President

Susanna Banks

Susanna Banks is the Owner of Stream Consultive and Chief Executive Officer of East West Development Company. Susanna graduated from Harvard University in 2008. She is certified in ethics as well as finance by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). Susanna was named a rising star by Novogradac and an emerging leader by WAHN National. She also volunteers with Citizens’ Housing And Planning Association (CHAPA) and a unified golf partner for Special Olympics. Susanna lives in Hull, MA with her husband and two dogs.

Vice President

Chelsea Gaylord

Chelsea is the Senior Real Estate Project Manager at Metro West Collaborative Development, a non-profit dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing. In this role, she manages all aspects of the affordable housing development process from due diligence and financing to construction and completion.

Chelsea joined the organization in 2023 after completing a Master’s in Public Policy and Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from the University of Michigan. Prior to grad school, she worked in economic development for the City of Colorado Springs where she coordinated real estate development, launched programs supporting local entrepreneurs, and led community investment initiatives. Chelsea draws on over a decade of cross-sector experience in community and economic development to enhance community well-being, promote economic mobility, and build sustainable, inclusive neighborhoods.

Assistant Vice President

Carrie Tennant

Carrie Tennant is Senior Corporate Counsel at WinnCompanies, where she provides legal counsel on affordable housing developments, acquisitions, preservation transactions, and regulatory matters nationwide. Throughout her career, she has worked on complex affordable housing transactions involving LIHTC, RAD, and other federal and state housing programs. Carrie is passionate about creating and preserving affordable housing opportunities and fostering collaboration across the industry. She is excited to serve on the Board of the New England Chapter of the Women’s Affordable Housing Network and to support WAHN’s mission of advancing women in affordable housing leadership.

Treasurer

Beatrice Lee

Beatrice Lee is a Tax Manager in CohnReznick’s Tax Practice with over 10 years of experience in public accounting. She provides tax preparation and compliance services to clients in the real estate and renewable energy industries with a focus on the affordable housing industry. Her background includes partnership real estate taxation, affordable housing, low-income housing tax credit, historic tax credits, and solar tax credits. Beatrice serves developers, syndicators, and investors in the affordable housing, multifamily, and commercial real estate industries. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in Accounting.

Outside of her client-facing roles, Beatrice is part of the committee for CohnReznick’s CR Women which supports the career growth, development, and advancement of Cohnreznick’s women. She is also involved with CohnReznick CARES which focuses on the firm’s commitment to community involvement.

Secretary

Anna Belanger

Anna Belanger is Director, Originator/Producer at Boston Financial where she originates and manages the closing of LIHTC equity investments in affordable housing projects across New England. Anna works closely with developers and investors to expand community development investment activity in the Northeast markets and is based in Boston, MA. Anna has over 12 years of affordable housing investment experience and she holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut.  Prior to re-joining Boston Financial, Anna was Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager at KeyBank CDLI where she originated and managed the closings of over $500 million of LIHTC equity investments. Prior to that, Anna worked for Boston Financial as an Account Manager in Production and she originally started her career at Boston Capital in the Structured Finance and Acquisitions teams.

Vice President of Marketing

Lisa Pastor

Lisa Pastor is the owner and lead consultant at Place & Purpose Marketing, a digital communications firm working with mission-driven organizations. For the past 15 years, Lisa has led and supported marketing programs for multiple neighborhood and public-space projects throughout the Greater Boston area, working with both non-profit and for-profit developers, local housing advocates, municipal officials, and other stakeholders.

As Vice President of Marketing at NE WAHN, Lisa blends her expertise in digital marketing, social media, and communications with her passion for economic empowerment and building lasting value in our shared communities.

A Massachusetts native, Lisa received her BA in Business Management with a minor in English Communication from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA.

Vice President of Advancement

Lois Alksninis

Lois Alksninis is the Communications and Fundraising Manager at the Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA), a role she has been in since 2015. As Communications and Fundraising Manager, Lois is responsible for managing the POUA website and social media accounts, event planning, newsletters, writing and orchestrating applications for awards and grants, organizing project files, maintaining relationships with the media, and cultivating relationships with donors and fundraiser sponsors, amongst other things as part of POUA’s small but efficient team of nine. Lois has experience working in the nonprofit and agency sectors of the communications field in Boston, London and Dublin, working at Mass Insight Education and FUEL Education, both in Boston. A graduate of Boston University, Lois received her Bachelor of Science in Communication, with a concentration in Public Relations.

Senior Advisor

Eleanor White

Eleanor White has worked in the field of affordable housing since 1967, including (from 1983-1995) as Co-CEO of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (now MassHousing), directing all activities of this multi-billion dollar quasi-public lending institution. Before MHFA, Ms. White held a variety of positions at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in DC from 1967-1969, and in Boston from 1970-1983. Currently, Ms. White is President/CEO of Housing Partners, Inc., a national housing consulting firm she formed with Marvin Siflinger in 1995 that works with a wide range of public, nonprofit, and private-sector clients on topics relating to housing development, housing policy and strategic planning, preservation, organizational development, issues relating to diversity, and most recently 40R Smart Growth Zoning and Workforce Housing.

