DECRO - Transforming Lives & Communities
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About Decro

Committed To Creating
Housing For All

Firmin Court photo by Juan Tallo

Since 1989, DECRO, a California nonprofit affordable housing developer, has been committed to meeting the critical shortage of affordable housing by those who most need this housing – individuals, families, and seniors who are homeless or at risk of becoming so and those whose wages do not keep pace with ever-increasing rents.  

DECRO meets this commitment by partnering with:

  • nonprofit and for-profit developers
  • community development corporations
  • CDFI’s like LISC, Enterprise, and Genesis LA
  • private financial institutions
  • public agencies
  • tax credit investors
  • social impact funds
  • foundations 

The DECRO Advantage

With this experience and resources, together with the support of social service providers, DECRO creates housing that promotes individual growth and family stability and fosters residents’ economic, educational, and spiritual participation in their communities.

DECRO’s greatest strength lies within its ability to develop and execute on housing solutions “outside the box.”  DECRO’s Board and staff apply a creative, innovative approach toward the design, financing, construction, and operation of permanent supportive and affordable housing projects to meet the housing needs of people as well as mixed-use developments which provide access to essential resources for the communities in which DECRO’s projects are located.

Our Mission

Develop affordable housing and revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods by using innovative financing structures and technologies to promote individual growth, family sustainability, and community enrichment.  

Our History

DECRO is an acronym based on the former December Rose Association, a nonprofit organization formed by DECRO’s Founder, the late Reverend Clark Harshfield and his wife, Verna. December Rose focused on supporting the creative skills of seniors living at Angelus Plaza, currently the largest subsidized community for low-income seniors in the United States.

“God gave His children memory that in life’s garden there might be June roses in December.”

Quoted from Geoffrey Anketell Studdert-Kennedy’s poem, Roses in December
1989
DECRO Corporation Formed
DECRO formed as a California nonprofit, public benefit corporation by the late Reverend Clark Harshfield with a vision to develop, construct, operate and manage affordable housing communities for low-income seniors and families. DECRO qualifies for tax -exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3).
1994
DECRO acquires first Florida property, Brandywood Apartments, under the Resolution Trust Corporation’s affordable housing program. The first California developments, Orange Avenue Apartments and Lime House Apartments, are purchased in Long Beach.
1994-2000
DECRO acquires 14 developments in Long Beach for a total of 358 housing units.
These include: Alamitos Apartments; Artesia Court Apartments; Cedar Court Apartments; Cedar North Apartments; Cedar South Apartments; Cerritos Court Apartments; Lime House Apartments; Linden Gardens Apartments; Ocean Breeze Senior Apartments; Ocean Gate Apartments; Orange Apartments; Seabreeze Senior Apartments; Terrace Gardens; Valentine Garden Apartments.
1995
DECRO acquires and rehabilitates Saticoy Apartments, an 18-unit apartment building severely damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, located in Canoga Park, California.
1996
DECRO syndicates Casa Familiar de Nordhoff, located in North Hills, California, with federal low-income housing tax credits. Boston Capital is the investor. This 50-unit building red-tagged by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety is completely renovated into a 38-unit development for low-income families complete with a community room and swimming pool.
2003
DECRO and Simpson Housing (now Highridge Costa) acquire and syndicate three affordable housing developments in California, increasing DECRO’s portfolio to more than 750 housing units. These projects are Peppertree Apartments (Banning), Valle Verde (Orange Cove), and Suncrest (Barstow).
2004-2006
DECRO and Veloce Partners renovate and refinance 13 Long Beach developments at a total cost of $45 million using tax-exempt bonds, 4% low-income housing tax credits, and a loan from the City of Long Beach.
2005
DECRO partners with St. Anne’s Maternity Home to develop the Bogen Family Center in Los Angeles, a 40-unit transitional housing development for pregnant or parenting young, unwed women between the ages of 18 and 24.
2006
DECRO partners with 1010 Development to build Casa Shalom in Los Angeles, a 30-unit development for low-income families
2008
DECRO and Veloce Partners develop DECRO Osborne Apartments in Pacoima, a 51-unit development for low-income families.

