About

She is a past President of both the Virginia Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (VAHCDO) and the Little Ten Housing Authorities of Southwest Virginia. She currently serves on the NAHRO Small Agency Advisory Committee, HousingForward Virginia Board, Abuse Alternatives Board, and is Chair of the SERC-NAHRO Small Agency Task Force (SATF).

In this position, Leslie focuses on issues impacting fair housing and real property policy. She is the primary point of contact for state and national organizations who influence these issues. In addition, Leslie creates and leads the association’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. When she isn’t deep into policy and making great strides for the community, you can find her relaxing with family, traveling, or working out. If you see her on one of her many long walks around Richmond, be sure to wave! Lastly, Leslie’s love for Asian cuisine, especially Korean food, plays a big role in her life.

Currently Shernita Bethea is the current Past President of the Virginia Association of Housing Counselors and serves on the Board of Directors for Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia and the Hampton Roads Housing Consortium. Shernita has spent countless hours helping agencies and organizations throughout the state of Virginia improve their programs and resources.

Prior to joining the Richmond Fed, he spent 12 years at Enterprise Community Partners, providing housing and community development technical assistance and capacity building support to nonprofits, neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, and the federal government. His previous experience includes leading a nonprofit housing and social services organization in Washington, D.C., conducting fair housing and civil rights investigations and leading programs for a youth and juvenile justice organization.

Tom received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the College of William and Mary.

He is an appointed member of the Consumer Financial Advisory Board (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board. He is also actively involved in the community as a member of the Virginia Asian Advisory Board, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia, and Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities – Richmond Chapter. Tom and his wife Gretchen Garber are proud parents to two very rambunctious yet loving boys.

Repeatedly hired and promoted to challenging operations to improve asset management, quality of service, employee recruitment and retention, training and development of staff, ultimately leading to increased profitability. Developed and executed strategic revenue, marketing, and business strategies in existing, transitional, and start-up assets from $1m to $12m in annual revenues whilst simultaneously leading teams ranging from 15 to 90 members. During her hotel management career, Yolunda oversaw renovations and redevelopment projects ranging from as little as $1m to upwards of $10m.

Since living in Charlottesville, Yolunda has endeavored to contribute positively to the fabric of what is deemed as “community” by: volunteering as a GED tutor for the Adult Learning Center, acting as a facilitator for Dialogue on Race, community organizing for the City of Promise, and helping to create a social networking organization to connect African Americans in Charlottesville known as the Black Professional Network to name a few. Yolunda also decided to return to college to get her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration while also participating in and volunteering for an entrepreneur development program known as Community Investment Collaborative which led to the development of her co-owned business, A Taste of Home Southern Cuisine; a food truck and catering business. Yolunda’s desire to work more effectively in her community led to her participation in the Board Development Academy through the Center for Non-Profit Excellence. Upon completion of her board training Yolunda began serving on the board of Girl Scouts of the Virginia Skyline, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and BPN.  Yolunda was raised to believe in the Golden Rule, to seek to give more than you seek to receive, and to bring forth thoughtful solutions to challenging opportunities. These values are what drive her vision and her purpose.

Horn received a bachelor of science degree (with honors) in physics from Roanoke College and a JD and LL.M. from Duke University School of Law. He has been regularly profiled in Virginia Super Lawyers magazine’s “The Top Attorneys in Virginia” and in Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite.”  Horn maintains the highest rating available from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. He has been a speaker and presenter for industry groups, construction law and eminent domain conferences and seminars.

Horn is also actively involved in his community and regularly advocates on issues related to Type 1 diabetes (T1D), also known as juvenile diabetes. Horn is a member of the 2016 Class of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

Kegley completed the Achieving Excellence program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard in 2007, served as the chairman of the board of Fahe from 2012-16, and on the boards of Virginia Housing Alliance, the New River Land Trust, Va. United Land Trusts and the Wythe County Public Schools Foundation for Excellence. In 2018, he led the opening of HOPE’s social enterprise, the Open Door Café, a ‘donate-what-you-can restaurant. He was the recipient of the VHA 7th annual Virginia S. Peters Housing Award in 2010.

