UUSLA | Meet Our Instructors

Meet our Instructors:

UnidosUS Learning Alliance (ULA) instructors are highly qualified professionals, successful leaders, and experienced trainers. Instructors are selected based on a combination of the following attributes and skills:

Currently manage a housing counseling program
Actively counsel families
Proven ability to build and maintain successful programs
Significant experience managing a large pipeline of clients
Practical expertise in the use of client management systems (CMS)
History of work with ethnically and racially diverse communities

These criteria are used to ensure that all ULA instructors are experts in the field of housing counseling and knowledgeable about the most up-to-date information in the industry and most recent policy changes.

If you would like to join our team of instructors CLICK HERE to apply.

Robin Arcus

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Strategies for Seniors, Foreclosure Prevention, Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase, Homebuyer Counseling

eLearning Courses: Advanced Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling

Webinars: Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Counseling

Robin Arcus has been a housing counseling professional since 2007 and was formerly employed by TRW (Experian) in the credit reporting industry. Since 2007 she has assisted clients with credit improvement and financial education through pre-purchase counseling, Money Smart classes, homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention, senior services and reverse mortgage counseling. Robin presently works for Housing Options Provided for the Elderly (HOPE) and Origin Family Services. She is recognized in the industry as a subject-matter expert and regularly teaches for national organizations. In 2018 Robin joined the faculty of UnidosUS to teach housing counseling and senior services. She is a HUD and HECM certified counselor.

Christi Baker

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Introduction to Financial Counseling

eLearning Courses: Financial Counseling, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy

In the asset building field for 26 years, Christi Baker has worked for nonprofits, founded her own consulting firm, and uses coaching to deepen her transformative work with organizations and individuals. She has coached and trained financial coaches; developed financial coaching programs and curricula; facilitated strategic planning; and led nonprofits. Informed by neuroscience, mindfulness, coaching, and social justice, she brings deep listening, skillful facilitation, and connection to her core values to her work. A lifelong learner, she is a certified coach and has her master’s degree in community mental health/counseling psychology.

Ellen Bardeen

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Foreclosure Prevention, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling

eLearning Courses: Foreclosure I, Foreclosure II, HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Webinars: Advanced Client Management using HCO, Basic Client Management using HCO, Hamp

Ellen Bardeen has nine years of experience as a bilingual Housing Counseling Program Manager in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Bardeen has counseled more than 370 individuals in pre-purchase, post-purchase and foreclosure prevention. In her role, she has managed and reported on multiple housing programs to government and private funders, in addition to marketing programs via a wide variety of media. Ms. Bardeen has worked with ULA to write and teach the Pre-purchase Counseling, Foreclosure Counseling, and Homebuyer Education on-site courses since the inception of ULA in 2008. She also presents ULA webinars about Fannie Mae Home Counselor Online Client Management System and the Dodd Frank Prep E-learning Course. Her previous work experience includes teaching second through 12th graders as a Bilingual Educator and a Spanish Teacher.

Gina Bilder

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing Your Homebuyer Education Program, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling

eLearning Courses: HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Webinars: Homebuyer Education Programs

Gina Bilder is a contract facilitator and educator. She has more than three decades of experience in mortgage financing and residential real estate. She is well-versed in personal budgeting, financing, and credit counseling. Ms. Bilder brings lightheartedness to a challenging and demanding subject riddled with acronyms. She enjoys sharing her vast knowledge with others who seek to serve fellow professionals and homeowners alike. Ms. Bilder has a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Elmhurst College, holds a certificate from Financial Peace University, and is a licensed managing real estate broker in Illinois.