DECRO partners with 1010 Development to develop JW Apartments for low-income families in Los Angeles.
2009
DECRO and Veloce Partners develop DECRO Orion Apartments in North Hills, California, a 32-unit development for low-income families.
2012
DECRO expands its Florida portfolio with the acquisition of Dunwoodie Place Apartments in Orlando.
2016
DECRO partners with Little Tokyo Service Center and Korean Resource Center to celebrate the opening of Durae Senior Apartments in Koreatown, a 67-unit scattered site development. DECRO provides necessary financial support to acquire Kingsley site.
2018
DECRO’s Firmin Court project is among the first recipients of Proposition HHH funds, a $1.2 billion bond measure approved by City of Los Angeles voters in November 2016 to fund affordable housing projects.
2019
DECRO closes on acquisition financing for The Brine, a future redevelopment project comprised of permanent supportive and affordable housing together with community-oriented developments, located on nearly a city block in the Lincoln Heights community of Los Angeles. Local Initiatives Support Corporation and New Generation Fund contribute nearly $13 million in financing.
2020
DECRO and Innovative Housing Opportunities close debt and equity financing totaling $43 million for Firmin Court, a 64-unit permanent supportive and affordable housing project in the former Temple Beaudry neighborhood of Los Angeles. DECRO successfully coordinates the abandonment of a more than 100-year-old oil well on the project site prior to the start of construction. DECRO also relocates a historic single-family home on the site to Highland Park after construction begins in July.

DECRO and Daylight Community Development close the construction financing for Watts Works, a 25-unit permanent supportive housing project using modular construction located in South Los Angeles.

DECRO exits its partnership with St. Anne’s Maternity Home on the Bogen Family Center after the 15-year low-income housing tax credit compliance period ends. DECRO’s current portfolio consists of 12 developments and nearly 700 affordable housing units.
2021
DECRO closes debt and equity financing totaling over $50 million for Brine Residential, a 97-unit permanent supportive and affordable housing project. Brine Residential is part of a mixed-use development that includes 28,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

DECRO and Daylight Community Development close on the financing of three permanent supportive housing projects using modular construction – 11604 Vanowen (North Hollywood), Oatsie’s Place (Van Nuys), and McDaniel House (Koreatown).
2021
Decro and Daylight Community Development close on the construction financing of NoHo 5050, a 40-unit permanent supportive and affordable housing project using conventional construction located in North Hollywood, California. The permanent supportive housing units will house women who are survivors of domestic abuse and who will have access to case management services offered by Downtown Women’s Center.

DECRO expands its Florida portfolio. DECRO and AGPM acquire The Crossings at Leesburg (168 units, Leesburg) and Silver Pointe Apartments (138 units, Leesburg). In addition, DECRO also acquires Heron Woods (50 units, Inverness), Magnolia Village (40 units, Lecanto), and Nature Walk (40 units, Crystal River).
2022
DECRO opens Firmin Court
2023
Decro and Daylight Community Development open Watts Works, a 25-unit permanent supportive housing project in South Los Angeles.
2024
Decro and Innovative Housing Opportunities close the permanent financing of Firmin Court with First Citizens Bank, City of Los Angeles, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Decro and Daylight Community Development close the permanent financing of Watts Works with Citibank, California Municipal Finance Agency, City of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County Development Authority.

