Thank you to our Annual Partners
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Includes 2 webinar participant registrations
Logo on promotional emails with link to website
Logo on Event page at taahp.org with link to website
Logo Branding on PowerPoint Presentation During Webinar
Exclusive “sponsor slide” with short company description at end of presentation
Mailing list of all attendees (does not include emails)
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Event Description
TAAHP members continually engage with local officials in municipalities, counties, ISDs and a host of other public agencies. This webinar will provide discussions, tips and overview when interacting with elected officials and administrative staff. This webinar will educate attendees how to approach agencies regarding their policies and procedures to secure the needed resolutions for your LIHTC deal. We will discuss general guidelines an applicant needs to consider for various resolutions in advance of the application period. Also, securing local funding is a difficult task with limited resources and highly competitive. The panel will discuss opportunities to highlight your application for funding when under a panel review.
(CPE is only available to those who attend the live stream; not available for those who only watch the recording)
A Recording Will Be Made Available to All Registrants
Our Speakers
Chris Akbari, ITEX
Moderator
Robbye Meyere, ARX Advantage
Panelist
Mandy DeMayo, City of Austin
Panelist
Amy Connolly, City of Houston
Panelist
Chris Akbari
Moderator
Chris is a successful entrepreneur, investor and developer of housing since 2004 when he joined ITEX Group where he currently serves as the CEO & President. During this time he has led transactions of nearly $1 billion and had developed or acquired over 9,000 units. Prior to ITEX, he managed a successful software & technology development platform for C&I Technologies that developed day-to-day software applications for SMEs. Chris is a graduate of the Harvard Business School OPM program. He is a graduate of Lamar University with a B.A. in Finance. Chris previously held the position of President of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers (TAAHP).
Chris is active in the Young Presidents Organization as a founding member of the YPO Bayou City chapter and serves on the board of the YPO Wild West Chapter. He also is a member of the Texas Apartment Association, the Texas Association of Builders, and serves on the Urban Land Institute’s National Affordable & Workforce Housing Council. He and his wife, Amanda, are active members of the Houston community and support a number of charitable organizations
Robbye Meyer
Panelist
Robbye Meyer, Owner, Arx Advantage, LLC, a real estate development consulting firm. Her firm is well versed with numerous financing programs including Tax Credits, Private Activity Bonds, HOME, FHA, USDA 538, 514 and 515. She has over thirty-six years of experience and extensive knowledge in housing, real estate, compliance, asset management, construction and finance. She has been using that knowledge and expertise to assist developers and owners in navigating the application and political processes of the affordable housing industry and has successfully added over 2,825 new affordable units to the Texas housing stock and rehabilitated over 2,253 units. Previously, Robbye was the Director of Multifamily Finance for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. There she directed and managed the activities of numerous housing programs and was involved in the production of over 90,000 units of affordable housing during her tenure with the Department.
Mandy Demayo, City of Austin
Panelist
Mandy has three decades of experience in affordable housing, real estate, and community development. Prior to working for the City of Austin, Mandy served as Executive Director of HousingWorks for nearly eight years. HousingWorks Austin is a nonprofit research, education, and advocacy organization that is dedicated to increasing affordable housing in Austin. Prior to HousingWorks, Mandy provided consulting services focused on affordable housing finance and policy to a range of nonprofit organizations, including small, community-based nonprofits and multi-faceted, national nonprofit organizations.
Mandy joined the City of Austin more than six years ago as the Community Development Administrator for Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department. In this position, she was responsible for managing housing and community development programs funded through local, state, and federal resources. In her role as Community Development Administrator (and later Housing and Community Development Officer), Mandy provide strategic guidance and oversight for the deployment of the City of Austin’s historic $250 million affordable housing bond. In addition, Mandy oversaw a range of Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) activities, including Private Activity Bond issuance, real estate acquisitions, and various programs administered by AHFC through the $80+ million annual Service Agreement with the City of Austin.
In February 2022, Mandy was appointed as Deputy Director of the Housing Department. In this role, she oversees AHFC Programs and Real Estate, Finance and Operations, and Displacement Prevention divisions. These divisions are responsible for the deployment of $350 million in affordable housing GO Bonds (approved by voters in November 2022) and $300 million in displacement prevention programs (approved by voters in November 2020). In December 2023, Mandy was appointed Interim Director of the Housing Department.
Mandy has served on a variety of Urban Land Institute’s Technical Assistance Panels as an affordable housing development expert. Over her career, Mandy has delivered hundreds of presentations to a variety of audiences, ranging from neighborhood organizations to academic institutions to business organizations to policy making bodies and elected officials.
Mandy holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She was the recipient of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation Award for Academic Excellence.
Amy Connolly, City of Houston
Panelist
Amy Connolly is the Chief of Staff for the City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department. She is a certified City Planner with has over 25 years of experience inHousing, Development Services, and Neighborhood Development. She previously served as Assistant Neighborhood Services Director for the City of Fort Worth, TX; Director of City Development for the City of Racine, WI; and Planning Director for the Village of Tinley Park, IL. She has also worked as a planning consultant and in the non-profit sector. Amy grew up in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Masters in Regional and Community Planning from Kansas State University. Her volunteer experience includes serving as an elected School Board member, non-profit board member, and a Girl Scout leader. She is married to Stephen Connolly, and has three college-aged children, two dogs, and a cat.