Deanna Laraye Blair

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, Foreclosure Prevention, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Transitioning from Foreclosure to Pre-Purchase

eLearning Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, Foreclosure I, Foreclosure II, HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction, Transition from Foreclosure to Pre-Purchase

Webinars: Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Mortgage Fraud Counseling, Hamp

Deanna Laraye Blair is the Deputy Managing Attorney for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. She assists clients in foreclosure, defends court cases, and assists with applications and follow-ups for modification applications. She attends mediations with clients to resolve foreclosure cases without protracted litigation, and advises foreclosure attorneys on the effective use of Federal HAMP loan modification program. Prior to law school, Ms. Blair was a Corporate Training Instructor for AT&T. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida and is a 2009 graduate of the Florida Coastal School of Law.

Julie Chavez

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Foreclosure Prevention, Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course

eLearning Courses: Advanced Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling, Financial Counseling, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling, Pathways to Credit Empowerment, Foreclosure Prevention Part A, Foreclosure Prevention Part B, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course

Webinars: Fair Housing, Homebuyer Education Programs, Predatory Lending, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Non-Profit, Rental Counseling, HCC Tenancy, HCC Housing Affordability, HCC Financial Management, HCC: Avoiding Foreclosure, HCC: Homeownership

Julie Chavez has been a NeighborWorks America (NWA) faculty member and consultant since 2006, faculty member and consultant for UnidosUS since 2018, a contributing member of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) since 2014, and a contributing financial capability instructor for Merrimack College – Girard School of Economics. Her areas of expertise focus on homeownership education and counseling, program management, real estate sales and rentals, property management, compliance with government regulations, and financial capability. In addition, she also offers program design, curriculum development, bilingual translations, editing, and proofreading for various organizations. In 2008 Chavez participated in the review of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMC), assessing live foreclosure prevention counseling sessions that culminated in a national review of customers’ files, which led to process recommendations for the second round of grant approvals. Since 1999 Chavez has held a real estate license and currently leads The Julie Team of Coco, Early & Associates Star Division in Lawrence MA. She is a licensed Appraiser Trainee and also passed the HUD Counseling Certification exam in 2019. Additionally, she facilitates first time homebuyers courses for the Somerville Community Corporation in Somerville, MA. Chavez has served as a homeowner program officer and the interim housing director for the City of Lawrence in the Office of Planning and Community Development.

Connie Cline

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling.

eLearning Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Webinars: Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), Rental Counseling

Connie Cline has worked for 16 years in the housing counseling and training field. She passed the National AARP Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counselor exam first in 2006, then in 2009 to become part of the official Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HECM roster, and again in 2012 to maintain her roster status. Ms. Cline worked as a Reverse Mortgage Counselor for United Family Services in Charlotte, NC, and for Consumer Credit Counseling of Forsyth County in North Carolina. She currently conducts face-to-face counseling for the Centre for Homeownership Education and Community Development in Hillsborough, NC, and conducts reverse mortgage phone counseling for Housing Options Provided for the Elderly (HOPE), Inc. of St. Louis, MO out of her home office in Durham, NC. She also provides Property Charge Loss Mitigation counseling under a special project through HOPE, Inc. and in partnership with the National Council on Aging (NCOA). While with United Family Services in Charlotte, she provided budget, credit, housing, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and reverse mortgage counseling and led workshops on budgeting, credit, debt and homeownership. Previously, Ms. Cline conducted Reverse Mortgage Counselor trainings for the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA), and currently conducts trainings for the ULA and for NeighborWorks America (NWA). She has led approximately 40 reverse mortgage trainings (introductory, advanced, and test preparation) for NCHFA and NWA combined. She also provided one-on-one coaching for reverse mortgage counselors through NWA.

Janiece Diaz

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Housing Counseling Program Management

eLearning Courses: Advanced Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling, Financial Counseling, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Pathways to Credit Empowerment, Lending Practices, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability,

Webinars: Homebuyer Education Programs, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Non-Profit, HCC: Homeownership, HCC: Housing Affordability

Janiece Diaz is a licensed Realtor (MA), licensed Real Estate Instructor (MA) and Consultant. Certified in Financial Coaching, Housing Counseling and Homeownership Education. She began her career in 2007, working in nonprofit community development and affordable housing. Prior to becoming a Realtor, she worked as a Housing Counselor educating and assisting First Time Homebuyers with their home buying process. In 2014, she became a licensed Realtor. She has extensive knowledge of down payment assistance, First Time Homebuyer Programs and community program development and enjoys sharing that knowledge. Outside of her role as a Realtor and Real Estate Instructor, she is the founder of HomeBound LLC, a private consulting business that specializes in homeownership education and financial coaching services.

