Better Collaboration-Better Development
Moderator and Panelists Biographies Moderator Jennifer M. Tammen, Director of Planning, Norwood Builders, Inc. Jennifer is responsible for working with Norwood‟s chief financial officer and chief operating officer on all phases of property acquisitions and development, including research, obtaining funding, zoning, tax increment financing (TIF), municipal approvals and more. Her areas of expertise include financial analyses and the management of redevelopment projects, TIF issues, request for proposals processes and market studies. While in graduate school, she was awarded a National Congress for Community Economic Development internship with Bethel New Life, Inc. Upon graduation, Tammen worked as a project associate with S.B. Friedman & Company, a real estate advisory and development consulting firm in Chicago. Most recently, Tammen served as Redevelopment Manager for the Village of Oak Park. Tammen holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning and Policy (MUPP „99) from The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and a Bachelors degree in Political Science from DePaul University. She is currently working toward a Certificate in Urban Real Estate from UIC. Additionally, Tammen is a member of the American Planning Association and of Women in Planning and Development. Panelists Rick Cavenaugh, Chief Operating Officer, Fifield Companies Fifield Companies is a Chicago based developer of high rise office and residential properties in Chicago, Los Angeles and south Florida. Mr. Cavenaugh has been involved in development projects nationally for over 20 years and has collaborated with municipalities, housing authorities and state finance authorities, primarily on multi-family housing projects. Most recently, Mr. Cavenaugh has spent considerable time with the Village of Oak Park on a proposed mixed use development and is currently working in the City of Chicago on several PD sites with Fifield. He also has worked extensively in Florida and California and brings an interesting perspective to bear on the comparison between the different efforts that each of these jurisdictions take to the table when negotiating with developers. Mr. Cavenaugh holds a Bachelors of Civil Engineering from University of Illinois-Champaign. He is responsible for the new construction of >16,000 apartment units nationally, acquisition and renovation of 17,500 units, land and commercial developments. Prior to joining Fifield, Mr. Cavenaugh served as President for both the Prime Group/Prime Residential (public REIT) (1990-1998) and for Whiteco Residential (1998-2003), in Chicago. Michael Chen, Director of Development Services, Village of Oak Park Chen came to Oak Park in 1999 as the Redevelopment Manager for the Downtown TIF and was promoted to the Development Services Director within his first year. As the development director, Chen is the primary spokesman to the community on Village acquisition, parking, and development issues. He works with developers to coach them on: community issues/concerns; revising project designs to reduce neighborhood impacts; and creating strategies to make their entry into Oak Park more efficient and less contentious. Chen also spends much of his time interacting with the Village Board and community boards and commissions to provide them information on development trends and activities, perform financial analyses, and serve as an “expert” consultant. Chen gained his development knowledge in the private sector with almost 30 years of international business and real estate development experience. He developed a $500million real estate portfolio for a major Japanese company, which included: World Trade Center (Miami, FL), Scottsdale Princess Resort (Scottsdale, AZ), Embassy Suites Resort (Palm Beach, FL), and Del Cielo Condos (Brentwood, CA). He also managed the development of a 650-acre office park that includes the North American headquarters of Toyota Motors and taught Economics at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Chen holds a Master of Science in Quality Management from the University of Miami and a Bachelor of Science in Commerce (concentration in finance) from the University of Louisville. He served on the Construction and Marketing
Committees of Embassy Suites, Inc. and the “Hotel Development Task Force” for Miami Beach, FL. He received the PIE Journal “National Partnership Award” for the creation of an educational support program and the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association “Gold Award” for the design of a marketing program. Chen is a frequent panel speaker at national/international conferences on finance, real estate development, golf course development, international partnerships, and tourism. He is included in Who’s Who International and Who’s Who Worldwide and is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker. Eliud Medina, Executive Director, Near Northwest Neighborhood Network/Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership Mr. Eliud Medina was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico on November 15, 1957, the 16th child of 18 children, to Mr. Pablo and Eladia Medina. In 1968, after his father‟s death, his mother migrated to the greater Chicago area and established her family in the Humboldt Park community. After completing his education Mr. Medina returned to Humboldt Park to work and organize. At the age of 24 became the Director of a major community action organization, the West Town Concerned Citizens Coalition. He later worked for Erie Neighborhood House, a 100-year-old settlement house as its Director of Community Services. He served as Director of Development for the Latin United Community Housing Association. He founded the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Westtown Law Center and became its first Executive Director. At the Center, Mr. Medina provided legal representation to residents and organizations on administrative law and other legal matters. He is one of the founders of the Latino Task Force on the Homeless, the first group organized to address the needs of the Latino homeless in Chicago, and co- founded the Latino Coalition in Defense of Affirmative Action. Mr. Medina holds a J.D. from John Marshall Law School. In October of 1997 he was recruited by the leadership of the Near Northwest Neighborhood Network Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership to become its Executive Director and Lead Organizer. At NNNN, he has led a communitywide effort to fight gentrification and displacement and to promote community-controlled development. This work resulted in a landmark decision to give acquisition authority of 159 vacant lots and abandoned buildings to the community. Under his administration, NNNN took the lead role in creating and pasting, the Humboldt Park Redevelopment Area, the Humboldt Park Commercial Tax Increment District and the Division/ Homan Tax Increment Financing District. Mr. Medina has intensive experience in public administration, economic development, law and policy. He has served as a consultant to many not for profit community organizations and institutions in the greater Chicago land area. He is currently working on promoting commercial development and housing development in Humboldt Park as well as attracting local, state and federal resources. Mr. Medina has received various awards for his efforts to improve the quality of education, culture and the development of people in the greater Humboldt Park community. During his tenure, the Near Northwest Neighborhood Network has attracted over one million dollars in grants towards education for local schools and more than eight million dollars in commitments from financial institutions for first-time homebuyers and local businesses. Recently, NNNN‟s Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership was awarded as one of seven finalists in a national competition conducted by the Kellogg Pathways to Collaboration. Stephen Porras, Vice President , Acquisitions, Affordable Housing, LR Development Mr. Porras has overall responsibility for the firm‟s planning, acquisition, financing and development of affordable housing. He is responsible for the development of the $600 million ABLA complex in Chicago and the $42 million RiverWest project in Peoria, Illinois. He also participated in closing the financing of the $17 million Humboldt Ridge project in Chicago. Mr. Porras has 19 years of experience in the financing and development of affordable multifamily real estate. Before joining LR Development Company, Mr. Porras worked in tax credit syndication and affordable housing development at the National Equity Fund, Inc. in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Mr. Porras also served as a public sector lender and executive with the City of New York's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Texas Tech University School of Architecture, an M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University in New York City and an Executive Certificate in General Management from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.
Mr. Porras serves on the Housing Committee of The Resurrection Project and is a member of the Illinois Housing Council.