Conference Speakers

David Berenbaum serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Counseling at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Office of Housing Counseling’s mission is to ensure that families have the knowledge they need to obtain, sustain, and retain their housing via HUD’s network of over 1,650 housing counseling agencies and their Certified Housing Counselors. The Program’s far-reaching outcomes annually impact over one million consumers and support numerous departmental programs, including the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family housing program. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, Mr. Berenbaum collaborates with HUD’s leadership, professional staff, and partners to provide the high impact services to ensure that every American has a place to call home and the ability to achieve their financial dreams.

Trudy Bodenbach has a diverse career background which includes work in retail, restaurants, universities, healthcare, non-profits and local government. Through all of these there is an underlying theme of passion for people, community, strategy and excellence. She and her husband are currently in the process of rehabbing a beat-up old house in Alton. They love cooking and sharing their table. Trudy is currently taking classes to become a spiritual director and when she can find time, she loves to draw and paint.

Vicki Buresh is a housing counselor with Housing Opportunity Development Corporation. As a HUD Certified Reverse Mortgage counselor, she has spent the last 14 years working with families and individuals as they consider applying for a Reverse Mortgage. In 2020, she also became a HUD-certified housing counselor. The role of reverse mortgage counselor is as varied and challenging as the individuals coming for counseling. Her greatest satisfaction is helping simplify the sometimes complex details of a Reverse Mortgage loan, as well as helping clients find ways to solve difficult financial problems.

Kimberly Danna is the Field Office Director for HUD’s Illinois State Office. Kimberly provides outreach to and coordination with HUD’s stakeholders for Secretarial priorities related to housing, homelessness, economic opportunity, disaster coordination and sustainability. She also oversees a customer service operation in Illinois which responded to over 7,000 members of the public in 2023. Kimberly is a subject matter expert in HUD’s affordable housing and community development programs with more than 30 years of experience in grants for housing, community development, homelessness and disaster recovery. In 2022, Kimberly lead a national eviction prevention initiative on behalf of HUD’s Office Field Policy and Management. Kimberly is coordinating with Federal, State and Local partners for housing production, preservation and sustainability. She is passionate about access to affordable housing and to stabilizing existing affordable housing.

Mike Davis is the Executive Director of the Central Illinois Land Bank Authority. From 2012-19, he worked as a Senior Program Officer for LISC Boston. At LISC, he provided affordable housing owners with technical assistance on energy efficiency and clean energy. Additionally, Mike led LISC’s lending for community development projects. Additionally, he worked for five years at New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development as a Director of Operations and as a Senior Planner.  Mike has a Master of Urban Planning from New York University and a BA in English and a BS in Earth Science from Pennsylvania State University.

Sandy Deters is the Housing Counseling Coordinator of Embarras River Basin Agency (ERBA), where she is responsible for overseeing the Housing Counseling department. Sandy manages the department budgets, secured over 60 grants, and manages fee-for-service programs. The housing counseling department has grown from 45 clients to over 1100 education & clients served in 2023 (with three additional counselors). She is also a HUD-certified counselor and received the Professional Certificate of Homeownership Counseling for Program Managers. Sandy is on the Governors’ Community Advisory Council on Homelessness. She has a passion for fighting for the underdog! Her secret power is prayer.

As Senior Regulatory Policy Associate, Jane supports Woodstock’s regulatory policy work at the local, state, and national levels to advance economic justice and racial equity within financial systems. Prior to joining Woodstock, Jane worked as a policy strategy intern at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and previously interned at the Human Rights Campaign, ChildLink, and Latinos Progresando. Jane’s policy advocacy and nonprofit work is driven by a commitment to equity and community. She holds a Master of Urban Affairs degree from Loyola University Chicago, as well as B.A.s in Spanish and Sociology from Georgetown University.

Elizabeth Dunn is a Housing Program Specialist in HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling – Office of Policy and Grant Administration (OPGA). She is considered a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) subject matter expert in HECM Counseling, serving on the HECM Team. The 2024 initiatives of the HECM Team include updating the HECM Protocol, translating consumer facing documents into Spanish, Korean, and Traditional Chinese, revisions to the exam and study materials, and fostering reverse mortgage industry partnerships. Elizabeth actively works with the teams drafting new and updated policy to modernize housing counseling regulations and the HUD Handbook 7610.1. Prior to coming to HUD, Elizabeth spent 19 years administering federal grants in County government and was also the Program Director at an LHCA.