Farah Fosse

ULA Instructor for:

Webinars: Eviction Prevention

Farah Fosse is a long-time nonprofit professional, affordable housing advocate, and community organizer in Washington, DC. Farah has worked in the field of housing counseling since 2005. She led the housing counseling programs at the Latino Economic Development Center where she worked for 10 years primarily as the director of the tenant organizing program. Farah is currently a consultant with Change for Good Consulting where she is able to use her skills and expertise around housing policy, training, and facilitation. She is passionate about supporting organizations to create lasting impact at the community level. As a trained social worker, Farah brings skills and interest around personal and group dynamics and provides training that is interactive and grounded in the experiences of the participants. Farah is on the Board of the Diverse City Fund, a community grantmaking organization in Washington, DC.

Chase Haller

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Foreclosure Prevention, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing Your Homebuyer Education Program, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling

Webinars: Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Mortgage Fraud Counseling, Hamp, Homebuyer Education Programs, Rental Counseling

Chase Haller graduated from the University of Dayton’s School of Law in 2011 after earning a bachelor’s degree in English with honors from Indiana University in Bloomington. Mr. Haller focuses his practice in mortgage foreclosure cases, assisting borrowers with court-ordered settlement conferences in Marion and surrounding counties in Indiana. Mr. Haller also devotes part of his time assisting low-income clients with landlord and tenant matters, as well as general issues related to consumer law.

Adrian Klenz

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, Financial Capabilities II: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling

eLearning Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, Financial Capabilities II: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Adrian Klenz is a certified financial counselor through the Association for Financial Counseling, Planning, and Education (AFCPE). He is the founder and owner of Klenz Financial Counseling LLC. Mr. Klenz teaches courses on housing counseling for both NeighborWorks America and courses for the ULA. He has 13 years of experience and has also written ULA's curriculum for housing counselors. Mr. Klenz is a HUD-certified housing counselor and does education and counseling for first-time homebuyers for Western Dairyland, a non-profit in Wisconsin. Mr. Klenz created a financial literacy program at Western Dairyland, and was later hired to create a similar program at The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Mr. Klenz is also the Executive Director for The Reach Foundation. The REACH Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for children and adults with disabilities, which offers services for adults and children with disabilities.

Kristen Komara

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Housing Counseling Program Management, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing Your Homebuyer Education Program, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling

Webinars: Advanced Client Management using CMAX, Basic Client Management using CMAX, Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Mortgage Fraud Counseling, Homebuyer Education Programs, HUD Compliance, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Nonprofit, Rental Counseling

Kristen Komara is the Vice President of Financial Wellness at The Resurrection Project (TRP), a community-based non-profit in Chicago. She is responsible for overseeing TRP’s financial capability objectives, including the organization’s financial and housing counseling and education services, and its newest program, TRP Realty. Ms. Komara, who has been with TRP for 10 years, coordinates a team of 16 at various sites and with multiple partners, giving her the experience to successfully manage this program. Each year, her team serves upwards of 1,200 families with financial and homeownership education services. Additionally, she has been an instructor with the ULA since 2009, where she teaches HUD-approved courses in pre-purchase and rental counseling, marketing and fundraising, and housing counseling program management. Prior to joining TRP, a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, Ms. Komara was the Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Adult Education at San Miguel Schools of Chicago, and worked as a Project Coordinator for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in community organizing, planning, and development from the University of Chicago.