Leadership

Ted M. Handel

Chief Executive Officer
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Fathia Macauley

Chief Real Estate Development Officer
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Team

Nicole Willick

Director, Resident & Community Engagement
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Gabriela Vega

Project Manager
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Armeen Neshat

Real Estate Development Director
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Emmanuel Choice

Director of Asset Management
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Terri O'Hara

Controller
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Rodney Dodley

Accounting Manager
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Corina Ostoia

Senior Accountant
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Tannaz Masachi

Staff Accountant
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Christian Lisser

Executive Assistant
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Board of Directors

Christian von Merkatz

Chair
Director, Wells Fargo
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Alexander Nweeia

Treasurer
Financial Advisor
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Alicia Bontá Matricardi

Secretary
Attorney & Broker, Matricardi Law
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Paul Pieroth

Director
Chief Operating Officer
Walton Construction, Inc.
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Laurie Craft

Director
Chief Program Officer at St. Joseph Center
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Strategic Plan

Download the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan

Financials

Download Our 2021 Audit Here
Download Our 2022 Audit Here
Download Our 2023 Audit Here
Download Our 2024 Audit Here

Click here to request additional financial information.

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Ted M. Handel

Chief Executive Officer

As Chief Executive Officer of Decro Corporation and its affiliated entities, Mr. Handel is responsible for the strategic direction and overall management of this California nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. Since Mr. Handel became Decro’s CEO in July 2016, the nonprofit has grown to 17 affordable housing developments in California and Florida totaling 1,048 units. Decro, on its own or in partnerships, is constructing seven permanent supportive and affordable housing projects in Los Angeles, California with 368 units, including Firmin Court and Watts Works which are scheduled to open in late summer 2022 and The Brine which is a transformative multi-phase mixed-use, medical office, and pediatric mental health center project in the Lincoln Heights community of Los Angeles.

Prior to joining Decro, Mr. Handel had more than 25 years of experience in developing, financing, syndicating, operating, constructing and managing affordable housing developments. Mr. Handel represented nonprofits and National Equity Fund (NEF) as counsel in affordable housing transactions, formed California nonprofit public benefit corporations, and advised nonprofit Board of Directors on legal compliance issues. At NEF, he closed 57 development deals representing a gross equity investment by this low-income housing tax credit syndicator of $315 million.

Mr. Handel is President of The Carter House, Inc., a nonprofit organization that operates a HUD Section 811 housing development in South Los Angeles, and also serves as President of the Hockey Equipment Lending Program, Inc., a nonprofit that supports special needs and disadvantaged youth playing that sport. He is a former Chair of Los Angeles Lawyer, a Los Angeles County Bar Association publication, and has been published in that magazine and the Los Angeles Business Journal. Mr. Handel has been a speaker at the National Association of Housing and Rehabilitation Officers Summer Conference and conferences of Housing California and the Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing. He is admitted to practice law in California and received a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from University of Southern California.

Fathia Macauley

Chief Real Estate Development Officer

Fathia Macauley joined Decro Corporation as Chief Real Estate Development Officer in July 2024. At Decro she oversees the pipeline of new affordable housing developments, and shares oversight of asset management for Decro’s portfolio of real estate owned. Ms. Macauley comes to Decro with over 21 years of experience in financing and developing redevelopment projects throughout California, ranging from affordable housing to community facilities such as charter schools and health clinics. She has managed over $1 billion in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and affordable housing projects either as a developer or lender. She has participated in the creation of over 5,000 affordable homes.

Ms. Macauley began working for affordable housing consultants and developers in Los Angeles, and expanded to other aspects of affordable housing, becoming a Senior Loan Officer for Century Housing Corporation, and then participated in the political end of redevelopment projects in the office of Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan.  Ms. Macauley has over 14 years in community development finance lending and most recently she was Chief Lending Officer for Housing Trust Silicon Valley in San Jose where, under her leadership over $320M in loans were originated, and she co-led relationships with capital partners such as Apple and Google. In this position Ms. Macauley provided oversight for Housing Trust’s lending programs including multifamily and first-time homebuyer programs, as well as new lending initiatives.

Throughout her career, Fathia has demonstrated a strong commitment to community development, sustainability, and social equity.

