Concern

Bio Forthcoming

Luana Murphy, MBA
Chief Strategy and Implementation Officer

Bio Forthcoming

Avi Klein, MHA
Chief Strategy Officer, Horizon Recuperative Care

Avi Klein serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Horizon Recuperative Care, a leading recuperative care provider in California. Avi has successfully positioned the company for the advent of CalAIM’s efforts to address the healthcare and housing needs of the unhoused population in California.

Avi brings a unique combination of experience in healthcare delivery and real estate development. With over 13 years of Healthcare Strategy experience, Avi oversaw multiple high-level real estate and program development projects in Senior Housing, Health Systems, and Post-Acute Care. He has extensive knowledge in establishing and managing innovative partnerships with players such as PACE, Medicaid Assisted Living Programs, Managed Care, ACOs, and state & county funding for care facilities that serve the underserved senior & behavioral health populations. With private and public sector experience, Avi seeks to build collaboration to drive successful outcomes for the clients and patients we serve.

Prior to joining SVBHC, Mr. Klein was the Senior Associate of Business Strategy and Health System Initiatives for Welltower (NSYE: WELL), a $85B health services and real estate firm. He previously spent 5 years at UC San Diego Health, as Project Manager for Health System Operations. Avi earned a BA from UCLA in Economics and a Masters in Health Administration from the University of Southern California.

Sam Tsemberis, PhD
Founder of Housing First | International Homelessness Solutions | Advocate for Housing as a Human Right

Sam J. Tsemberis is a Greek Canadian psychologist and homelessness activist. He founded the Housing First program and the Pathways to Housing organization, and he serves as CEO of the Pathways Housing First Institute

Claudia Lima
Chief Strategic Investments Officer, Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency

Claudia Lima is the Managing Director of Strategic Investments, where she helps with the execution of LACAHSA’s business plan including ramping up the division that will manage a portfolio of debt and equity for the production and preservation of affordable housing projects. Ms. Lima has extensive experience in community and economic development finance for affordable housing, commercial real estate, community facilities, and revitalization efforts. Her experience ranges from underwriting of community development lending and equity investments, management of real estate funds, and real estate development. She has worked for large national banks, some of the largest Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the country, as well as a prominent real estate developer of community facilities and a developer of affordable housing.

Ms. Lima started her career at Prudential where she held various professional licenses and throughout her career has worked with various private and public funding sources for community and economic development including bond financing (taxable and tax‐exempt), tax credits (Low Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, historical tax credits) and private equity/private credit impact funds. She has also managed and led efforts to identify, design, implement and track the performance of community development initiatives and capital deployment activities for CRA mandates, community benefits agreements and strategic plans for community development financial institutions.

Notable previous roles include serving as the Managing Director of the Community Lending and Investments unit at CIT and also First Citizens Bank, where she managed a portfolio with AUM of $1 billion+ serving twenty-two states. Equity products included tax credit funds, affordable housing preservation funds, Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) and EQ2 investments for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Loan programs included taxable and tax-exempt financing for affordable housing and conventional financing for community facilities.

Other previous roles include serving as the Executive Director of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in Los Angeles, one of the largest CDFIs in the nation, where she was responsible for overseeing the lending, equity and grant making activities for affordable housing and community facilities. At LISC, Ms. Lima created a loan fund for Transit Oriented Development and a working capital loan product for charter schools. She has also served as the Executive Vice President of a prominent multi-million impact fund that provides equity capital for the construction of multi‐family affordable rental properties.

Ms. Lima holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC), a master’s degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University and has completed the Ross Program in Real Estate from the University of Southern California.

Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA
Founder & President, LEHRER ARCHITECTS LA

THE GOLD MEDAL, American Institute of Architects Los Angeles

Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA founded LEHRERARCHITECTS LA in his native Silverlake District of Los Angeles. The work–from the intimate to the monumental–is grounded in the idea that beauty is a rudiment of human dignity. He designs for community with a reverence for light and space. Delight is a matter of extreme gravitas in the work. The work is to elevate the everyday and celebrate community.

The firm’s work consists of institutional, commercial, industrial, residential, and urban design projects. Regarding sustainability and thrivability, the work aspires to embody the beauty of performance and the performance of beauty. LEHRERARCHITECTS LA is steeped in the nurturing of creativity culture in its own work—both process and product–and in finding that spark in all of its clients’ endeavors.