Jaime Legaspi

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, Financial Capabilities II: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling

Webinars: Rental Counseling

Jaime Legaspi has been managing residential, commercial, and subsidized properties as well as worked in the real estate and affordable housing industries since 1979. He has managed various types of housing programs: HUD properties, tax credits, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and home-subsidized programs. Mr. Legaspi has also worked as a real estate professional and broker and in the lending industry. Mr. Legaspi has been involved in non-profit development and management for more than two decades. He has represented many nonprofit developers in pre-development and development opportunities throughout California and surrounding states. He currently serves as the Vice President of Montebello Housing Development Corporation in charge of development and acquisition. He also assists in the areas of: education, lending, and coaching. He serves as Director of Education and Development for Housing Instruction Development and Empowering Finances in the Riverside County area of California. He has taught many courses for NeighborWorks America such as Financial Fitness, Lending, Intro to Housing Counseling, State and Federal Regulations, Housing Counseling Train-the-Trainer in English and Spanish, and has taught for Rental Housing Counseling and HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course for the ULA.

Leigh Lester

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Strategies for Seniors, Foreclosure Prevention, Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase, Homebuyer Counseling, Housing Counseling Program Management, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing your Homebuyer Education, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Introduction to Financial Counseling, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling

eLearning Courses: Advanced Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling, Financial Counseling, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling, Pathways to Credit Empowerment, Foreclosure Prevention Part A, Foreclosure Prevention Part B, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Webinars: Eviction Prevention, Fair Housing, Homebuyer Education Programs, Homeless Counseling, Predatory Lending, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Non-Profit, Rental Counseling

Leigh Lester is the Founder/Executive Director of Ubuntu Institute of Learning, an international training organization focused on social justice issues ranging from Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging to Entrepreneurship to Affordable Housing. With over 20+ years industry experience, her main focus now is helping others create the right action steps to solve their problems. Her approach is hands-on, practical application focused on outcomes, steeped in years of personal experience as the one minority in the room. She serves on the board of a national appraisal organization, a member of the advisory board for the Ashoka-Brookings Partnership Initiative: Valuing Homes in Black-Majority Neighborhoods, an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Navigator with Forward Cities Initiative in Long Beach, California and she serves as a Global Advisor with How Women Lead - a Bay Area leadership network that brings together influential women in an inclusive and highly supportive community to connect, learn, and promote the voices of all women and propel their leadership forward.

Brenda Lopez

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Capabilities II: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Foreclosure Prevention Housing Counseling Program Management, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing Your Homebuyer Education Program, Pre-Purchase I: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Pre-Purchase II: Advanced Housing Counseling, Transitioning from Foreclosure to Pre-Purchase

eLearning Courses: Financial Capabilities II: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Foreclosure I, Foreclosure II, HUD Housing Counseling Certification (HCC) Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction, Transition from Foreclosure to Pre-Purchase

Webinars: Advanced Client Management using CMAX, Basic Client Management using CMAX, Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Mortgage Fraud Counseling, Hamp, Homebuyer Education Programs, HUD Compliance, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Nonprofit

Brenda Lopez manages the day-to-day Home Ownership Center operations for Trellis (formerly Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix), a nonprofit organization established in 1975 in Phoenix. She directly manages a staff of nine employees who provide pre- and post-purchase counseling, foreclosure intervention counseling, financial coaching, and homebuyer education services to low-to-moderate income families throughout Maricopa County. Mrs. Lopez has dedicated 17 years to helping hardworking families and individuals achieve the dream of sustainable homeownership and financial stability. With certifications in housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, post-purchase education, and financial coaching, she works directly with her staff to support families participating in financial education programs to ensure they reach their educational, financial, and asset-building goals. Mrs. Lopez also assists in the development of financial education curricula and facilitates courses, with a mission to provide affordable housing opportunities and programs to low- to-moderate-income families.

