OHFA Adds New Staff Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, July 18, 2024
Media Contact: Penny Martin
Phone: 614.728.2911
Email: [email protected]

COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) is proud to share that Ken Bowen, Caroline Urbanic, Lynette Leach, Keith Worthington, Hannah Diewald, Aaron Casto, Asia Speights, Pinni Terrell, Hannah Amare, and Aletha Williams have joined the OHFA team.

Ken Bowen, OHFA's new multifamily lending program manager in the Office of Multifamily Housing, began his lending career as chief lending officer for a savings bank. He moved to Banc One Capital Corp and Red Capital Group where he spent 18 years in multifamily lending with roles, including chief underwriter and head of mortgage production under the Fannie Mae DUS 360™ and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance programs. In more recent years, Ken has worked both independently and with other mortgage banking firms placing commercial mortgages with a variety of lenders, including banks, insurance companies, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. He also has experience as a direct and indirect investor in multifamily projects and apartments manager.

Caroline Urbanic is OHFA's new outreach and events specialist in the Office of Public Affairs. Graduating from Capital University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, she previously assisted in coordinating events at the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Caroline was also a freelance project manager at BrandWell where she was responsible for marketing and coordinating large events across Ohio.

Lynette Leach joins OHFA as the new chief of internal audit in the Office of Continuous Improvement. She has worked in government and not-for-profit accounting for over 18 years. Most recently, Lynette worked as the director of accounting for a large electric cooperative in Ohio. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Ohio University and a master's degree in taxation from Capital University Law School. Lynette is a certified public accountant (CPA).

Keith Worthington is OHFA's new chief of process improvement in the Office of Internal Audit. With more than 25 years of experience in continuous improvement, he previously worked for Huntington Bank where he developed processes, processed maps, changed policies and procedures, controlled design changes, and trained others. Keith has a bachelor's degree in environmental health from Wright State University, a master's degree in environmental health from The University of Findlay, and an MBA from Capital University.

Hannah Diewald joins the Office of Single Family Housing as a new housing grant analyst 2. She most recently worked at Franklin County Economic Development & Planning, where she was a grants coordinator administering federally funded community development and housing grants. Hannah earned a bachelor's degree in public policy and city and regional planning from The Ohio State University.

Aaron Casto is the new asset manager in the Office of Multifamily Housing, Planning, Preservation, and Development Division. Since graduating from The Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in sociology, he has accumulated more than 10 years of affordable housing industry experience. Most recently, Aaron worked for Wallick Communities as a regional manager responsible for managing 10 properties owned by Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Asia Speights joins the 9% Housing Tax Credit Section of the Planning, Preservation, and Development Division of OHFA's Office of Multifamily Housing as a new housing grant analyst 2. Previously, she worked as an originations analyst for National Affordable Housing where she developed new partner relationships and provided financial projection models to close projects and syndicate them into investment funds. Asia graduated from Texas Southern University with a master's degree in public policy.

OHFA also welcomes three new housing examiner trainees: Pinni Terrell, Hannah Amare, and Aletha Williams.

Since 2006, Pinni Terrell has been in property management. She previously worked for the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) coordinator/property manager who developed program processes to ensure compliance with U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-funded programs. Pinni has an associate degree in accounting and is currently working on various IT certifications through the Career Assistance Transition Plan (CTAP) program at the University of Cincinnati.

Hannah Amare brings 18 years of affordable housing experience to OHFA. She most recently oversaw market-rate, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), Housing Development Gap Financing (HDAP), and project-based programs while managing a large family property for Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH) Communities. During her career, Hannah has held several key positions, including property manager and regional manager, for which she was responsible for a large portfolio.

Aletha Williams recently worked for Active Residential Management as a property manager responsible for everyday operations, including conducting quarterly unit inspections, monitoring maintenance projects, and enforcing community rules.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency is an Equal Opportunity Housing entity. Loans are available on a fair and equal basis regardless of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, military status, disability or ancestry. Please visit www.ohiohome.org for more information.

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