Howard Banker, is responsible for Community Development for Bank of NY Mortgage Co., reporting to the President.  Previously he was the Director of Operations for Parodneck Foundation; the New York Director for Low Income Investment Fund and Director of Operations of First Mortgage programs (secondary market) for NHSA in Oakland, CA.  He has been working for and with non-profit lending intermediaries and affordable housing developers for over 25 years nationally and locally.

Chuck Bell, is Programs Director for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, based in Yonkers, NY.  Chuck works in Consumers Union's advocacy program on a wide range of consumer policy issues, including health care, financial services, the internet, international trade, and the environment.   He also manages grant-funded projects and provides financial and technical assistance to U.S. and international consumer organizations.  Since 1990, Chuck has served on the board of directors of Residents for Equitable and Affordable Permanent Shelter (REAPS) Community Land Trust, a nonprofit housing organization based in Yonkers, where he currently serves as board president.  He also is vice-chair of the National Jobs for All Coalition, an organization working for full employment and living wage jobs for all, based in New York, NY.

Patricia L. Feeley, is the founding Executive Director of Catholic Community Services of Rockland County to provide needed services to low and moderate-income residents.  She serves as chair of the Rockland Coalition for Housing Needs and is a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Commissioner of Social Services in Rockland County.

Polly Kuhn, of Somers, had been a Town Board Member for the Town of New Castle from 1986 to 1996. She was Town Supervisor from 1993 to1996. She was instrumental in having the Town of New Castle join Westchester County’s Urban County Consortium so that it could access County housing funds. She was also instrumental in the development of the Stone Creek Townhomes. She has been active in fair housing issues for over 30 years and currently serves on the Somers Affordable Housing Board.

Gerri Levy, is the Executive Director of the Rockland Housing Action Coalition, a not-for-profit agency that develops affordable housing programs for low and moderate-income families.  She is also a licensed real estate sales associate with Siemens Associates.  She was appointed by the County Executive to a Citizens Advisory Board to develop new strategies to increase the affordable housing stock in Rockland County.  Amongst her many volunteer activities, Gerri is a member of the Mid-Hudson Sober Housing Task Force, a member of the Coalition for Housing Needs and a member of the Citizens Advisory Board to create a new county master plan.

Shelley Mayer, is currently a member of the Government Affairs group of the national law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips where she handles government and community affairs and regulatory matters for healthcare institutions and other not-for-profit organizations at all levels of government.  Prior to that she was the Corporate Vice-President of Government and Community Affairs at Continuum Health Partners, a major NYC hospital system, where her responsibilities included government relations and community affairs for multiple sites throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. She also had responsibility for health education and outreach and the public health grants program.  Previously, Shelley was employed as Special Counsel to the New York State Senate Minority Leader and as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Attorney General’s office. Shelley attended SUNY at Buffalo School of Law and UCLA.  She lives with her husband and children in Yonkers.

Dennis McDermott, of Mount Vernon, served as a Vice-President and Street-banker, Community Development Group at JP Morgan Chase. He assisted in bringing Chase’s resources, innovative programs and products, to businesses, organizations, and people who live or work in the communities serviced by Chase Community Development Group. Formerly, a Connecticut resident, he served two terms as President of the Board of Bridgeport Neighborhood Housing Services and was Treasurer of the Board of the Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust. He is on the Boards of Westchester Interfaith Housing Corporation, Westchester Nonprofit Loan Fund, and on the Advisory Board for Habitat for Humanity of Westchester. He is spearheading HAC’s exploration of Community Land Trusts as a vehicle for long term affordability of housing.

John Naporkowski, is a resident of Yonkers.  He served as Director of Development for Aging in America until December 2005.  He was with various multinational banking institutions, where he conducted presentations on financial and related topics, arranged fundraising events, was a CRA Compliance Coordinator, liaisoned with community based organizations and managed a $750,000 contribution budget.  In his consulting position with Neighborhood Housing Services of New York, John secured in excess of $5 million in new funding from financial institutions for various housing programs.  He received his education from Mount Saint Michael, Bronx Community College, American Institute of Banking and Bank Administration Institute in Wisconsin.

Jean Pollak, of White Plains, serves on the Westchester County Housing Opportunity Commission and on the Housing Committees of the League of Women Voters of Westchester, and White Plains.  She is Chair of the White Plains Affordable Housing Committee.  From 1977 to 1988, she served as Public Relations Director for the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester.  She is a past President of the LWV of White Plains, and of Westchester and Tri-State Metropolitan Region. She has also served as a member of the White Plains Housing Authority, a Commissioner of the Westchester County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Advisory Board, and a member of the Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee for the City of White Plains. In 1985, she received the Commission on Human Rights Jack and Ira Marash Distinguished Service Award. She edits the Housing Action Council newsletter.

Ilene Popkin, is Assistant Commissioner for Resource Development at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the nation’s largest municipal housing agency.  The division is responsible for new program development, evaluating and promoting existing programs, and creating and strengthening linkages between HPD and New York City’s academic and philanthropic communities.  Prior to assuming her current responsibilities, Ms. Popkin worked for HPD for nearly 20 years, in a variety of increasingly responsible management positions involving the financing and development of affordable housing projects as well as policy development, with a focus on the housing and service needs of New York City’s homeless and very low income households.  Ms Popkin is a resident of Westchester County and served on the New Castle Housing Advisory Committee for seven years and was co-chair of the committee for the last two years.  She has a MPA from New York University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Pierre Poux, of White Plains, an electrical engineer, served with IBM for 38 years in various technical/business capacities and was located in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Poughkeepsie, and White Plains, in addition to Paris, France. He is a representative for St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, White Plains. He is a Vice President and Co-Founder of SHORE (Sheltering the Homeless is Our Responsibility), and performs computer desktop publishing for SHORE and the Housing Action Council.

Winston Ross, of Somers, is Executive Director of the Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WestCOP) in Elmsford, which is a multi-site, multi-program social services agency serving Westchester and Putnam. He is also Westchester Regional Director, NYS NAACP. He holds a BS from NY University, an MSW from Columbia, and has completed work toward a Doctorate at Adelphi University in social policy and planning. He serves on several local, county and state boards and task forces, and has received numerous recognition awards for his involvement and dedication to equal rights, justice and opportunity for all. He is a long-time Westchester resident.

Paul Vitale, is Vice President, Government & Community Relations for The Business Council of Westchester, the county's largest and most influential business organization. He is responsible for advancing the Business Council's legislative agenda and area/economic development projects on the local, state and federal levels.  Prior to joining the Business Council, Paul served as Executive Director of the Service Station Dealers of Greater New York, a trade association representing 1,000 independent service stations, auto repair shops and related businesses. His career includes 25 years of senior management experience in the media, entertainment and sports industries, having served as VP & CFO of the SFX Sorts Group; VP, Business Development, Sony Music Entertainment Inc.; and VP, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer, Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. and its predecessor, CBS Records Inc.  Paul is a cum laude graduate of Fordham University and earned his MBA at Columbia University. He lives with his wife Janet, and their two children in Pelham Manor.