She has been a judge for social enterprise competitions in Los Angeles and San Francisco. She has spoken as a panelist for affordable housing conferences and  workshops convened by entities such as Strength Matters, ULI, Comerica Bank and FDIC. Ms. Macauley has been a guest lecturer at both the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and UCLA Economics Department and is a board member for Grounded Solutions Network, Northern California Association of Non-Profit Housing, Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, and Innovative Housing Opportunities. Fathia received her BA in History from UCLA, and she holds an MA in Urban Planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Nicole Willick

Project Manager

As Project Manager for Decro Corporation, Nicole Willick oversees the execution of all stages of multiple affordable housing developments, ensuring project objectives are met on time and on budget. Primary to her work is consulting and collaborating with project architects, general contractors, construction managers, property management, and social service providers to ensure design specifications satisfy resident needs and meet long-term operational requirements. Ms. Willick also works closely with public officials and administrative agencies and third-party consultants, including land use, consultants, and government and community relations consultants, and attorneys, in this development process.

Ms. Willick comes to Decro with 25 years of project management experience in the entertainment and video game industry. With a career previously focused on family-friendly and extreme sports video games, she managed the development and production of over 30 AAA video game titles, generating over $5 billion in revenue during her career. In her most recent role as Executive Producer, Ms. Willick drove strategic initiatives, managed $100+ million development budgets, and built strong working relationships with marketing partners and game development studios and created global partnerships. A second-generation Angeleño, Ms. Willick brings her vast project management experience to Decro and the nonprofit affordable housing industry with goals to improve process efficiencies and risk assessment and mitigation plans as well as promote more effective communication both within the organization and with Decro’s development and social services partners and lenders and investors.

Ms. Willick holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Art and Design from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and is an active volunteer at Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles.

Gabriela Vega

Community Development Manager

As Community Development Manager for Decro Corporation, Ms. Vega collaborates with the Chief Operating Officer in developing The Brine, a proposed mixed-use development located in the Lincoln Heights community of Los Angeles. Ms. Vega is primarily responsible for creating, implementing, and managing community outreach strategies for The Brine and other Decro developments by identifying and developing relationships with community business leaders, public officials and their staff, public agencies, and affordable housing and social service organizational staff.

Ms. Vega joins Decro with more than three years of experience working for a community-based nonprofit affordable housing organization where she supported and helped coordinate the predevelopment, construction, and lease-up of several developments. Prior to assuming these responsibilities with this organization, Ms. Vega was a Tenant Services Coordinator where she provided case management services for residential tenants by engaging them through in-house programs, services and community resources. Ms. Vega and her team developed and implemented a Building Financial Sustainability program and database structure funded by the Corporation for Supportive Housing Institute to promote and equip self-sufficiency within the tenants and strengthen the tenant retention rate in the units.

Ms. Vega holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from the University of California, Merced, and is fluent in Spanish.

Armeen Neshat

Real Estate Development Director

Armeen Neshat is the Real Estate Development Director at Decro, where he is responsible for the development of affordable housing and mixed-use projects, managing them through all phases—from due diligence and acquisition to construction and completion. With seven years of experience in affordable housing and urban planning, he previously served as Deputy Director of Affordable Housing Production in the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office. In that role, he led key initiatives like Project Homekey and the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, securing over $103 million in funding for AHSC projects. He also expedited all 170 affordable housing projects in the city, facilitated the acquisition and financing of 1,250 interim housing units, and advanced innovation in permanent housing construction to expand housing access across Los Angeles.

Emmanuel Choice

Asset Manager

As Asset Manager for Decro Corporation, Mr. Choice is responsible for overseeing the stabilization and optimization of Decro’s affordable housing portfolio and ensuring developments comply with the extensive federal, state and local regulations under which these developments must operate. He also develops and applies key performance metrics to evaluate the performance of Decro’s third-party property managers.

