General Session: Multifamily Leadership Perspectives

Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Julia Gordon serves as the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She was nominated for this role by President Biden and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2022. Commissioner Gordon brings to HUD more than 30 years of experience in housing finance, policy, and advocacy in both the public and private sectors. She has been both a strong advocate for and hands-on practitioner working to achieve equal justice, fairness, and equity in housing and consumer protections. As Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, Gordon is responsible for HUD’s policies, programs, and operations supporting the nation’s homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and communities. She is responsible for the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Single Family, Multifamily, and Healthcare mortgage insurance programs which currently serve over eight million homeowners, some 890,000 renters, and approximately 4,000 healthcare facilities across the U.S. and its territories.

Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

Sandra L. Thompson was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden to serve as the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on December 17, 2021, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 25, 2022, and sworn in on June 22, 2022. On June 23, 2021, the White House appointed Thompson as the Acting Director of FHFA. Before being named FHFA Acting Director, Thompson served as Deputy Director of the Division of Housing Mission and Goals (DHMG). Since March 2013, as the DHMG Deputy Director, Thompson oversaw FHFA’s housing and regulatory policy, capital policy, financial analysis, fair lending and all mission activities for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Prior to joining FHFA, Thompson worked at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), for more than 23 years in a variety of leadership positions, most recently as Director, Division of Risk Management Supervision. During her time at the FDIC, Thompson led the Agency’s examination and enforcement program for risk management and consumer protection at the height of the financial crisis. She also led the FDIC’s outreach initiatives in response to a crisis of consumer confidence in the banking system. Her experience ranges from supervision to consumer protection, risk management and consumer outreach activities. Thompson is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Executive Vice President and Head of Multifamily, Fannie Mae Multifamily

Michele M. Evans is Fannie Mae’s Executive Vice President and Head of Multifamily, responsible for all of the company's multifamily business functions and a book of business of over $366 billion. Fannie Mae's Multifamily Division is the leading source of financing and securitization for quality rental housing in the United States, in every market, for every income level, every day. Multifamily serves a wide spectrum of the market and finances all loan sizes, from a $1 million single-asset loan to a $1 billion structured transaction facility. The multifamily business is executed through a Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) lender network and is the only risk-sharing model in the country.

Senior Vice President and Head of Multifamily, Freddie Mac

Kevin Palmer is senior vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily, leading all aspects of the division’s efforts to provide stability, liquidity and affordability throughout the rental housing market. Freddie Mac Multifamily is a leader in the secondary multifamily mortgage market, purchasing conventional, targeted affordable, small balance, student and seniors housing loans from its network of lenders. The division is also a pioneer in credit risk transfer (CRT), having securitized more than $500 billion in loans through its K-Deal® platform. The vast majority of the loans it purchases support rental units that are affordable to low- and moderate-income households. A longtime Freddie Mac veteran, Kevin previously led Portfolio Management for the company’s Single-Family Division, including supervision of Freddie Mac's nearly $3 trillion guarantee book of business including servicing, pricing and analytics, and oversight of its real estate-owned portfolio. He also led Single-Family CRT. In his more than 20 years at Freddie Mac, Kevin has held various capital markets and risk management positions. Palmer holds an MBA in Finance from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Weber State University.