Transpire Leadership Snapshots
Betsey Martens
Board Chair
Executive Director
Boulder Housing Partners
Ms. Martens currently serves as NAHRO Senior Vice President. More biographical information is forthcoming.
Saul N. Ramirez, Jr.
Board Secretary/Treasurer
Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials
Mr. Ramirez brings a great deal of housing and community development experience to NAHRO. He came to NAHRO from Greystone and Co., a leading financial services and trading company located in New York City that provides debt and equity financing for the development, rehabilitation, acquisition and refinancing of multi-family and economic development projects. His primary duty at the Bethesda, MD office was as a mortgage banker.
He served as HUD's Deputy Secretary from 1998 to January 2001. He also served as HUD's Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development in 1997-1998. Prior to his tenure at HUD, he was Mayor of the City of Laredo from 1990-1997. He used housing and community development programs as tools to encourage the major growth and development of Laredo. He was a city council member in Laredo from 1982-90.
Mr. Ramirez has 20 years experience as an insurance industry executive in Texas and served as a Board member of the Texas Municipal League Inter-government Risk Pool with, over $300 million in assets.
Renee Rooker
Executive Director
Walla Walla Housing Authority
Ms. Rooker is the immediate past President of NAHRO. Additional biographical information is forthcoming.
Julie Williams
Senior Vice President
Idaho Housing and Finance Association
Ms. Williams has over twenty-five years' experience in the financial services industry, serving in executive positions in the savings and loan, credit union and banking industries, focusing in real estate and consumer lending, and retail and institutional investment sales. She was educated at the University of Southern California and San Diego State University, and has been a quasi-native resident of Idaho since 1978, where she has raised two children and currently enjoys being the grandmother of four.
Julie has served as Senior Vice President at IHFA since 2006. Prior, since 1992, she was the Vice President of Community Housing Services at IHFA. She is responsible for oversight of the acquisition and administration of grants supporting various affordable housing activities ranging from Homeless Shelter operations, tenant-based rental assistance vouchers, and affordable housing development and rehabilitation financing with HUD HOME funds, to asset management and compliance auditing of 1800+ units of project-based affordable rental housing statewide. She and her staff are involved in many community collaborations and joint projects aimed at increasing affordable housing awareness, such as researching and reporting on housing needs and action plans, and producing planning documents identifying and prioritizing Idaho's housing and community development needs, including data on Idaho's homeless population and services.
Julie also has experience managing product development and customer services in the fields of banking, credit unions, and investment services.
She has served as the President of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of the National Association Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and currently serves on NAHRO's national Board of Governors, as Chairman of NAHRO's Budget and Administration Committee.
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