Mr. Choice comes to Decro with 15 years of experience as Managing Director of a commercial real estate firm in Charlotte, North Carolina which provided asset management, leasing, and strategic transaction and investment management services for Fortune 100 financial companies and public and private institutions. As Managing Director, his responsibilities included providing financial due diligence, asset performance management and reporting, contract and compliance management while also applying data-mining skills to evaluate market trends and identify investment and growth opportunities.

Mr. Choice also worked with public and private institutions to leverage transit-oriented development and EB-5 immigrant investments as a means of funding urban in-fill and mixed-use developments. In addition, he managed a subsidized rental housing portfolio which involved executing contracts, coordinating billing, and providing oversight of resident service programs.

Prior to becoming involved in commercial real estate Mr. Choice owned and operated a retail apparel store that he grew to a chain with eleven stores and eventually sold to a large regional retailer.

Mr. Choice is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and an Asset Management Specialist as designated by the Consortium for Housing and Asset Management (CHAM). He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture, the Arts & Science Council, the Charlotte, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and Operation HOPE, a nonprofit providing individuals with the knowledge and tools to create a secure financial future.

Mr. Choice holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California.

Christian von Merkatz

Director
Vice President/Chief Estimator
Walton Construction, Inc.
With more than 20 years’ experience in real estate development, commercial real estate finance, affordable housing, redevelopment and real estate economics, Mr. von Merkatz is Director for Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment Group, and responsible for the marketing and origination of construction and permanent financing for multifamily properties with a focus on affordable housing projects. He is experienced at structuring transactions using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Section 8, Tax-Exempt financing, FHA, and conventional financing. In these capacities he placed and managed over $1 billion in in debt financing and created strong personal relationships within the capital markets. Mr. von Merkatz holds a Master of Science in Real Estate and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of San Diego.

Alanxander Nweeia

Treasurer
Financial Advisor

Mr. Nweeia is a part-time financial advisor with GBS Financial Corporation and has been a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney for more than 30 years. He served as Treasurer and Vice President of Finance for Under Sea Industries/SCUBAPRO, a leisure time division of Johnson Worldwide Associates.

Mr. Nweeia has a Master in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science from Babson College. He enjoys reading, hiking, fishing, traveling and volunteering.

Alicia Bontá Matricardi

Attorney and Broker, Matricardi Law

Alicia Bontá Matricardi, Esq. is a California licensed attorney and broker and owns and operates Matricardi Law, A Professional Law Corporation. As a professional with Matricardi Law, Alicia has built a boutique law firm specializing in nonprofit law and commercial real estate transactions, with a specialty in community development and affordable housing. Clients include the formerly publicly traded 99 Cents Only Stores and various development corporations, family-owned real estate companies, and nonprofit institutions, primarily servicing their real estate portfolios and advising on economic and community development matters. She serves as outside counsel to several nonprofits with portfolios of holdings of over $200 million each, including nonprofit universities, economic development engines, sober living facilities, community banks, and grantmakers.

Ms. Matricardi also owns and operates Carthay Group, a commercial real estate brokerage and development firm. As its Broker of Record, she specializes in transactional real estate, leading the firm’s portfolio of transactions in both single-family and multifamily projects and commercial real estate landlord-tenant leasing transactions, with a focus on tenant-side commercial leasing that builds value in low-income communities and emerging markets.

As Senior Project Director for a leading entitlements firm in Los Angeles, Trifiletti Consulting, Alicia led projects sized between $400 million and $1 billion relating to affordable housing and municipal infill infrastructure. She led project management teams to get projects shovel-ready on behalf of private and public clients, providing project management and land use entitlements technical expertise to developers through coordination with political leadership and municipal staff, land use and transactional real estate and corporate counsel, architects, public relations firms, geotechnical and environmental consultants, construction firms, and other technical consultants for real estate infill projects.