Acclaim and Honor. In 2020, The American Institute of Architects Los Angeles bestowed the Gold Medal, its “highest honor” on Michael. “His devotion to fellow humans is matched by his mastery of craft,” stated 2020 AIALA President Greg Verabian, AIA. “He is an architect fully engaged in architecture as a means to contribute to society as a whole.”

LEHRERARCHITECTS LA has won over 150 major design and sustainability awards, including over 50 design awards from the national, state, and local chapters of The American Institute of Architects. Lehrer Architects’ Studio, The Downtown Homeless Drop-In Center, and the LA County Elections Operations Center have all won the Institute Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, the top annual award for architecture in the United States, as well as numerous top awards from the International Interior Design Association, the AIA California Council, AIA LA, Architectural Record, the Los Angeles Business Council, Graphis, Contract Magazine, Interior Design and Builder Magazine, among many others. The Water + Life Museum in Hemet, designed with Mark Gangi, AIA, is the first LEED™ Platinum museum in the world, and an international environmental showcase. The Architecture Critic of the Los Angeles Times called it one of the 10 best public buildings in Southern California in the millennium’s first decade. Archello Magazine named LEHRERARCHITECTS LA as one of the five best practices in Los Angeles in 2021.

Michael’s work has been widely published nationally and internationally and he is regularly called upon to comment about design matters in national and local broadcast media, print, panels, and symposia to explain the public interest from the architect’s perspective. This includes Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, ARCHITECT, Business Week, Dezeen, Designo, Azure, Builder Magazine, Metropolitan Home, Dwell, Interior Design, NPR’s Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, KCRW’s Which Way L.A.?, The LA Times, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Architect’s Newspaper, ALTA, among others. Michael has lectured on his work at Stanford, Berkeley, Palm Spring’s Modernism Week, University of Michigan, Arizona State University, Woodbury University, the Dallas Architecture Forum, Dwell on Design, Governing Magazine/AARP, East Los Angeles College, among many others. Since 2019, Lehrer Architects’ many houseless persons shelters, including many Tiny Homes Villages, have been published in all media extensively around the world.

Leadership, Engagement and Service: Loving Community. Michael leads LEHRERARCHITECTS LA with a senior team of extremely talented designers including Principals Erik Alden, AIA LEED AP, Benjamin Lehrer, and Edan Kadribegovic.

Michael is Chairman Emeritus of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) Alumni Council where he created a leadership manifesto, The Engagement Parti, which is now a centerpiece of GSD’s 14,000-member, multi-generational lifelong community. He has served as a GSD-appointed Director on the Harvard Alumni Association Board and is Past President of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, a Board on which he stills serves. He was Vice Chairman of School Construction Bond Oversight Committee for over 5 years, overseeing a now $27 Billion repair and construction program for the LA Unified School District. He has served on the University of California Riverside Design Review Board for the past 10 years and served on the Hollywood Planning and Design Review Board for over 25 years.

He was President of the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles in 1999 and founded their annual, ongoing Legislative Day that year which has fundamentally changed the nature of the profession in LA and is in its 23rd year. He initiated the AIA/LA push to make GREAT STREETS a central initiative in our city.

Teaching and Learning. Michael has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern California, teaching all levels of design studio from 1st Year through Master’s Thesis. Prior to 1985, Mr. Lehrer worked at Frank O. Gehry and Associates and other design offices. He regularly sits on academic and professional AIA design juries around the country, including the AIA Institute Honor Awards Jury for Architecture.

Education. Educated at Berkeley and Harvard after attending LAUSD public schools, Michael was licensed in California in 1981 and was elevated to the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects in 2004.

• Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Master of Architecture, 1978

• University of California, Berkeley, AB Major in Architecture with Highest Honors, 1975

Amy Anderson
Executive Director, Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance

Amy Anderson brings to her role as Executive Director of Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance a wealth of experience and the belief that an affordable home can transform lives. A seasoned leader with more than three decades of experience in affordable housing development, finance, and policy, Amy’s diverse background includes senior positions in government, philanthropy, and real estate development.

Amy previously served as the Chief Housing Officer for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, where she advanced policies and programs to increase housing production and strengthen the housing safety net for lower-income Angelinos. Prior to joining the Garcetti Administration, Amy led the work of PATH Ventures, a young non-profit owner and developer of affordable and supportive housing affiliated with PATH, a leading homeless services organization in California. She guided the transformation of the organization into an efficient and successful housing developer with ownership interest in over 1,300 operating and planned units at 20 sites in Los Angeles County, San Diego, and San Jose.