Lindsey Elton is the president of Eco Achievers. She is certified in advanced building science and building diagnostic testing. Eco Achievers assists project teams throughout the country in constructing high-performance single, multi-family, and mixed-use buildings that meet everything from NGBS to LEED, Enterprise Green Communities, ENERGY STAR, Green Globes and Phius standards. Lindsey also volunteers as the Vice President of Passive House Alliance-Chicago and frequently speaks on topics related to building science and green building certification.

Andrew J. Greenlee Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Greenlee’s research lies at the intersection of housing policy, poverty, and social equity within cities and regions. At University of Illinois, Greenlee is a faculty affiliate of the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences at University of Illinois and the Institute of Government & Public Affairs in the University of Illinois System. Greenlee received a B.A. from Grinnell College, a M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Policy from University of Illinois at Chicago.

Christine Haley is the Chief Homelessness Officer for the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, working with 16 state agencies to implement a strategic state plan to prevent and end homelessness. She chairs the Illinois Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and co-chairs the Community Advisory Council on Homelessness. Previously, Christine was the Director of Housing for Cook County Health, which included serving as the clinical administrator of a medical respite center. She has worked as an administrator with CSH, Housing Opportunities for Women, and Heartland Alliance; served in health equity positions within the Massachusetts and Cleveland Departments of Public Health; and was founding Executive Director of the Chicago Torture Justice Center. Christine holds a BA from Notre Dame and an MS in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve.

Arturo Hernandez is a Senior Attorney at the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. Arturo earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2007, and his law degree from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 2012. As an attorney at the Law Project, Arturo works on sealing and expungement cases including cannabis expungement cases, civil rights cases, and other civil matters. Before joining the Law Project, Arturo worked as a staff attorney at the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic, Inc. (GCLC).

Jolyn Heun is a Partner with Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C. Jolyn has worked in affordable housing for over 10 years. Her practice focuses on the representation of developers, lenders, investors, and nonprofit organizations in the areas of affordable housing and community development. Prior to joining Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, Jolyn was senior counsel at the Illinois Housing Development Authority, where her passion for affordable housing began. In her spare time, Jolyn loves to travel and volunteers with the Pilsen Food Pantry.

Peter Hough is the lead pastor of the Alton Mission, a church with over half its attenders currently experiencing poverty and homelessness. He helps lead the Overnight Warming Locations (OWLs) in Alton and Edwardsville, facilitates the Alton Housing Coalition, serves as President of the Greater Alton Community Development Corporation, collaborates as a community organizer with United Congregations of Metro East, and adjuncts at Greenville University and Blackburn College. He and his family have been proud to call Alton home since 2010.

C.C. Huang has been an attorney at Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C. since September 2018. Prior to joining the firm, C.C. was an attorney-advisor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Chicago. Her practice focuses on representation of affordable housing developers in transactions involving various sources of commercial and governmental financing, Section 8 rental assistance, and the low-income housing tax credit. Outside of her legal practice, C.C. previously served on the Building and Location Committee for the Lake North District of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church, including as Chair in 2023.

Nadia Klekamp is the Director of Integrated Community Education at Chestnut Health Systems. For the last fourteen plus years, she has worked with communities to help create community level change by developing strategies that impact public health. In her current role, Nadia oversees the Chestnut Central Region Prevention Department, supporting staff on multiple state and federal projects working across the substance use continuum. Department Projects include: IDHS-SUPR projects focused on primary prevention and community recovery-oriented systems of care (ROSC), CDC-Drug Free Communities, SAMHSA-SPF Partnership for Success, projects supporting local drug overdose prevention and several IDHS-SUPR statewide projects, Center for Community Engagement, and the Statewide ROSC Leadership Center.

James Kowalsky has worked for the State of Illinois for the past five years, managing grants funding overdose prevention, HIV prevention, and recovery services. He currently serves as the Integrated Recovery Support Services Administrator for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (IDHS/SUPR). In this role, he oversees grants that promote the health and well-being of people in recovery, including SUPR’s first Permanent Supportive Housing grant. James has worked in homeless and housing services for many years and focuses on promoting acceptance and respect for people who use drugs or have a mental illness.