Alicia recently led a project management team working to develop a single project of 840 housing units, with more than 40 percent affordable and homeless housing and one million square feet of residential floor area, neighborhood-serving commercial uses including retail and restaurants, and an additional 100,000 square feet of community center and municipal office uses. She also recently managed a project team for a high-profile new construction infill infrastructure project in South Los Angeles, a mixed-use Costco development creating 800 units of housing, 23 percent affordable, utilizing modular construction to build more quickly and cost-efficiently in a dense urban environment, the first mixed-use Costco in the western United States.

Alicia presently works as outside counsel and real estate consultant for New Economics for Women, a national nonprofit economic development organization based in Los Angeles. She was selected through a nationwide search of developers to represent New Economics for Women’s participation in the national Growing Diverse Housing Developers Program, a $30 million investment from Wells Fargo over six years supporting 32 high-performing affordable housing developers across the country.

She serves as a national affordable housing thought leader and primary point of contact for the nonprofit’s grant funding and technical assistance under this program, which is aimed at producing significant affordable housing projects over the next six years, rebuilding the organization’s real estate development department, and expanding its partnership, borrowing, and capitalization capacity through 2028.

As former General Counsel and Chief of Development for New Economics for Women, a community development nonprofit with a portfolio of $200 million in assets and investments, Alicia led all affordable housing and economic development projects, including acquisition and rehabilitation and new construction deals. She directed all acquisitions, entitlements, design, and predevelopment efforts and worked to expand the organization’s portfolio of apartment units, single-family homes, charter schools, primary healthcare facilities, and commercial property spaces. She continues to advise on real estate, asset management, and financing strategies to support organizational sustainability and growth.

As former Chief of Development, Alicia also led the fund development department, executing the organization’s strategic plan to position it for major gifts and grant contracting. As General Counsel, she advised the board of directors and executive team, supervised all legal matters, and helped establish multiple spin-off organizations, including a high-performance community development financial institution focused on low-income and BIPOC lending in the City of Los Angeles.

Alicia earned her Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law and her Bachelor’s degree in American Studies with an emphasis on public policy and city planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She was named 2015 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the Real Property Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, is a 2014 Fellow of the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders, and a 2005 Hagwell Scholar Award recipient for her work in transportation law. Her law review article, “Los Angeles Missed the Bus: Lessons in Transportation Equity,” was published in the Journal of Transportation Law and Policy in 2006.

Alicia served as the 2022–2023 President of Southwestern University School of Law’s Alumni Board of Directors and now serves as an Ex Officio Executive Board Member. She was a Trustee of the Board of Directors of Southwestern Law School from 2022–2023 and served on the Board of Directors for The California Women’s Law Center from 2021–2024. She is a former public appointee to the City of West Hollywood’s Eastside Task Force, appointed by the City Council as a resident advocate for community redevelopment, and serves as General Counsel to the Latina Golfers Association, of which she is also a founding member.

Paul Pieroth

Director
Vice President/Chief Estimator
Walton Construction, Inc.
Mr. Pieroth has more than 18 years experience in general contracting, residential and commercial development and serves as Chief Operating Officer for Walton Construction Inc., a family-owned general contracting company, where he is responsible for providing quantity take-off work, preparing cost estimates and job proposals for multifamily developments ranging in size from 25-310 units. Mr. Pieroth is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton and is OSHA certified.

Laurie Craft

Chief Program Officer, St. Joseph Center

Laurie Craft is a seasoned nonprofit executive with extensive experience leading large-scale homeless services, housing interventions, and systemwide program operations across Los Angeles County. She currently serves as the Chief Program Officer at St. Joseph Center, where she oversees a broad portfolio of housing, outreach, interim housing, behavioral health, and supportive services programs that serve tens of thousands of vulnerable Angelenos each year. In this role, Laurie leads strategic program development, organizational performance, contract compliance, and cross-sector partnerships that strengthen the region’s homeless services system.