Amy has played an active role in advocating for affordable homes for financially vulnerable Californians and helping to build the capacity of the affordable housing sector. She served on the State’s Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, as well as leadership roles on the boards of Housing California and Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing (SCANPH). She has been a trainer, speaker and moderator at numerous industry conferences and a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California.

Amy recently led the Wells Fargo Foundation’s national philanthropic giving around affordable housing supply. Previously Amy worked as a consultant for California Housing Partnership (CHP) and dedicated a decade of her career to housing development with Abode Communities.

Amy has a master’s degree in urban planning from UCLA and a B.A. from Cornell University.

Amy’s strategic mindset and community-centric approach align seamlessly with OLQAHA’s mission of offering safe, affordable, and sustainable housing options. With a focus on innovative housing solutions and a dedication to fostering resilient communities, Amy Anderson is well-positioned to lead Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance into a future where everyone has a place to call home.

Gio Aliano, AIA – Principal, NAC

With more than 35 years of experience advancing social equity through architecture, Gio brings a distinguished background in affordable and supportive housing, mixed-use community developments, educational facilities, and health and wellness centers. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Abode Communities and Principal of the architecture studio, where he spearheaded client relations, oversaw studio operations, and advanced design innovation. While at Abode Communities Architecture Studio, Gio helped shape a variety of mission-driven projects such as 649 Lofts & Joshua House Health Center (Skid Row Housing Trust and LA Christian Health Centers), Adams Terrace (Abode Communities), Amani Apartments and Chesterfield Apartments (Wakeland HDC), the HHH Housing Challenge – The Cielo (LAFH BUILDS), and the SEED School of LA County (SEED Foundation and ExED).

A recognized advocate for housing solutions, Gio has contributed to the City of Los Angeles HHH Housing Challenge, advancing modular prefabricated design strategies to address the homelessness crisis. Beyond practice, he has served as a Design Review Board commissioner for the City of Glendale and as a design studio critic for UCLA, USC, and Woodbury University.

Nerin Kadribegovic, FAIA
Founder & Principal, Kadre Architects

Nerin Kadribegovic’s passion for navigating complex design problems, especially where economy is of paramount importance, captures an eye for beauty and design, notably in social cause, that results in unconventional, award-winning solutions. Obsessed with artfully directing natural light to create nuanced, playful moments, he ushers a spirit of dignity into places, where least expected, through the aesthetic design opportunity.

A third-generation architect who endured displacement as a refugee of the wars in Yugoslavia and Bosnia, Nerin has directly experienced the impact of chaotic social and environmental disruption on people and society. This alert awareness evokes deep empathic connection to critical issues facing metropolitan urban centers around the world; those gripped by environmental or socio-economic crises.

The wartime reality imposed a fragility on life and shelter, that ignited his resolve in dissolving obstacles. Protecting a broken community, Nerin developed the uncanny ability to transform whatever material was at one’s disposal into something of functionality, beauty and meaning. Instilling hope and safety during hardship has become second nature, embedded into his mindset, both in design and leadership for social cause.

Elizabeth Ben-Ishai
Senior Director of Housing Strategy and Solutions, Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing

Liz serves as the Senior Director of Housing Strategy and Solutions at the LA County Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH), which serves as a unified department dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness for people in our region. In her current role, Liz oversees all permanent housing programs for HSH, including case management services, locally administered rental subsidies, enriched residential care, and housing development. Prior to joining HSH, Liz served in Mayor Karen’s Bass’s administration as Senior Director of Interim and Affordable Housing Policy, supporting the Mayor’s efforts to end homelessness and increase the speed and volume of affordable housing development. Before this, Liz led permanent and interim housing efforts at LA County’s Chief Executive Office – Homeless Initiative, helping the County to acquire and rehabilitate more than 2,000 units of housing through the State’s Homekey program, among other efforts. Liz received an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan and B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Elizabeth Selby
Selby Consultancy

Elizabeth Selby provides expertise in affordable housing finance. As the former Director of Development and Finance for the Los Angeles Housing Department, she oversaw financing programs for the development of affordable and permanent supportive housing in the City of Los Angeles including the Affordable Housing Managed Pipeline, Proposition HHH, ULA Multifamily Program, the Bond Program and the Preservation Program.