Alex Nerguizian

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Capabilities I: Financial Counseling, Financial Capabilities II: Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing Your Homebuyer Education Program

Webinars: Homebuyer Education Programs

Alexis (Alex) Nerguizian has more than 15 years of experience in the field of personal finance from both the private and the nonprofit sectors. He spent seven years with Bank of America, where he specialized in wealth management and lending. As a consultant, he has worked the last eight years assisting various nonprofit organizations, both in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country, by developing and delivering financial capability workshops and providing technical assistance to nonprofit staff in the areas of financial coaching, outcome evaluation, and workshop design and delivery. Since 2002, Mr. Nerguizian has also founded and coordinated multiple Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites that help low and moderate-income households with free tax preparation services. Being born and raised in Argentina, he can also provide all his services in Spanish. Mr. Nerguizian graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Science degree in managerial economics in 2004. Though certified as an accredited financial counselor by the AFCPE since 2014, he is currently pursuing his certification as an enrolled agent through the IRS.

Kareema Pinder

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Housing Counseling Program Management, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing your Homebuyer Education, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Introduction to Financial Counseling

eLearning Courses: Financial Counseling, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Property Maintenance, HCC: Responsibilities of Homeownership and Tenancy, HCC: Fair Housing, HCC: Housing Affordability, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Webinars: Homebuyer Education Programs

Kareema Pinder is a Credit Educator helping people decipher what is needed to help improve their financial future. Having 20 years of experience in debt settlement, debt management, mortgage consulting has allowed her to assist hundreds of people create positive financial changes. Kareema Pinder holds a degree in Business, Project Management and Financial Coaching Certification. In Kareema’s current role as the Homebuying Center Director of a non-profit organization allows her to exercise her knowledge to share information to build her customers to make a sound financial decision. Kareema leads a first mortgage program that helps ITIN holder achieve homeownership along with supplying them with down payment assistance. I have been very successful and will continue to educate and help customers with their homeownership journey.

Laura Royer

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Housing Counseling Program Management, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Introduction to Financial Counseling

eLearning Courses: Financial Counseling, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling, Pathways to Credit Empowerment, Foreclosure Prevention Part B, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course Series: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Avoidance of Foreclosure and Eviction

Webinars: Fair Housing, Homebuyer Education Programs, Homeless Counseling, Predatory Lending, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Non-Profit, HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Homeownership

Laura Royer is the President of The Royer Consultancy with over 22 years of experience working in the areas of financial capability, housing, leadership and strategic business planning. A successful grant writer, Ms. Royer generated over $1,000,000 in grant funding to support HUD-programming while at the University of Florida. Currently, Ms. Royer provides consulting and training for nonprofits, focusing on HUD’s six core competencies, transitioning housing counseling services for virtual delivery, effective methods for marketing and outreach, specifically social media, proficiency in business operations and generating revenue. Ms. Royer is a certified John Maxwell Leadership Coach and Facilitator, has a master’s degree in Family Financial Planning and a bachelor’s degree in Family, Youth and Community Sciences.

Stacy Stuber

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Strategies for Seniors, Foreclosure Prevention, Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, HECM Default Counseling, Housing Counseling Program Management, HUD Housing Counseling Certification Prep Course, Implementing and Growing your Homebuyer Education, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, Introduction to Financial Counseling, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling

Webinars: Eviction Prevention, Fair Housing, Homebuyer Education Programs, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Counseling, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Default Counseling, Homeless Counseling, Predatory Lending, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Non-Profit

Stacy Stuber has been working in the nonprofit housing and credit counseling field since the 1990s. She developed one of the first reverse mortgage counseling programs in her state and supervised all facets of the program including marketing, client education, program compliance, training, and mentoring new reverse mortgage counselors, as well as providing direct counseling services. She has been a member of the HUD HECM Counseling Network since its inception, and was one of the original members of the AARP Foundation Reverse Mortgage Counseling Project in 2002. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. In 2003, Ms. Stuber received the Outstanding Individual Counselor PACE Award for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Her areas of expertise include HECM counseling, as well as pre-purchase and delinquency counseling. Ms. Stuber is an instructor for NeighborWorks America, ULA, and other training organizations, teaching reverse mortgage counseling classes as well as other housing counseling topics.

