Marilyn Melkonian
President, Telesis Corporation
Marilyn Melkonian is the founder and president of the Telesis Corporation, a business focusing on large scale urban regeneration. The Telesis Corporation has financed, developed, or planned over $2.8 billion in more than 25 neighborhood transformations with over 17,000 units of housing and a range of commercial and civic uses. Ms. Melkonian has over 30 years of experience in housing policy, real estate development, and finance. She serves on various boards including the Eisenhower Foundation, the Brookings Institute's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, and is the founder and chair of the National Housing Trust. Prior to forming the Telesis Corporation, Ms. Melkonian held positions including Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, General Counsel for Lucasfilm Ltd, and counsel to the architecture firm of John Carl Warnecke & Associates. She received a J.D. from Stanford University Law School.
James D. Campbell
Principal, Somerset Development
James Campbell is the founding principal of Somerset Development, a development company specializing in the revitalization of urban communities. Somerset’s real estate development portfolio includes more than 1,750 multi-family residential units featuring retail units and new community buildings. Mr. Campbell has special expertise in forging public-private partnerships and affordable housing development as well as experience managing economic and housing developments for city and state governments. Prior to forming Somerset, Mr. Campbell served as Chief Investment Officer for the AFL-CIO Investment Trusts and Vice President for Development for Related Companies Northeast. He holds a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University.
William Whitman
Owner and Managing Member, New Community Partners LLC
William Whitman is the Owner of New Community Partners LLC, a company focusing on building, re-building, and preserving communities through the creation of real estate value in underserved markets. Mr. Whitman has over 30 years of experience in real estate development and finance in both the public and private sectors. Previously, Mr. Whitman served as President and Executive Vice President of Telesis Corporation where he planned and developed several thousand units of mixed-income housing and mixed-use projects in 24 cities in the Eastern United States. Over his career, Mr. Whitman has developed and financed over $500 million of multifamily and mixed-use projects. Mr. Whitman serves on the Board of Directors of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association and is a member of the Urban Land Institute. He received a J.D. from Western New England University School of Law.
Thomas J. O’Malley
Development Consultant, TJ O'Malley & Associates, Inc.
Thomas O’Malley is the owner of TJ O’Malley & Associates, and development consultant company focused on development of affordable housing in New England. Prior to founding TJ O’Malley & Associates, Mr. O’Malley served as Senior Vice President and Director of the New England Regional Office for the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and Director of Finance at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and Director of Development for the Urban Edge Housing Corporation. He holds a certification in Management Development from Harvard Business School.
Katie Rosenthal
Director of Communications, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust
Katie Rosenthal is the Director of Communications for the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust is an SEC registered mutual fund with nearly $6 billion in assets. As one of the earliest adopters of socially responsible and impact investing, the Trust has invested billions of dollars into 120,000 units of union built affordable housing across the country, creating more than 80,000 on-site union construction jobs and competitive returns for its pension fund investors. Ms. Rosenthal is responsible for overseeing communications with participants, strategic partners, and the public. Prior to her role as Director of Communications, Ms. Rosenthal served as Chief of Staff. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Harvard University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. Ms. Rosenthal is a member of the Massachusetts bar.
Thalia Lankin
Chief Business Development Officer, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust
Thalia Lankin is the Chief Business Development Officer for the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. Ms. Lankin oversees goals and objectives for individual departments at the Trust and assists in strategic planning efforts, including development of new programs and initiatives. From 2004 to 2012, she was the Trust’s Chief of Staff, supporting the CEO on a variety of issues. Ms. Lankin has also served as the Policy Analyst for the Millennial Housing Commission. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and D.C. Bars, the American Bar Association, the Urban Land Institute, and Women in Housing and Finance. Ms. Lankin received a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.