A native of Roanoke, a graduate of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee with a major in Natural Resources, he lives with his wife on a 300-acre family farm outside Wytheville. When he’s not managing the non-profit housing agency, he relaxes on his non-profit family farm, enjoying implementation of conservation practices, rotational grazing of cattle, running and reading.

A longtime executive at Virginia Housing, she has played a key role in shaping Virginia Housing’s strategic direction and executing its vision and priorities for the development of affordable housing across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Before becoming CEO, she was Chief of Programs, overseeing homeownership, rental, community outreach and federal programs

Tammy brings a wealth of institutional knowledge and experiences to the role of CEO which have influenced her views on the importance of equitable, sustainable housing, and diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

Today, she serves on several boards focused on increasing economic and housing opportunities, including the Local Advisory Committee for both Hampton Roads and the Virginia office of the Local Initiatives Support Corp., and the Virginia Council on Economic Education, Board of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Board of HousingForwardVirginia, and is a member of the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA).

She is a graduate of the University of Richmond.

Jill received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from James Madison University and a Master of Regional Planning in Housing, Community Development and Real Estate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Throughout her career, she also served on numerous boards and advisory committees of nonprofit organizations.

Phipps has 17 years of experience at People Incorporated with previous roles that include Senior Vice President and Vice President and Chief Development Officer. He has worked to increase the availability of investment capital and services to low-income communities and was instrumental in the development of the agency’s New Markets Tax Credit program. His specialties include raising and deploying investor capital, project development, program compliance and community outreach for a variety of community economic development and strategic initiatives.

He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Virginia Community Action Partnership. He also serves on multiple boards, including HousingForward Virginia, the New Rivers/Mount Rogers Workforce Development Board, and the Virginia Housing Rental Housing Advisory Council. Phipps resides in southwest Virginia with his wife, Bella, and their three daughters.

Prior to his role as Senior Development Manager, Austin served as a Financial Analyst and Multifamily Development Analyst with The Lawson Companies. Austin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, with concentrations in both finance and economics. He holds the Housing Credit Certified Professional designation through the National Association of Home Builders.

In 1978 he began what was to become a fourteen-year span of service with the City of Roanoke; first as Human Resources Programs Coordinator, then as Chief of Community Planning, and finally as Assistant City Manager. He assumed the post of City Manager of Martinsville, Virginia on March 1, 1992. On December 15, 2003, after nearly 12 years as Martinsville’s City Manager, Mr. Reynolds returned to Roanoke to assume the post of Deputy Executive Director of the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority. After three years with the Authority, Mr. Reynolds was appointed Director of Housing and Community Development for Total Action Against Poverty, Inc. Mr. Reynolds left TAP to assume the position of Director of Community Development for the City of Danville, on November 29, 2010. On July 1, 2016, Mr. Reynolds was promoted to his current position as Deputy City Manager for the City of Danville. During his career in public management, Mr. Reynolds has had the distinct honor to serve as President of the Virginia Local Government Manager’s Association and President of the Virginia Municipal League. Additionally, Mr. Reynolds has been recognized for his community service by receiving both the Roanoke Branch NAACP and Roanoke Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Distinguished Service Awards. He is married to Stephanie Moon Reynolds, retired City Clerk for the City of Roanoke, Virginia and together they have four adult children; four grandchildren and two great grandsons.

Previously, Eric worked in the field of archaeology for six years in Virginia, while earning his Masters of Archaeology and Heritage Management from the University of Leicester in the U.K. His transition to the urban planning and housing field stemmed from his interest in the intersection between social justice, history, and the urban form.

She has a B.A. from the University of Washington in Political Science and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University. She proudly became a Richmond resident in 2016.