Esmeralda Thornton

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Fundamentals of Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Counseling, Housing Counseling Program Management, Methods in Effective Rental Counseling

eLearning Courses: Advanced Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling, Lending Practices, Pathways to Credit Empowerment, Foreclosure Prevention Part A, Foreclosure Prevention Part B

Webinars: Eviction Prevention, Homebuyer Education Programs, Homeless Counseling, Program Sustainability: Marketing Your Non-Profit, HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Housing Affordability

Esmeralda is the founder of LightWorker Inc. since 2014, and has 15 years experience of Housing Counseling & Affordable Housing. She is a seasoned trainer, educator, facilitator and curriculum developer. Esmeralda’s knowledge and background include program development and expansion, conducting numerous workshops, facilitating symposium sessions, curriculum development, counselor training, HUD and program audits, reporting and compliance, marketing and grant writing. In 2014, Esmeralda started consulting for NeighborWorks America. She is an expert instructor for the client management system CounselorMax. Esmeralda has been a keynote speaker for a Financial Education Summit, was a panel speaker for a Landlord Symposium in Massachusetts and was an active member of a foreclosure prevention taskforce in Connecticut.

Rhonda Williams

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Financial Strategies for Seniors

eLearning Courses: Financial Coaching, Introduction to Financial Coaching and Client Advocacy, HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Fair Housing

Webinars: HCC: Financial Management, HCC: Housing Affordability, Predatory Lending, HCC: Homeownership

Rhonda J. Williams is founder Exodus Financial Education Group with over 15 years of experience in the fields of financial capability, housing, program and curriculum development, and community development. A Certified Financial & Personal Development Coach, Rhonda brings a human-centered approach to her work helping clients navigate their limiting beliefs, behavioral scripts, and most importantly mindset. Rhonda has assisted universities, financial institutions and faith-based organizations in meeting their community development and programming goals. Her knowledge on money matters has been featured in Upscale Magazine. Rhonda’s personal life mission is “to live a life completely free from debt and to take as many people with me as I can.'' Through her work, she found great success working on an initiative to empower communities by educating and empowering individuals to transform their lives through financial capability.

Jason Zavala

ULA Instructor for:

In-Person Courses: Implementing and Growing your Homebuyer Education, Financial Capability I

Webinars: Financial Management

Since the late 1990s, as President of MitiGate, Jason Zavala has been practitioner, policy advocate, certifications trainer, program analyst, monitor, grant reviewer, administrator, and volunteer for national, state, and local audiences. These duties have been defined by evaluation of housing programs for compliance in grant management in HUD Housing Counseling, Housing Stability Counseling Program, Hardest Hit Fund, and the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program; supporting HUD guidance thru Community Compass TA awardees in housing program regulation, policy and procedures, and agreement execution; and as an instructor in courses provided by recognized National Professional Certification Providers. Jason has over 20 years of experience which includes evaluating efficiencies and effectiveness in the pursuit of program sustainability, developing a scaling strategy for a national factory-built housing effort, and providing compliance designing for a program of the American Rescue Plan.

In memoriam

We are profoundly saddened at the death of Carlos Almanza, a ULA Instructor of UnidosUS Learning Alliance. Carlos passed away in California on February 14, 2021.

Carlos Almanza

Carlos Almanza most recently served as Director of Homeownership & Rental Center one of the premier non-profit housing developer of single and multi-family housing in the Central Valley. Mr. Almanza had served as the principal strategist for maintaining, developing, and implementing creative methods for supporting various non-profit agencies through increased philanthropy and promoting a strong public image. With nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience in management and fund development, Mr. Almanza’s background included community development, housing, marketing and community outreach; operation, program and project management; formation of strategic partnerships; and planning multifaceted strategies such as large-scale and community-based events, annual fundraising events, strategic grant writing, and individual donor development. Mr. Almanza conducted week long certification courses nationally both in English and Spanish. Mr. Almanza was active in various statewide boards throughout the State of California.