Prior to joining LAHD, Elizabeth was Vice President of Forward Planning for Community HousingWorks. She oversaw acquisitions and led strategic initiatives. As the Director of Housing Innovation for the Mayor’s Office in Los Angeles, she was responsible for managing a $120 million fund to explore innovative ways to develop Permanent Supportive Housing more quickly and less expensively implementing both construction and financial innovations.

With experience working for profit and not-for-profit developers, a tax credit syndicator and the public sector, Elizabeth brings an expansive and practical perspective to housing policy and practice.

Elizabeth has held positions on the boards of the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, San Diego Housing Federation and the California Coalition of Rural Housing. She has a degree from University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.

Brian Lane, FAIA, LEED A.P.
Partner, KoningEizenberg

Brian Lane, FAIA uses his keen eye for detail and focus on what it is to be a good neighbor to raise the bar on expectations for community architecture. Brian fuses practical knowledge of design and constructibility to anchor experimentation across a range of budgets. He draws upon planning knowledge and strong visualization skills to assist cities and agencies across the LA region in the evaluation of guidelines and regulations, particularly in relation to housing. He is frequently called upon to share his expertise in community forums and public programs, and is a member of the Hollywood Sign Board of Trustees.

Anne Riggs, AIA, CASp
Inclusive Design Lead, David Baker Architects

Anne Riggs is an Associate and Inclusive Design Lead at David Baker Architects in Los Angeles, California. A licensed architect and Certified Access Specialist (CASp), she is nationally recognized for her advocacy in disability-forward, human-centered housing. She centers her career on advancing inclusivity, accessibility, and resident-focused design.

DAY 2 SPEAKERS

Tiffany Spring, MURP, MBA
Chief Operating Officer, Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing (SCANPH)

Tiffany Spring joined SCANPH in January 2023, driven by a deep belief that safe, stable, and affordable housing is fundamental to the well-being of individuals and communities. She is committed to increasing affordable housing production in Southern California. Trained in urban planning and business administration, Tiffany plays a key role in supporting SCANPH’s policy team in advancing critical policy initiatives while also ensuring the organization operates efficiently. Before SCANPH, Tiffany worked on the Housing Solutions Team in the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and served as a quantitative researcher at UCLA’s Center for Neighborhood Knowledge. She holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA Luskin and an MBA from Lindenwood University. Outside of work, Tiffany enjoys exploring art at gallery openings, spotting whales along the coast, and staying active with racquetball.

Michelle Espinosa Coulter
Associate Director & Financial Consulting, California Housing Partnership

Michelle Espinosa Coulter joined the California Housing Partnership in 2020. As Associate Director of Financial Consulting, she provides financial consulting, technical assistance and training to our nonprofit and government partners. Michelle has over 20 years of professional experience including 14 years in affordable housing development and nine years in audit and assurance. She 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. Her projects have ranged from new construction to adaptive reuse, and have served families, seniors, and special needs populations. Throughout her career, Michelle has contributed to the development of more than 1,800 units of affordable housing with total financing exceeding $800 million.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Michelle worked with Meta Housing Corporation for nearly 10 years and rose from Project Manager to become Meta’s Director of Artist Housing. She also worked as a Project Manager with A Community of Friends developing supportive housing, and at Livable Places developing affordable homeownership opportunities. Prior to development, Michelle provided assurance services with industry-affiliates Low Income Investment Fund and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. A five year career in public accounting preceded her time at the Federal Reserve Bank. Michelle holds dual master’s degrees in Urban Planning from UCLA and in Accounting from Texas A&M University. Her B.B.A. is from Texas A&M.

Joseph Donlin
Director, United to House LA

Joseph Donlin is the Director of the United to House LA (ULA) Coalition, a position he has held since 2023. He is a prominent advocate for Los Angeles’ “mansion tax” (Measure ULA), overseeing the coalition that drafted and supports the initiative, which funds affordable housing production and renter protection programs.

Jesse Zwick
Southern California Director, Housing Action Coalition

As the Southern California Director, Jesse focuses on advancing pro-housing solutions across the region by building our membership base and advancing our political and legislative goals.