Prior to joining St. Joseph Center, Laurie was a founding leader at Hope the Mission, where she helped build the organization from its early stages into one of the largest homeless service providers in the region. As Chief Program Officer, she established and expanded the program department, launched and scaled dozens of interim housing and service programs, and drove operational systems that enabled the organization’s rapid growth and impact. In addition to her work at Hope the Mission, Laurie also consulted for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, contributing to the development of a large-scale behavioral health interim housing program.

Throughout her career, Laurie has been deeply committed to advancing evidence-based, person-centered, and housing-focused solutions to homelessness. She brings expertise in program design, public funding stewardship, organizational leadership, and cross-agency collaboration with local jurisdictions, CoCs, and community partners. Her work is grounded in dignity, a high standard of client care, and long-term stability for clients served.

Corey Feldpausch

Portfolio Manager

As Portfolio Manager, Mr. Feldpausch monitors Decro’s existing portfolio of affordable multi-family assets, consisting of over twenty-eight properties that total more than 1,600 rental units. This involves monitoring each project from completion, through its compliance period, by reviewing property-level financial reporting on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Through Decro’s internal risk rating system, Mr. Feldpausch identifies which assets are performing well, which properties need improvement, then develops short-term and long-term strategies for each.

Additionally, Mr. Feldpausch works on the due diligence of sites that have the potential for either acquisition or predevelopment. This includes identifying the best locations to house low-income individuals or families. Mr. Feldpausch completes the financial feasibility to acquire, develop, redevelop, finance, and close on each property.

Mr. Feldpausch has over a decade of experience in the affordable housing industry. He spent the early part of his career in the banking industry, working his way up to Senior Credit Analyst at Huntington National Bank, by improving their Community Development Lending portfolio. From there, Mr. Feldpausch became Director of Asset Management in the City of Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department. During his four years in Detroit, Mr. Feldpausch, along with a team of four other asset managers, were able to refinance or recapitalize over fourteen different properties, resulting in the long-term preservation of over 550 affordable housing units. In 2022, Mr. Feldpausch moved to Los Angeles County to become Director of Asset Management and Development for John Stanley, where he worked on all phases of affordable housing, from predevelopment, through construction, to asset management, on projects in California, Florida, Michigan, and Texas.

 

Mr. Feldpausch has a Bachelor of Science in Planning from Arizona State University and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from Ball State University. He also holds a Rental Housing Development Finance Professional Certification from Grow America (formerly known as the National Development Council). Mr. Feldpausch is the Chapter Lead for the Ball State University Los Angeles Alumni Chapter and a volunteer with Arizona State University’s Los Angeles Alumni Chapter.

Meg Babakhanian

Director
Assistant Vice President, Project Manager
US Bank

Meg Babakhanian is a Project Manager within the Affordable Housing group at U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance, where she is responsible for structuring, underwriting, negotiating, and closing equity and debt investments utilizing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (“LIHTC”). Prior to joining U.S. Bank, Meg worked as a Relationship Manager at California Community Reinvestment Corporation, where she helped originate, structure and underwrite permanent loans for affordable housing developments throughout California.

Meg holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Irene Choi

Director
Senior Vice President, Acqusitions
Redstone Equity Partners

Irene Choi is a Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Red Stone Equity Partners, where she is responsible for the investment management, financial underwriting, and syndication of affordable housing investments through Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Prior to joining Red Stone, Irene spent 3 years at Wells Fargo, having completed the Financial Analyst Program through the Community Lending & Investments Group. At the Bank, Irene was primarily responsible for underwriting and closing LIHTC investments in the West Coast and Rocky Mountains. Throughout Irene’s career, she has closed over $1 billion equity investments in affordable housing across 13 states.

She is a proud Angeleno, dedicated to increasing diversity in the real estate industry. She currently serves on the Committee for the REACH (Recruit, Empower, Access, Connect, Hustle) Initiative at Urban Land Institute in Los Angeles.

