HDC welcomes Chelsea, Liz, Blair, and Ben!
Clockwise from upper right: Operations Manager Chelsea Lancaster, Senior Asset Management Project Manager Liz Winchester, Associate Project Manager Blair Schaeffer-Bisht, and Senior Finance Project Manager Ben Loftis.
Four talented people joined the HDC team in December. They are bringing valuable skills and fresh perspectives to all three of our departments: development, asset management, and administration.
Operations Manager Chelsea Lancaster is applying her extensive administrative experience to the role of managing technology and supporting administrative and financial operations at HDC. “I’m thrilled to serve an organization that believes housing is a human right,” Chelsea says. We couldn’t be happier that Chelsea has joined our team—and is learning our admin systems with dizzying speed, taking on leadership of our tech committee, and keeping our decentralized office organized and humming. Learn more about Chelsea.
Senior Asset Management Project Manager Liz Winchester is passionate about ensuring that people who are marginalized because of their race, disability, or other status are centered at every level of affordable housing operations. Formerly an asset manager at Northwest Housing Alternatives and ROSE Community Development, Liz will be using her in-depth knowledge of affordable housing financial/operational oversight and planning to help HDC clients solve problems “from big-picture capital planning to nitty gritty issues like identifying and repairing water leaks.” We’re so excited to have hired a person who is ideally qualified to take on this role. Learn more about Liz.
An experienced manager whose recent work focused on aligning housing and employment systems serving homeless populations, Associate Project Manager Blair Schaeffer-Bisht sought out a position at HDC after deciding to make a return to her earlier career path in affordable housing. “I heard that at HDC, I’d have an opportunity to learn from some of the best people in the industry—and that the folks here also happen to be really nice,” she says. We’re grateful that this knowledgeable self-starter (and nice person) chose us. Blair will be learning both sides of the shop, supporting improved integration of HDC development and asset management services and assisting HDC clients to develop and maintain operationally healthy affordable housing communities. Learn more about Blair.
We love that Senior Finance Project Manager Ben Loftis comes to HDC with a breadth of experience from the operational side of affordable housing, from turning around troubled properties with a large nonprofit owner to preserving public housing with Home Forward. In his role as a development finance consultant at HDC, Ben is excited to work with organizations that serve diverse communities across the region. He specifically looks forward to supporting his clients to plan and manage occupied rehab projects, “because serving residents and making sure they are comfortable is something I enjoy,” he adds. Learn more about Ben.
Please join us in welcoming Chelsea, Liz, Blair, and Ben and cheering their transitions to the world of affordable housing consulting!