She has held leadership positions in many housing organizations, including President of the Board of Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA,) Chair of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, and Member of the Boards of the MIT Center for Real Estate and MA Housing Investment Corp. (MHIC). She was a member of the founding board of the School of Public Policy at Northeastern University, and was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick as Chair of the Multifamily Housing Advisory Committee of MassHousing.

She has also held leadership positions in several community nonprofits: MA Association for Mental Health (past-President and current member of the Board), B’nai B’rith Housing New England (member of the Board and Executive Committee), American Jewish Committee New England (member of the Board; Chair, Advancement Committee; Member, Steering Committee), Housing Forward—MA (founding member of the Board), and has been an active alumna of Harvard University in various capacities.

Ms. White has been honored at both the local and national levels for her achievements in the field of affordable housing and for her community service activities. Married to Barry B. White since 1967, she accompanied him to Oslo, Norway where he served as U.S. Ambassador from 2009-2013 after practicing law in Boston for 40 years. They are the parents of 3 sons and have 2 granddaughters, with a third grandchild expected in late 2023.

Ms. White holds an A.B. cum laude from Harvard/Radcliffe College, 1967; a Master of Public Administration from Northeastern University, 1975; and was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 1978-79.

Senior Advisor

Mary Thompson

Mary Thompson is a Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager in Bank of America’s Community Development Banking Group. Based in Boston, Mary’s client coverage includes New York City, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.  Mary provides expertise and guidance directly to clients throughout the process of identifying and executing development opportunities to help build strong, safe neighborhoods.

Mary advises clients and partners on a variety of key themes that impact affordable housing, including the positive impacts of health and housing initiatives, resident services and financial education, best practices and new initiatives around energy efficient design, construction and retrofitting and more.

Prior to joining the Relationship Management team in 2019, Mary was an originator of New Markets Tax Credit and Historic Tax Credit investments nationally with a focus on originating investments in the Eastern Region of the United States.  She has worked for Bank of America and its predecessor entities since 1994 in various real estate groups.  Her experience includes affordable housing and community development lending and investing, commercial real estate lending, portfolio management, and OREO disposition.

At Bank of America, Mary Thompson participates in the Power of 10, a mentoring program for women at the Bank; Rhode Island Market Presidents Team; Employee Satisfaction Team; Health and Housing initiatives; Mentoring Programs; and the Transgender network (proud parent of a 20-year-old trans son).

Externally, she is Board Chair of Preservation Mass, a member of Massachusetts Housing Partnership Loan Committee, a member of the LISC Local Advisory Councils in Rhode Island and Connecticut and was named 2024 Finance Women of Year at Globe Street’s Women of Influence Conference.

Mary graduated from Providence College where she earned a bachelor’s degree.

Advisor

Meghal Shah

Meghal Shah is a Partner at Holland & Knight LLP (H&K). She practices in the areas of business and tax law, with a concentration in syndicated real estate transactions that qualify for federal low-income housing tax credits. Since joining H&K in 2014, Meghal has represented and advised tax credit syndicators and institutional and corporate investors, including several national banks, on their tax-advantaged equity investments in low-income multifamily and elderly affordable housing projects.

In addition to her legal practice, Meghal serves as a local coordinator of H&K’s Women’s Initiative, a firmwide program dedicated to supporting, promoting and advancing women attorneys.

Meghal holds a J.D. from Boston College Law School, and a B.S. from New York University, Stern School of Business. Prior to law school, she was a certified public accountant and an external auditor at PwC in New York.

Advisor

Vanessa Volz

Vanessa Volz has served as the President and CEO (formerly the Executive Director) of Sojourner House since 2011, leading the agency from a precarious period to becoming a robust, dynamnic, multi-million dollar organization with over 70 staff members and a $10+ million operating budget. Under her leadership, Sojourner House has expanded its mission and developed impactful, sustainable programs addressing the root causes of challenges faced by victims of abuse. Notably, during her tenure she has worked with her team to spearhead new initiatives including an immigration advocacy legal program, a counseling program staffed by licensed clinicians, and a supportive housing program tailored to the unique needs of survivors. The agency is now also a housing developer, and it acquires, rehabs, and leases apartments to families impacted by abuse, providing vital permanent housing options.

Vanessa has enhanced Sojourner House’s financial health and impact by diversifying funding to ensure long-term sustainability. She helped establish an endowment, grew the agency’s operating reserves, and expanded the agency’s assets through real estate acquisitions. She holds a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law and is a licensed attorney, having previously practiced in disability rights. She has published articles in the UC Berkeley Reproductive Rights Casebook and the Rutgers University Women’s Rights Law Reporter. In recognition of her professional impact, she received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Rhode Island College in 2024. In addition to her role at Sojourner House, Vanessa teaches at Rhode Island College in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program, where she has developed several new courses, including a seminar on Gender Based Violence. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, Bard College, Leadership Rhode Island, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and two 200-hour yoga teacher trainings. Originally from the Midwest, Vanessa has called Rhode Island home after making stops in New York, the West Coast, and the Southeast.