About Our Faculty

Katie Anderson is a Past President of the Southwest Regional Chapter of NAHRO and a past member of the Board of Governors. She currently serves on the Community Revitalization & Development Committee for NAHRO at all three levels. Ms. Anderson has over 28 years of experience in the affordable housing industry, including three years of service as a Commissioner on the Louisiana Housing and Finance Agency where she served on the Multi-Family and Energy Committees. Ms. Anderson has a wide range of experience as a trainer and leader in NAHRO. She has served as an Executive Director of a small agency, a medium-sized agency under HUD’s receivership, and most recently as the Director of a Regional Housing Authority administering an HCV Regional Program. During her faculty tenure Ms. Anderson has delivered trainings in a variety of other specialist certifications including both Public Housing and Voucher Occupancy, Eligibility, Income and Rent Calculation. 

Lisa Baker is a consultant and experienced executive in the housing and community development industry. She served 14 years as a CEO for a regional housing authority and 14 years in local government and Public Housing Authority operations. Ms. Baker received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of California. Previously, Ms. Baker was the CEO of a homeless shelter where she oversaw shelter and treatment programs, developed Housing First programs to exit long-term homelessness, and worked in developing and operating post-incarceration housing to mitigate homelessness and recidivism. 

Ms. Baker has developed training curricula for NAHRO and has authored articles in the field of housing and community development, including for the Journal of Housing and Community Development. She has received a plethora of awards including 2020 Assembly Resolution No. 896, 2020 Congressional Record, v 166, No. 207; 2019 CEO Today USA edition CEO of the Year, 2019 Woman of the Year for Congressional District 3, 2019 Woman of Persistence by the California League of Cities, and a NAHRO National Award of Excellence and three National Awards of Merit. She serves as a NAHRO Member of the DEI Committee and the IRGE Committee.

Lisa’s lives in the small town of Winters, CA with her husband, son, and two labs named Scoobie and Chase

With over 30 years of experience working with various government entities, Eric C. Brown is an experienced public housing consultant and trainer. Mr. Brown has served as Executive Director of the Meridian (Mississippi) Housing Authority, Annapolis Housing Authority, Prince George’s County Housing Authority, and Westminster Housing Authority. He has also served as Deputy Executive Director of housing agencies in New Orleans, Philadelphia and Baltimore. As Executive Director of the Annapolis Housing Authority, Mr. Brown implemented the agency’s first major redevelopment of public housing properties using the public-private partnership model. He also implemented the first housing partnership with Habitat for Humanity which enabled public housing residents to become homeowners. 

Eric’s greatest achievement was removing two troubled agencies from HUD’s troubled list.

Naomi and her husband, John, founded an animal rescue for Border Collies, and spend most weekends saving dogs from shelters across the US. 

With 34 years of small housing agency management and operational experience, Sharon Carlson has been a NAHRO Faculty member since 2007. Ms. Carlson is currently the Executive Director for the Belding, Michigan Housing Commission. As a member of NAHRO, Ms. Carlson holds a variety of NAHRO board positions including Vice-President for Professional Development, a member of the Board of Governors, and Senior Vice-President for the North Central Regional Council of NAHRO. Additionally, she provides community service at the local level as Chair of City Downtown Development Authority, Chair of City Recreation Advisory Board, and Chair of County Substance Abuse Initiative Advisory Board.

Ms. Carlson holds several NAHRO certifications including Management Executive (CME), Certified Public Housing Manager (C-PHM), Occupancy Specialist for Public Housing (CSO-PH), Specialist in Eligibility, Income and Rent Calculation for Public Housing (CSEC-PH), and NAHRO Certified Commissioner (NCC).

Ms. Carlson’s greatest achievement is raising children who are well-educated and productive members of society. In her free time, she enjoys musicals, mysteries, history, and stories that end with the good guys always winning!

Bobby R. Collins has more than 25 years in the housing industry and is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Authority of the City of Shreveport (HACS). Under his direction, the Authority’s PHAS status changed from “Sub-Standard Management” to “High Performer” in two years. Before joining HACS he was the Executive Director of Alexandria Housing. He is also the Senior Vice President of Louisiana NAHRO (LHC).

Mr. Collins serves on several committees: the National NAHRO Housing and Leg-Net Committees, the Southwest NAHRO Legislative committee, and as Vice Chair of the Southwest NAHRO Housing Committee. He holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and Organizational Management and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Management and a minor in Finance.

Bobby Collins holds a NAHRO Certified Management Executive (CME) Certification and a NAHRO Certified Manager of Property Operations (CMPO) Certification. 