As General Counsel at the Center for Community Progress, Matt brings two decades of experience in local government and the nonprofit field to help communities identify and reform the laws and policies that touch vacant, deteriorated properties. He is a leading voice in national issues including housing and building code enforcement, delinquent property tax enforcement, land reuse and land banking, and general municipal and real estate law. Prior to joining Community Progress, Kreis spent 10 years as an attorney at the City of Chicago’s Department of Law where he worked with officials, staff, and residents to address property vacancy and deterioration in disinvested communities. This experience helped Matt foster a strong commitment to racial and economic justice.

Sue Loellbach is the Director of Advocacy for Connections for the Homeless, based in Evanston. Her work focuses on changing policy at the municipal and state levels to support housing affordability, as well as community education and awareness building related to housing cost burden and its intersections with poverty, health, and wellbeing. Sue has also served as the Director of Development at Connections, and has worked in poverty-related non-profit organizations for over 15 years. Prior to that, she worked in the corporate sector doing communications and marketing. Sue has an M.A. in English, which has turned out to be good preparation for a career in advocacy. She lives in Chicago with her husband and has two adult children.

Colleen Mahoney, JD (she/her) recently became Assisant Director for the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelesness, after serving as a Senior Policy Advisor affilated with IOPEH at the Illinois Department of Public Health. She previously worked on homelessness and other social determinant of health policy initiatives at the Chicago Department of Public Health and on affordable housing development and preservation and homelessness at the Chicago Department of Housing. Previously, she worked in direct shelter and supportive housing services. She is passionate about work to advance housing access and stability and understands racial justice as central to this work.

Michael Mallory recently joined IL Dept of Health Care and Family Services and the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness as a Senior Policy Advisor to support HFS in their work to advance health equity in the State. Michael has over a decade of experience working in the homelessness services sector and is a licensed clinical social worker by trade. He has extensive history managing supportive housing programs in multiple continua of care and brings experience with billing Medicaid to support the participants in those programs. Further, Michael serves as the co-chair of the Suburban Cook Alliance to End Homelessness.

Nicole Morrow serves as the Housing Coordinator for the City of Peoria since 2022, expanding the City’s services within their Community Development Department to liaison with the Housing Commission and draft an affordable housing plan for the City, implement their rehousing program in partnership with Code Enforcement, and provide a housing lens on various department projects and partnerships. Prior to the creation of this position, Nicole was the Housing Navigator for the local United Way, and she has 10 years of experience working with families experiencing homelessness and housing instability in the Peoria Area. When not at work, Nicole is a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in Central Illinois and an active member in her church’s Missional Engagement Committee and local food pantry.

Laurie Murphy was appointed Director of the Division of Real Estate (DRE) for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation effective April 1, 2021. In this role, Ms. Murphy has developed processes to increase efficiencies within the Division, leads the team in legislative and rule-making initiatives, and works in collaboration with the Department’s advisory boards, auditors, legislators, and trade associations. She currently serves as the representative for IDFPR on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Real Estate Education Foundation (“IREEF”), which administers the Division’s minority scholarships program assisting those wishing to enter the real estate profession or advance their careers.

Mboka Mwilambwe was first appointed to the City Council in 2011 to serve out the term of the previous City Councilmember for Ward 3. Mboka was then elected to the position in 2013. After a successful campaign, Mboka was elected as Mayor of Bloomington in 2021. Mboka was born in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), the youngest of seven children. While he was growing up, Mboka’s family moved to the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and the Republic of Congo. It is through those experiences that Mboka began to appreciate the differences in all human beings and value what those differences can bring to the table. Mboka completed his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at Illinois State University before enrolling in the university’s Graduate School of Education. He has been employed by ISU since 1997. Mboka and his wife Stacey are the parents of 4 beautiful children.

Jenna Silver (she/her) is the Training Director at the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR), where she manages numerous training programs, including CCR’s 40-Hour Mediation Skills Trainings. She began her career in education as a middle school English teacher. Prior to joining the CCR staff full-time, Jenna served as an administrator and conflict resolution professional at Loyola University Chicago, where she was instrumental in putting mediation and restorative justice principles into practice. She earned her B.A. from Brown University, M.Ed. from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.