Board Of Directors

Adolph “Val” Valfre, Jr., Board Chair, Executive Committee

City Councilor, City of Forest Grove, Oregon

Val was the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Washington County and Director of the Washington County Department of Housing Services for almost 10 years. He has nearly 20 years of experience leading housing and community development efforts, 13 years with Washington County’s Housing Authority, and 6 years with other agencies. Val worked closely with community partners to create Washington County’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, and has fostered housing initiatives to preserve and expand the County’s portfolio of public and affordable housing. In addition to serving as Board Chair for the Community Housing Fund, he serves as Chair of Oregon’s Housing Stability Council. Val is a past President of the Oregon Housing Authorities Association and was a member of the Washington/Multnomah County Workforce Investment Development Board. He is a former Air Force pilot and veteran of the Vietnam conflict. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Bacteriology from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and master’s degrees in Public Administration, Business Management, and Human Resources Management from Golden Gate University, Salve Regina College, and Troy State University, respectively.

 

Rob Drake, Past Board Chair, Executive Committee

City Manager, Cornelius, Oregon

Rob Drake has served as the City Manager of Cornelius since 2012. Prior to that, he served as the Mayor of Beaverton for 16 years, managing a staff of about 500. During that time, he served as president of the Oregon League of Cities. Prior to his public service, he spent 17 years in key sales and senior management positions with Oregon food and beverage wholesalers. He volunteers on a number of local boards or committees, including: Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District (Bond Oversight Committee), Beaverton School District (Audit Committee), and PSU/Portland Metropolitan Studies Institute. He has also worked as a strategic consultant to local jurisdictions, and served as interim city manager for two small Oregon cities.

 

Peter Hainley, Board Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair

Executive Director, Community and Shelter Assistance Corp. (CASA of Oregon)

Peter Hainley serves as the executive director at CASA of Oregon (CASA), where he has worked in a number of capacities for 23 years. He leads 22 employees in helping other nonprofits and public agencies meet the needs of low-income families throughout Oregon, particularly rural farmworker housing, and asset and leadership development. CASA is the country’s largest network provider of Individual Development Accounts. CASA also assists with conversion of manufactured home parks to cooperative ownership, and is a CDFI lender. Prior to his work at CASA, Peter served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Portland State University.

 

Felicia Tripp-Folsom, Board Secretary, Executive Committee

Deputy Director, Portland Housing Center

Felicia Tripp Folsom is the Deputy Director of the Portland Housing Center (PHC), a NeighborWorks homeownership center, and a graduate of the Achieving Excellence Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School. She previously worked at the Emergence Foundation before joining PHC in 2000. In her professional life she is busy working on issues involving affordable housing, social justice, healthcare, and educational reform. Currently Ms. Tripp Folsom sits on the board of directors of Altair School, Children First for Oregon, Innovative Changes, and North/NE Business Alliance. When she is not busy serving the community, she is a carpooling mom of two very busy children. She holds degrees in English and History from Reed College.

 

Olga Acuña, Finance Committee

Director of Federal Programs, Hillsboro School District

Olga served on the Hillsboro City Council from 2007 to 2016. She was Assistant Principal at Hillsboro High for 7 years, and currently serves as the Director of Federal Programs for the Hillsboro School District. Among her many responsibilities, she oversees federal funding related to homeless students, and truly appreciates the role that stable housing plays in student success. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts/Spanish from Oregon State University, and a master’s in Special Education from Portland State University. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Educational Administration at Lewis & Clark College.

 

Renée Bruce, Finance Committee

Executive Director, Community Action

Renée became the Executive Director of Community Action in 2015, after a 25 year tenure with the agency, 15 as the Director of Family and Community Resources. She is an accomplished advocate, and serves on a variety of boards and commissions in addition to the Community Housing Fund, which include: NW Regional Education Service District, CASH Oregon, Early Learning Steering Committee and Washington County Thrives Steering Committee. She holds a bachelor’s in Child Development and Teaching from Michigan State University.

 

Ron Lehr, Loan Committee Chair

Director, Public Finance, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.

Dr. Ron Lehr has over 25 years of public finance banking experience, and is a nationally recognized leader in the municipal arena specializing in housing finance. He has led over $1.5 billion in tax exempt bond issuance. He is the former CEO of the Alaska Housing Finance Commission and former Budget Director for that state. He earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Oregon, a bachelor’s in Mathematics from the University of Alaska/Fairbanks, and a bachelor’s and master’s in Economics from Washington State University.

 

Judith Olsen, Loan Committee

Executive Director, Impact Capital

Judith Olsen has served as the Executive Director of Impact Capital since 2012. Prior to that, she spent nearly 30 years in banking, the last 13 at Wells Fargo as  Vice President and Community Development Officer. She serves (or has served) on a variety of boards including: Washington Community Reinvestment Association, Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust, Self Help Housing, Port Jobs Inc., CASA of Oregon, and Oregon Minority Enterprise Network.