Bobby’s greatest accomplishment was taking a Housing Authority from “troubled” status to “standard performer” within two years.

 Angela Davis has over 15 years of experience in the housing field, including Family Self-Sufficiency, Housing Choice Voucher, homeownership and transitional housing programs. Ms. Davis holds certifications in the Housing Choice Voucher program for Housing Specialist, Family Self-Sufficiency Specialists and Advanced Rent Calculation, and a certification in Post-Purchase Homeownership Education. She served as Chair of the Regional Family Self-Sufficiency Coordinator Roundtable from 2016 to 2018 and served as Co-Chair from 2014 to 2016. Ms. Davis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Relations from Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In addition to her extensive qualifications and education, Angela is also an advanced Toastmaster through Toastmasters International. 

Ms. Glenn is the President of the Bethel Empowerment and Wellness Center, the Chair of the US Africa Collaborative, Inc., and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust. She serves on the Board of Directors of Homes for America, Inc, on NAHRO’s Board of Governors, chairs the NAHRO Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, and is an active member of NAHRO’s International Research and Global Exchange. Recently she retired from Baltimore County government as the Deputy Director of the Department of Planning. Ms. Glenn received her BFA from the MD Institute, College of Art, and a BA in Business Administration from the University of Baltimore.

Her extensive credentials include being a member of the U.S. State Department’s official delegation to Habitat 3, held in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016 and Habitat 2, held in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996. In 2015, she was appointed by the United Nations as a Policy Expert on Urban Services and Technology. She has presented at several international venues including presentations in China, South Africa, Australia, and France.

Elizabeth is an avid gardener and photographer.

Gary Gramling currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the San Diego Housing Commission and as a Member of the Board of Directors of Housing Development Partners, a non-profit community development company in San Diego. Prior to this, Mr. Gramling was the Finance Chairman and past Board Chairman of Meals-On-Wheels, San Diego and a past President of the Home Builders Council, Building Industry Association of San Diego. During his extensive career he managed the Trust Real Estate Division of what is now Union Bank and oversaw more than $120 million in properties in five states. As a development consultant, projects he oversaw represented more than 6,000 homes. 

In 1996 Mr. Gramling provided economic studies and expert witness assistance on development feasibility and market valuations with real estate economist Alan Nevin. In the late 1990’s he created his own building and development companies in the Imperial Valley.

Gary is a certified expert witness on both market evaluations in San Diego and Imperial County and an expert witness on Title 25 Building Inspections in Imperial County.

Adelaide brings over 20 years of experience working in Housing and Community Development. She has worked for three Public Housing Authorities in Northern and Southern California for City and County agencies. She held multiple positions starting with Office Assistant, Case Manager/Housing Specialist, Inspector, FSS Coordinator, Program Coordinator, and Home Ownership Coordinator. She also brings her experience in the different facets of housing including budgeting, SEMAP performance reviews, monitoring, quality control, case reviews and hearings. Through her program development and grant writing expertise, she brought new funding and partners to expand programs while streamlining operations to enable the agency to increase efficiency and improve services. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Adelaide is a huge butter fan and was known as a child to leave bite marks on sticks butter from the fridge! Now she resists taking bites, but she still keeps at least 4 kinds of butter on hand at home at all times.

James (Jim) Inglis was the Executive Director of the Livonia Housing Commission, LHC (Michigan) from 1977 to 2019. As the executive director, Mr. Inglis served 1,500 families and has an annual operating budget of over $11 million. Prior to his tenure at the Housing Commission, Mr. Inglis was an Administrative Assistant to the Mayor of the City of Livonia (1975) and the Community Development Coordinator for the City of Livonia (1976-1977).

Jim served as the National President of NAHRO from 2003-2005, President of North Central Regional Council of NAHRO from 1989-1991, and as the President of the Michigan Chapter of NAHRO from 1985-1987. He has prepared and presented testimony before the U.S. Congress and non-profit organizations. He is also a NAHRO Certified Management Executive and a NAHRO Fellow.

Mr. Inglis holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Ferris State University and a Master of Public Administration from Eastern Michigan University.

James is both a NAHRO Fellow and a NAHRO Certified Management Executive (CME).

Darlene started her career as a houser by working in family housing on the Marine Corp base in Twentynine Palms, California. She later joined the Homes for Good housing agency in Oregon as a property manager and later as their Occupancy Supervisor. She also worked with the Oregon Department of Human Services in their employee training program and as their Business Transition Manager. In her work in Business Transition, she assisted DHS managers and teams to prepare for significant change initiatives.

