Co-President & Treasurer

Avni Shah

Avni Shah, CPA, is a Partner in RubinBrown LLP’s Assurance Services Group specializing in real estate and affordable housing. She has more than 18 years of public accounting experience. Avni manages financial statement audits, reviews, compilations, 10% letters, cost certifications for 4% and 9% deals for various states, and agreed upon procedures reports for various real estate limited partnerships (including government regulated properties such as HUD, IHDA, etc.), various not-for-profits, and consolidations. She also has vast compliance related knowledge for government regulated audits.

Avni graduated in 2005 from Loyola University of Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois.

Co-President

Andrea Keeney

Andrea Keeney joined The Michaels Organization in 2021 as a Vice President of Development. In her role, she is responsible for oversight of projects from inception through construction completion – underwriting deals and sourcing all project capital. Andrea manages projects throughout the construction, lease-up, and stabilization process, ensuring all public and private funds come in as anticipated and construction loans are paid off in time for conversion. She develops and maintains performance metrics that include pre-development, development and operating budgets, as well as construction cost schedules and project timelines.

Prior to joining Michaels, Andrea was with The Habitat Company for close to a year. At the Habitat Company, she led a multi-phased, transit-oriented development in Chicago’s Bronzeville community. Before her time with The Habitat Company, Andrea was the Director of Development at Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation in Chicago. In her 19 years with Holsten, she personally closed over $200 million in affordable and mixed-use transactions, all with multi-layered financing. Andrea holds a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. With an interest in historic preservation, Andrea has served on the River Forest Historic Preservation Commission and as an interpreter for Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.

Director of Communications

Carolyn Isaacson

While earning her Master of Architecture degree at Tulane University, Carolyn gained a deep understanding of community engagement, contextual design, and small-scale construction. She has worked on projects ranging from mixed use residential and education to retail projects, with extensive knowledge of BIM software and a strong interest in how technology helps move design forward. Carolyn excels in our collaborative culture and participates in all levels of the design process from pre-design evaluations and code analysis to construction documentation and contract administration while actively participating in business development and strategic planning of our practice.

National Liason

Sevara Davis

Sevara currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for POAH Communities, where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the company, managing over 550 employees and more than 13,000 units across 12 states. With over 15 years of leadership experience in real estate development, operations, strategy, and project/property management, she leads a team of Vice Presidents and Directors, ensuring the successful execution of operations. Sevara is dedicated to ensuring that the systems, policies, and procedures in place not only support the team but also enhance the living experience for residents, making POAH Communities a place where both employees and residents thrive.

Before joining POAH Communities, Sevara served as the Director of Real Estate for Chicago Public Schools, where she was responsible for managing a wide array of real estate projects. Her career also includes roles at JLL, GSA, and IHDA, where she honed her expertise in real estate management and strategy. Sevara holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate, both from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL.

In addition to her professional achievements, Sevara has been actively involved in the industry’s development of future leaders. She served on the MBIRE (Master of Business Administration in Real Estate) Advisory Board at Roosevelt University and has been a former mentor, as well as a current supporter, of the Goldie Wolfe Miller Women in Real Estate Initiative.

Membership/Sponsorship

Lisa Washington

Lisa Washington is the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s Community Investment Program Manager. Prior to this role, Lisa served the citizens of Chicago in the Department of Planning and Development.  Her role was instrumental in advocating for development projects in disinvested neighborhoods.

Board Member

Cheryl Wilson

Cheryl Wilson is a Senior Vice President in the Community Development Lending and Investment team at Key Bank. A community development finance professional with over 20 years of experience, she has financed complex affordable housing transactions in Chicago and around the nation. Prior to Key Bank, she developed and led the Community Development Lending platform at CIBC Bank USA for over nine years.

Cheryl is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a BA in History, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with a Masters in Urban Planning and Public Policy, and Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School in Madrid, where she earned a Masters in Business Administration as a Fulbright Scholar.

Cheryl is currently a Board Member at Hispanic Housing Development, and is formerly Board Chair at IFF, a CDFI focused on the Midwest. She participates in several mentoring programs for young adults pursuing higher education and community development careers.

Board Member

Dena Bell

Dena Bell, IFF’s Executive Director, Development has over twenty years of experience in affordable housing development, construction, and management. Ms. Bell leads IFF’s Home First development team, directing affordable housing projects from application through operations. In this role, Ms. Bell is responsible for planning and development of housing projects, with a focus on incorporating creative solutions for accessible design. Under Ms. Bell’s leadership, Home First has doubled its supportive housing portfolio and created projects in new market areas. Prior to joining IFF, Ms. Bell held positions as project executive and development consultant, creating multifamily affordable housing using Low Income Housing Tax Credits and other financing tools. Ms. Bell holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Illinois.