Azeen Khanmalek
Executive Director, Abundant Housing LA

Over the past 4 years, Azeen has served as the Director of Affordable Housing Production across two Mayoral administrations, helping to lead the City of Los Angeles’ efforts to accelerate and expand the pipeline of affordable housing. As part of this work, he has worked to lead the implementation of the Mayor’s Executive Directive 1, which has expedited the approval and permitting of affordable housing projects by over 6 months. He has worked with an array of City Departments to drive forward new initiatives to streamline the permitting and approval process. In addition, Azeen has also led housing production policy development and advocacy for new housing production programs. This has included advocacy and implementation of large-scale programs like Project Homekey, revisions to the City’s Density Bonus implementation program, and implementation of the Housing Crisis Act. An urban planner by training, Azeen previously worked at the City’s Planning Department, where he worked to establish affordable housing incentive programs as part of the City’s zoning code update, and at the LA City Council, where he helped lead the approval of the City’s first ordinance regulating home-sharing. A native Angeleno, Azeen grew up in Palms and currently resides in Cypress Park with his wife and daughter. When not working, he enjoys reading, biking, playing tennis, and the outdoors.

Adrian Scott Fine
President & CEO, Los Angeles Conservancy

As President and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, Adrian Scott Fine provides overall leadership for the nation’s largest local, nonprofit membership-based heritage conservation organization. He oversees the Conservancy’s strategic direction across the greater Los Angeles region—spanning 88 cities and unincorporated communities over more than 4,000 square miles—guiding teams that set priorities, build public awareness, and advance programs that protect and celebrate historic places. Collaborating with local governments, nonprofit partners, and community stakeholders, he ensures the Conservancy remains a proactive force in shaping the future of preservation across one of the country’s most diverse metropolitan landscapes.

Previously, Fine served as the Conservancy’s Senior Director of Advocacy, leading preservation campaigns, revitalization initiatives, and responses to critical heritage conservation challenges. Before joining the Conservancy, he worked at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., as Director of the Center for State and Local Policy and earlier as Director of the Northeast Field Office in Philadelphia. In these roles, he guided national policy efforts and oversaw regional advocacy and program development across Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Earlier in his career, he also held leadership positions with Indiana Landmarks, the nation’s largest statewide preservation organization.

Fine is a Past President of the Board of Trustees for the California Preservation Foundation and currently serves as a co-chair for their statewide Advocacy Network. He is a founding board member of DoCoMoMo Southern California and is a board member of Synergy, an affordable housing nonprofit organization. He teaches in the University of Southern California’s Heritage Conservation Summer Program, serves as a trainer for the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions’ CAMP program, and is a frequent speaker with the Getty Conservation Institute’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative.

Ben Cohen
Tenant Organizer, People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER)

Ben Cohen works as a tenant organizer in public housing for People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER LA). He is currently organizing with residents of William Mead Homes in Chinatown to win repairs and greater tenant control. He strives to build tenant power that also promotes the preservation and expansion of public goods.

Ramona Ayala
Resident of William Mead Homes

Bio forthcoming

Chelsea Kirk
Director of Policy and Research, Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)

Chelsea Kirk is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE), a Los Angeles-based economic justice nonprofit. Her work focuses on tenant rights, equitable building decarbonization, and transit equity. She has also been named a 2026 UCLA Luskin Institute Activist-in-Residence.

Becky Dennison
Housing Justice Policy Manager, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Becky Dennison is the Housing Justice Policy Manager at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), where she focuses on policy analysis, research, and advocacy to advance housing rights. She has over 25 years of experience in promoting and defending housing justice-focused policies and practices.

Oscar Alvarado
Senior Vice President, Century Affordable Development, Inc.

As Senior Vice President of Century Affordable Development, Inc., Oscar Alvarado supervises Century’s real estate development team which currently has over 2,000 affordable homes in its pipeline. During his tenure with Century, Mr. Alvarado has assembled and established a very productive, creative, and effective team of development professionals. His efforts have helped position Century as a regional leader in multi-phase and master-planned communities — an innovative and high-impact approach to addressing the local affordable housing and homelessness crisis. Mr. Alvarado has worked in affordable housing development in Southern California since 2005 and in that time, he has managed diverse projects serving families, seniors, veterans, the homeless, and the local workforce. Prior to Century, he worked for Thomas Safran & Associates and A Community of Friends in Los Angeles.

In his role, Mr. Alvarado manages the development team’s relationships with key lenders, investors, contractors, and other partners working with Century to identify, finance, and construct affordable and supportive housing. He received a B.A. in Political Economy at the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters of City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. Mr. Alvarado is a board member of American Family Housing, headquartered in Orange County, California.

Heather A. Sharp
Senior Vice President, Property Operations, Century Housing

Heather Sharp is the Senior Vice President of Property Operations overseeing the internal and third-party managed portfolio of Century’s properties. She has over 20 years of experience in the affordable housing industry, working in operations and development with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angles (HACLA), the John Stewart Company, and Thomas Safran & Associates.