Irene holds a bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies and a minor in Spanish from University of California, Los Angeles.

Vanessa Rios

Director
Senior Advisor, Workforce Development
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
With more than 10 years expertise with nonprofit organizations in the social services sector, as Senior Program Manager for Corporation for Supportive Housing, Mrs. Rios is responsible for establishing and maintaining partnerships with key funders, community stakeholders, City staff, managed care organizations and nonprofit and for-profit housing developers. She provides training on technical aspects of supportive housing such as financing, operations and service delivery. Mrs. Rios holds a Master of Arts in Urban Sustainability and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Antioch University in Los Angeles. In 2018, she published a policy brief on developing a sustainable workforce in the homeless services sector of Los Angeles County, promoting workforce retention and strengthening the homeless services sector.

Warren Avery

Director
Editor/Publisher, IT Newsweek
Mr. Avery is a retired information technology marketing and sales professional with over 50 years in information technology.  Mr Avery was the editor and publisher of the IT Weekly Newsletter curated for Information Technology.  Mr. Avery currently volunteers at a local hospital and hosts a radio show for classic country fans.  Mr Avery holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.

Erin Foreman

Senior Project Manager

As Senior Project Manager for Decro Corporation, Ms. Foreman oversees the execution of all stages of affordable housing development, including the analysis and review of potential development sites. She is responsible for implementing the specific vision for each development, including coordinating with the project’s social service provider, arranging the debt and equity financing, managing the entitlement process, interacting with the architect on project design and the general contractor on construction and budget matters, and overseeing community outreach and government relations.

Ms. Foreman brings to Decro more than 15 years of real estate experience and a vast array of skills across a wide range of disciplines within the industry. Most recently, she managed the personal real estate portfolios of high net worth individuals that included over $500 million in acquisitions and sales of single-family, multifamily and commercial investments, as well as construction project oversight and the management of multifamily apartments within Los Angeles County. Ms. Foreman’s background also includes experience in mixed-use development and real estate finance. She is dedicated to supporting Decro’s mission of finding innovative permanent supportive and affordable housing solutions for the homeless as well as low-income families and seniors and persons with special needs, and promoting capital investment and job opportunities in disadvantaged communities.

Ms. Foreman received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication at University of California, Santa Barbara and holds a California Real Estate Brokers License.

Laura Vandeweghe

Chief Innovation Officer

As Chief Innovation Officer for Decro Corporation, Ms. Vandeweghe is responsible for the expansion of Decro’s affordable portfolio and the daily operation of Decro’s pipeline developments, including the coordination of the financing, construction and operation of all new developments, including an affordable, mixed-use, mixed-income development with 50,000 square feet of commercial space and approximately 200 units proposed to be built in Los Angeles.

Ms. Vandeweghe comes to Decro Corporation with more than 15 years of experience in complex, mixed-use development transactions. She has entitled more than 4,700 housing units in California and developed more than 1,500 multi-family units in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including 90 affordable units.

Ms. Vandeweghe is a veteran in structuring complex real estate transactions comprised of multi-layered financing using New Market Tax Credits (NMTCs) and Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), and successfully bringing difficult projects to fruition, including Del Mar Station in Pasadena, California and the Wilshire Vermont Station in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Decro, Ms. Vandeweghe was a managing member of a real estate development and asset management firm that handled the entitlements for the 1,100 acre master planned community in unincorporated Imperial County, California, Rancho Los Lagos, comprised of 3,800 housing units, a 100 acre business park, 10 acres of commercial, a 40-acre community park, two schools and an active adult golf community. She was vice president at CityScape Capital Group, LLC, where she managed new market, historic, and energy tax credit portfolios worth more than $100 million, and director of marketing and asset management at Urban Partners, LLC where she oversaw a portfolio of over $1 billion in development in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Ms. Vandeweghe holds a Master in Business Administration with an emphasis in real estate from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, a Master in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University. She is a member of the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute.