Meet Us
jcervantes@calhfa.ca.gov
Jim Cervantes - Chair
Retired as a Managing Director in the Public Finance Department with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co (2011 to 2020). From 1986 to 2011, he was a Partner and a Managing Director with Stone & Youngberg LLC from 1986 to 2011. He began his career as Property Manager and Finance Director at Mission Housing Development Corporation from 1980 to 1984 following a Fellowship with the Coro Foundation from 1979 to 1980. He currently serves as the Chair of the Lafayette General Plan Advisory Committee and a member of the Board of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and Contra Costa County's Measure X Community Advisory Board. Cervantes earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his AB in Sociology at Harvard College.
dsotelo@calhfa.ca.gov
Dalila Sotelo
Senior development executive at the Integral Group since 2016. She was principal of the Sotelo Group from 2011 to 2016 and served in multiple positions at the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles from 2007 to 2011, including deputy chief executive officer and deputy chief of operations. Sotelo was senior vice president at McCormack Baron Salazar from 1995 to 2007, a finance officer at the City of Los Angeles Housing Department from 1993 to 1995 and project manager for the Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles from 1991 to 1993. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy from Occidental College.
fwhite@calhfa.ca.gov
Dr. Frederick P. White
Director, Affordable Housing Liaison Unit (AHLU), City of Los Angeles since 2024. Prior to that, Dr. White was Housing Capital Advisor for the City of Los Angeles Office of City Homelessness Initiatives from 2019 to 2023. He was Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at State Street Bank from 2017 to 2019 and Senior Advisor at the Los Angeles Office of the City Administrative Officer from 2016 to 2017. He held multiple positions at TIAA from 2002 to 2016, including Senior Director, Director and Senior Associate. White earned a Master of Business Administration degree from North Carolina Central University.
srussell@calhfa.ca.gov
Stephen Russell
Executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation since 2015. Russell has worked in community and economic development in San Diego for the past 20 years, first as executive director of the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement District, and later as advisor to then-San Diego City Council Member Toni Atkins. In addition to serving for five years as president of the nonprofit City Heights Community Development Corporation, Russell has served on the New School of Architecture Foundation Board since 2009 and is a Housing California Board Member. He got his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the New School of Architecture & Design
twilliams@calhfa.ca.gov
Tyrone Roderick Williams
Chief Executive Officer of the Fresno Housing Authority since 2021. From 2014 to 2021, he held various positions at the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, including Deputy Executive Director and Director of Development, and was the Director of the Sacramento Promise Zone. Previously, Williams was Development Director for Sustainable Neighborhood Development Strategies Inc. from 2009 to 2013; Senior Program Manager at the Atlanta Development Authority from 2006 to 2009; Senior Development Director at Integral Properties from 2004 to 2006; and Vice President of Development at Market Developers from 2001 to 2004. Williams earned a Master of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture from Prairie View A&M with the Magna Cum Laude honor.
pprince@calhfa.ca.gov
Preston Prince
Executive Director of the Santa Clara County Housing Authority since 2021. From 2007 to 2021, he was chief executive officer and executive director at the Fresno Housing Authority. Prince was executive director at the Aurora Housing Authority from 2002 to 2007 and senior housing development program manager at the Seattle Housing Authority from 1999 to 2002. He was director of housing development at Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority from 1995 to 1999 and a housing developer at Common Ground from 1990 to 1995. Prince was president of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials from 2013 to 2015. He earned a Master of Arts degree in urban affairs and policy analysis from the New School of Architecture & Design.
mcabildo@calhfa.ca.gov
Maria Cabildo
Chief Executive Officer, The Durfee Foundation, since 2025. Prior to that, she was Director of Housing and Economic Opportunity at the California Community Foundation from 2021 to 2024. Cabildo was a Senior Advisor at Advancement Project California (APCA) from 2019 to 2021. She was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University (2018-2019), Director of Homeless Initiatives at the Los Angeles County Development Commission (2016 to 2017), Chief of Staff for the First District of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors (2015 to 2016) and a City Planning Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles (2013-2015). Cabildo started her career as a Project Manager and Deputy Director for A Community of Friends (1993 to 1999) and then was president and CEO of the East LA Community Corporation (ELACC) from 1999 to 2015. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from Columbia University, a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, and a Certificate in Advanced Environmental Studies from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
nlimon@calhfa.ca.gov
Noerena Limón
Chief Executive Officer, Casita Coalition, since 2024 and Fellow at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley since 2021. Prior to that, she was Principal at Mariposa Strategies from 2022 to 2024. Limon was Executive Vice President of Public Policy and Industry Relations at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) from 2018 to 2022, a Policy Analyst in the Office of Mortgage Markets at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2012 to 2018 and held several roles at the White House from 2009 to 2010, including in the Office of Political Affairs and the Office of Presidential Personnel. Previously, Limón was the Deputy Director of Spanish Language Media for the Obama-Biden for America Campaign in 2008 and a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow while serving as a legislative aide in the office of former U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra from 2005 to 2006. She earned a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sam.assefa@opr.ca.gov
Samuel Assefa*
Ex Officio, has served as Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research since October 2021. Assefa was Director of the City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development since 2016. He was Senior Urban Designer for the Department of Community Planning and Sustainability for City of Boulder from 2010 to 2016, Director of Land Use and Planning Policy for the Department of Planning and Development and Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic and Physical Development for the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office from 2004 to 2010 and Senior Urban Designer for the SmithGroup JJR from 2002 to 2004. Assefa was Director of Special Projects for the City and County of San Francisco Department of Planning and Development from 1999 to 2002 and Senior Urban Designer for SMWM Architecture and Planning from 1993 to 1999. He earned a Master of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Joe.stephenshaw@dof.ca.gov
Joe Stephenshaw*
Ex Officio, has served as Director of the California Department of Finance since July 2022. Previously, he was a senior counselor on Infrastructure and Fiscal Affairs in the Office of the Governor since March 2022. Stephenshaw was staff director for the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee from 2017 to 2022 and held multiple other positions in the California Legislature from 2008-2017, including Policy Consultant in the Office of the Senate President pro Tempore, Special Advisor to the Speaker of the Assembly, and Budget Consultant for both the Assembly Budget Committee and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. He was a budget analyst for the Department of Finance from 2005-2008. Stephenshaw earned a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento.
gustavo.velasquez@hcd.ca.gov
Gustavo F. Velasquez
Ex Officio, has served as Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development since April 2020. Previously, he was Senior Director at the nonprofit Urban League from 2017 to 2020 and served as Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Velasquez was Executive Director of the Latino Economic Development Center in Washington, D.C. from 2013 to 2014 after serving in executive roles for the D.C. Mayor’s office from 2003 to 2013. He earned Bachelor degrees in Public Administration and Political Science, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration, all from the University of Pennsylvania.
Tomiquia.Moss@bcsh.ca.gov
Tomiquia Moss
Ex Officio, has served as Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency since February 2024. Previously, Moss was Founder and CEO of All Home since 2019 and was CEO of Hamilton Families from 2017 to 2019. She served as Chief of Staff in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2015 to 2017 and was Executive Director of HOPE SF within the San Francisco Mayor’s Office from 2013 to 2015. Moss earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from Ohio Wesleyan University.
fiona.ma@treasurer.ca.gov
Fiona Ma
Ex Officio, has served as State Treasurer since 2019. Previously, she was elected to the State Board of Equalization in 2014 and served through 2018. Ma was elected to the California State Assembly in 2006, serving three terms through 2012, including one as Speaker Pro Tempore, and previously served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She began her career as an accountant and is still a Certified Public Account. Ma earned her Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Rochester Institute of Technology and has Master’s degrees in Taxation, from Golden Gate University, and Business Administration, from Pepperdine University.
lindsey.sin@calvet.ca.gov
Lindsey Sin
Ex Officio, has served as Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs since May 2023. Previously, she held several roles at the CalVet including Deputy Secretary of Communications and Deputy Secretary of Women Veterans Affairs since 2011. Sin was a Veterans Benefits Advisor at California State University, Sacramento from 2010-2011, Lead Veterans Affairs Coordinator at American River College from 2008-2010 and served as a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive in the Arabic language at the rank of Petty Officer First Class with Naval Aviation Warfare and Naval Aircrew designations in the United States Navy from 1997-2005. Sin earned a bachelor’s degree in history from California State University, Sacramento, and a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship from Drexel University.
*Nonvoting Members
Audit & Risk Management Committee
Dalila Sotelo - Chair
Fiona Ma - Member
Frederick P. White - Member
Executive Evaluation Committee
Jim Cervantes - Chair
Stephen Russell - Member
Tomiquia Moss - Member
New Opportunities Committee
CalHFA Executive Director - Member
Frederick P. White - Chair
Jim Cervantes - Member
Maria Cabildo - Member
Tomiquia Moss - Member