Ms. Sharp is a current member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Consortium for Housing and Asset Management (CHAM). She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition, Ms. Sharp holds several industry-specific certifications from organizations such as the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA), including Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM), Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO), and Fair Housing Certification (FHC).

Richard Prantis, AIA, LEED AP
Founding Principal, the architects collective

Richard Prantis is the Founding Principal of Los Angeles-based The Architects Collective (TAC). Inspired by a mission to enrich lives through the practice of architecture, Richard’s work is focused on affordable housing in an effort to bring excellent design to those in need. Richard is concerned with the design of space and how it is experienced; indeed, architecture can evoke a sense of engagement, beauty, joy, dignity and security. Richard applies to the practice over 30 years of experience inarchitectural design, construction detailing and construction observation, providing insight and leadership on all TAC projects. Drawing inspiration from the regional context, Richard leads the analysis and design of buildings that integrate the honest expression of building materials, energy-efficient building design and connection to the outdoors. Richard has served on various AIA|LA committees focused on the intersection of public policy, design and homelessness and regularly lends his expertise to juries at architectural design programs throughout southern California. Whether traveling locally or internationally, Richard enjoys full immersion into a culture, observing urban form, public realm, housing typologies, lifestyle, history, art and music.

Tina Smith-Booth
Director of Asset Management, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA)

Since 2009, Tina Smith-Booth has served as the Director of Asset Management for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). In her role as Director of Asset Management, Ms. Booth is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Agency’s Asset Management Division, which includes the oversight of a portfolio of over 3,200 residential units targeted towards seniors/disabled, the formally homeless, and moderate to low income/tax credit housing managed through 3rd property management; Compliance of approximately 3,400 units through Redevelopment and Innovative Partnerships; Facilities Management of all commercial assets; Co-leads HACLA’s acquisition program; Leads all Asset Management Service Agreements with the City of Los Angeles; and acts as President of HACLA’s various instrumentalities.

Ms. Booth has been with HACLA since 2001. Prior to her current role as Director of Asset Management she served as the Assistant Director of Development Services and Assistant Director of Housing Services, respectively.

Ms. Booth has a BS Degree in Economics from California State University-Bakersfield, an MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California – Irvine, and several professional memberships including the Certified Property Manager (CPM) and Public Housing Manager designations and her Real Estate Broker’s License in the State of California.

Brittany Arceneaux
Project Manager, Primestor

Brittany Arceneaux is a real estate professional and urban planner best known for leading the comprehensive Downtown Los Angeles Community Plan (DTLA 2040) at the Los Angeles City Planning Department

Sarah Mahin
Director, Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing

Sarah Mahin is an experienced housing and homelessness professional who was appointed as the inaugural Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing (DHSH) in July 2025, taking over the role to manage a new, centralized department focused on homelessness solutions.

Leo Pustilnikov
Founder, SLH Investments

Leo Pustilnikov is a Southern California real estate developer and the founder of SLH Investments, a firm specializing in real estate arbitrage and resolving distressed properties. He is best known for his bold acquisitions of high-profile distressed real estate and his pioneering use of California’s “builder’s remedy” to bypass local zoning.

Frances Anderton, Hon. AIA|LA
Author, “Common Ground” & Trailblazer, FORT LA

Frances Anderton is a prominent journalist, author, and curator based in Los Angeles, specializing in design, architecture, and the city’s built environment. She is best known for her role as the former host of the KCRW radio show “DnA: Design and Architecture,” which covered critical urban design issues in L.A.

Bryan “Bubba” Fish
Culver City Mayor Pro Tem

Bryan “Bubba” Fish serves as the Vice Mayor of Culver City, California. An urban planner and policy professional who previously served on the city’s Housing Advisory Committee and worked as a transportation deputy for Los Angeles County.

Carley Leckie
Associate, David Baker Architects

Carley Leckie is an Associate at David Baker Architects (DBA) in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a recognized designer within the firm, often involved in housing and community-focused projects.

Eduardo Mendoza
Policy Manager, California YIMBY

Eduardo Mendoza is a Policy Manager and Senior Research Associate at California YIMBY, where he focuses on urban planning, housing affordability, and infrastructure equity. Operating out of the Greater Los Angeles area, he is a leading voice in the movement to expand housing supplies, notably championing single-stair building reform to improve urban density and architectural design flexibility.