Darlene has her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, a Certificate in Enterprise Change Management, and a Certificate in Public Administration. She is a Global Certified Strengths Coach (Strengths Finders), a leadership coach and is certified to provide DISC behavioral assessments. Today, she combines her passion for employee and leadership development with her passion for housing through her work as a Principal Faculty member at NAHRO and her consulting work with housing agencies across the county through her business D. Kelly Consulting.

Darlene is an avid University of Oregon (U of O) Duck fan and a former U of O gymnast. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family. 

Betsey Martens has been involved with affordable housing for over 40 years. She has been a housing authority Executive Director, Co-Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Commissioner. As an Executive Director of Boulder Housing Partners, she managed a staff of approximately 80 people responsible for the development, leasing, maintenance, finance, and resident services delivery of more than 2,000 units of housing, both affordable and market rate.

In her NAHRO experience, Betsey Martens has been a national president (2011-2013), Committee Chair, and Regional Director. She is a founding member and Chair of Thistle Community Housing and a member of the Board of the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. She is also a graduate of Georgetown University’s Institute for Leadership Transformation and is certified as an executive leadership coach.

If you look carefully, you can find Betsey in the 1985 Warren Miller Film at the World Telemark Moguls Championship.

Clifton Martin has over 40 years of industry experience. He previously served as the CEO, Deputy Executive Director and Operations Director of the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County. As CEO, Mr. Martin’s responsibilities included daily oversight of all functions and operations of affordable housing portfolio including 1100 residential apartments in 10 communities, supervision of over 70 staff members, and oversight of admissions department, public housing program, Housing Choice Voucher program, Rental Allowance Program, Partnership Rental Housing Programs. Prior to working at the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County, Mr. Martin worked at Oxford Realty Services and American Property Management where he oversaw various properties.

Clifton is a NAHRO Certified Public Housing Manager (C-PHM), NAHRO Certified Manager of Property Operations (CMPO), NAHRO Certified Management Executive (CME), and also a NAHRO Fellow. 

Clif used to assist HUD with their Troubled Agency Recovery Center (TARC) and travelled all over the country spending time at challenged agencies. “I have some stories to tell!” 

Steve Merritt was first elected to serve as a commissioner in his hometown, Needham Massachusetts in 1983. He was professionally employed by the Cambridge Housing Authority in 1988 as a housing manager and served both roles for five years. After leaving the elected position in 1993, Mr. Merritt remained with the CHA, rising to the Senior Manager level. In 2004 he was selected by the Norwood (MA) Housing Authority as their Executive Director. He continued as the Norwood ED until retirement in 2021. During his tenure in Norwood, he was active in State, Regional, and National NAHRO, and served as President at all three levels. He served as National President from 2015-2017 and is still on the NAHRO Board of Governors. In 2021 he was named a NAHRO Fellow.

In addition to serving on the NAHRO Faculty he is also serving as the interim executive director, in his hometown of Needham during their search process. His biggest accomplishment was becoming NAHRO President and being able to testify in front of Congress on the value of housing programs.

Steve loves baseball and has served as a Youth Baseball Coach for over 20 years.

Dennis Morgan is a Senior Associate at D L Morgan & Associates with over 50 years of experience in the assisted housing industry who has provided technical assistance and training on a wide range of subjects including but not limited to SEMAP, Housing Quality Standards, Screening and Terminations, Lease Enforcement, Admission and Occupancy, Section 8 Administration, Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership, Moving to Work, Consortia, Relocation, PHAS, and the PHA Plan. Mr. Morgan also teamed with other senior members to co-author the Public Housing Admission and Occupancy Guidebook, Voucher Homeownership Guidebook, Conversion of Public Housing to the HCV Program Guidebook, Consortia articles and other publications. Mr. Morgan spent over six years as Executive Director of Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority in Toledo, Ohio, over 16 years at the Orlando Housing Authority and seven years as Executive Director of the Deland Housing Authority, all of which are high-performing Public Housing Authorities.

In his spare time, Dennis enjoys fishing, golfing, and spending time with his family.

Marsha Parham-Green has been the Executive Director of the Baltimore County Office of Housing since 2012. She previously worked for the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County as their Director of Finance for four years. She has more than 17 years’ experience working with not-for-profit organizations in a financial or operations capacity. Marsha served as the Treasurer for MAHRA from 2009-2014. Ms. Parham-Green holds NAHRO Certifications in Public Housing Management, HQS, HCV Management, and is a candidate for Executive Management certification. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Non-Profit Management and a Master’s in Leadership and Organizational Development from The Notre Dame University of Maryland. Marsha is also the current Executive Director of the Human Relations Commission for Baltimore County.

Marsha holds numerous NAHRO certifications including Certified Managment Executive (CME), Public Housing Manager (PHM), and Certified Specialist of Inspection – Housing Quality Standards.

Sunny Shaw has been a “houser” since 2000. She is proud to share that she began her career as a receptionist and has learned a multitude of PHA jobs on her way to becoming an Executive Director in 2010. While the Director at Housing Alliance and Community Partnerships (HACP) in Pocatello, Sunny led her team to expand their portfolio of units owned or managed by 38% and their voucher portfolio by 26%. HACP was also awarded MTW status during her tenure. Now, as the Director at Twin Falls and Jerome Housing Authorities in Idaho, she hopes to replicate some of those same strategies to increase community impact in these smaller communities.

Sunny has been involved in NAHRO leadership for most of her career. She has served in various positions including as State, Regional and National (2019-2021) President. Sunny was incredibly honored to be selected as a NAHRO Fellow in 2021 and looks forward to the opportunities to mentor NAHRO emerging leaders as part of her Fellow’s commitment. Sunny holds a B.A. from Boise State University. She has obtained her PHM and is a Certified Management Executive (CME), both through NAHRO. In her “spare time,” Sunny also works as a Certified Career Coach through her consulting business.

Sunny loves mountain sledding on her snowmobile, Snow White.

Renee has served as Board Chairperson for the Ypsilanti Housing Commission (YHC) in Ypsilanti, Michigan for more than 13 years. She began working in the affordable housing industry in 2010. In 2020, Renee retired from the State of Michigan, Department of Health, and Human Services (MDHHS) as an administrator, after more than 30 years of service. At MDHHS she held multiple positions in the field, management and administration; including a senior level executive position; as Director of the Bureau of Child Welfare, in MDHHS Children’s Services Administration. Renee joined the NAHRO team in 2021 and enjoys training topics in the Commissioner, Leadership, Management and Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) learning tracks.

Renee is actively involved in her community; she advocates for services and funding for the homeless, veterans, low-income individuals and those impacted by disproportionality or inequities. Renee has also been a member at Northridge Church, Plymouth, Michigan, for 12 years, where she is actively involved in women’s ministry and domestic and global outreach.

Renee has been a member of the Western Wayne County Conservation Association (WWCCA) for 10 years, where she is a Range Safety Officer, enjoys sport shooting, archery and being a conservation advocate.

Rene Tarver is a dynamic solution-driven leader with over 25 years of experience successfully delivering HUD programs to help underserved communities. She is a trusted advisor, counselor, and case manager with a passion for collaboration with local non-profits, financial agencies, schools, and healthcare providers to name a few.

Trained as Occupancy Specialist, Rene developed an HCV Homeownership program in Southern California, even though the big cities said it could not be done. She is an expert in HCV Homeownership procedure, process, roles and monitoring. Rene is also an expert in Family Self Sufficiency and was one of 10 FSS coordinators in the country to inform and collaborate in development of Administering an Effective Family Self-Sufficiency Program: A Guidebook Based on Evidence and Promising Practice and Self-Sufficiency Best Practices for Program Design & Collaboration. She is also the Co-Monitor of NAHRO’s peer-driven FSS Listserv.

In her spare time, Rene enjoys researching and reading regulations.

Since 1993 Richard Wankel has been employed within the affordable housing sector. As of 2021, Richard transitioned from the day-to-day Executive Director of the Town of Islip Housing Authority — a mid-size PHA on Long Island, N.Y. — and began working as an Attorney/Consultant. In his position, Mr. Wankel focuses on not-for-profit and Housing Agency representation in the affordable housing space while still serving public entities in a part-time role. He also handles real estate, business formations, compliance, labor/employment, and contractual matters for private clients.

Previously Mr. Wankel served as Executive Director for another agency, leading the PHA out of its troubled status within his four-year tenure for which he earned a HUD award. He has served as a five-time past President of the Association of Long Island Housing Agencies, as a Board member for NYSAHRO, and founded the Long Island Association of Housing and Renewal Officials Inc., LIAHRO, serving as its inaugural President. The group, although disbanded, had sought to combine all types of affordable housing initiatives into a single-minded effort.

Richard is a volunteer Basketball Coach year-round and Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach Yeshiva University; however, he never played basketball competitively.