Building Hope was established in 2003 with the goal of providing more students in Washington, DC, access to quality public charter schools. Since then, we have grown into a national nonprofit organization focused on closing the educational achievement gap. Read More
Ms. Keler was previously Executive Vice President and General Counsel of SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae). She is on the Board of Directors at Sallie Mae and CubeSmart, and is a trustee of IAU College, a study-abroad program in Aix-en-Provence, France. Ms. Keler has served as a trustee for a variety of education industry nonprofits, including the National Student Clearinghouse; E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, DC; and the American University in Bulgaria. She obtained her undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University and served on its Board of Regents and Law Center Board of Visitors.
Mr. D’Alessandro owns Financial Solutions, LLC, which provides financial advisory services to closely held firms and high-net-worth individuals. Mr. D’Alessandro has more than 30 years’ experience in commercial banking, having held senior positions with Franklin National Bank/BB&T, Sovran Bank/DC National, American Security Bank and Mellon Bank. Mr. D’Alessandro specializes in structuring and negotiating bank credit facilities, subordinated debt and equity placements, internal financial controls and workouts and restructurings. He serves on the Board of Directors of Fairfax Publishing and ABC Imaging. He has been active with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the National Health Care Foundation for the Deaf and various youth sports organizations.
Mr. Barrueta is Managing Director of the D.C. office of Colliers International, the world’s third-largest commercial real estate firm. Prior to joining Colliers, Mr. Barrueta served as the CEO of the Hispanic College Fund, a nonprofit scholarship fund that has helped thousands of students enroll and complete college. He has spent the majority of his professional life in commercial real estate, founding Barrueta and Associates in 1986. In addition to being the fourth-largest such firm in the Washington region and the sixth-largest seller of distressed real estate loans in the country, Barrueta and Associates was the largest Hispanic-owned commercial real estate firm in the country. He is on the Board of Directors of the Latino Student Fund and Leadership Greater Washington. In his free time he counsels Latino students on how to access college scholarships.
Mr. Muffler is Vice President Real Estate and Asset Protection for Navient, where he manages the crisis management and business continuity departments. He also oversees operations for more than 20 facilities and Navient’s 7,000 employees. Prior to Navient, Mr. Muffler spent 20 years with US Airways, where he worked in both finance and real estate and managed properties and negotiated lease agreements at airports, reservations centers and office buildings at 40 sites nationwide.
Mr. Quinby is Executive Vice President, Co-Regional Manager of Savills Studley. Since joining the firm in 1987, he has completed commercial real estate projects totaling in excess of 25 million square feet. As an executive vice president and branch manager of the Suburban Washington office, he brings more than 32 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, representing clients throughout the D.C. metropolitan region and nationwide. Mr. Quinby’s background in architecture, development and project financing for tax-exempt, as well as taxable developments, has led to his success advising public and private-sector clients on more than 20 build-to-suits to date.
Ms. Ryan-Macie is Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff for Navient, where she assists the president in creating and managing strategic and tactical plans for all facets of the organization. Prior to Navient, she was Senior Vice President of Operations and Administration for Sallie Mae. Before that, she led strategic planning efforts for Nellie Mae and was the key company and industry spokesperson on education policy and servicing operations, leading and serving on numerous task forces and committees nationwide. In addition, she served as Vice President of America’s Charter School Finance Corporation, where she was responsible for structuring individual charter school transactions.
Joe Bruno joined Building Hope after a successful career in health care and financial services. As President, Mr. Bruno oversees and directs all aspects of Building Hope’s operations.
Joe Bruno joined Building Hope after a successful career in health care and financial services. As President, Mr. Bruno oversees and directs all aspects of Building Hope’s operations. He is a certified public accountant with 35 years of accounting, finance, business and management experience; was a partner in two of the “Big 4” international accounting firms; and was the CFO of a public company. Mr. Bruno, a finance and accounting graduate of the University of Maryland and a certified public accountant since 1972, qualifies as a financial expert under the Sarbanes-Oxley guidelines.
He was the first hire of Building Hope — as a consultant in 2003 — and has guided the organization ever since. In 2004 Mr. Bruno was named President and is most proud of the long-term stability of Building Hope’s loan portfolio.
Active with many charities, Mr. Bruno currently serves in board positions with Georgetown University Hospital, Center City Public Charter Schools, Somerset Prep D.C. Public Charter School, Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, Idaho Charter School Network, Bluum, and the Federal City Council.
Paul Leleck is a certified public accountant with more than 35 years of accounting, finance, business and management experience. He has assisted development stage companies and has served as a partner in a “Big 4” accounting firm.
Paul Leleck is a certified public accountant with more than 35 years of accounting, finance, business and management experience. He has assisted development stage companies and has served as a partner in a “Big 4” accounting firm.
As CFO for Building Hope, Paul manages the nonprofit organization’s finances and underwrites financial assistance to public charter schools. He also works with client schools on their accounting and budgeting.
He currently serves on the boards of the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School and the Paul Public Charter School, both in Washington, DC.
As General Counsel, Michael D’Alessandro evaluates and helps mitigate risk for the organization across all aspects of the business. He is also responsible for managing all corporate formalities for Building Hope and its affiliates.
As General Counsel, Michael D’Alessandro evaluates and helps mitigate risk for the organization across all aspects of the business. He is also responsible for managing all corporate formalities for Building Hope and its affiliates.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. D’Alessandro worked for several law firms, focusing on debt collections, personal injury, residential real estate and estate planning/administration.
Mr. D’Alessandro holds a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University and is a member of the Maryland Bar. He also has a Bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame.
Richard Moreno provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the southern region of the United States and oversees the day-to-day operations of Building Hope’s Florida office.
Richard Moreno provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the southern region of the United States and oversees the day-to-day operations of Building Hope’s Florida office.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. Moreno served as the CFO of Pacific National Bank and has more than 19 years’ experience with various business enterprises in diverse industries.
His charter school experience includes working as the CFO for Charter Schools USA and as resource specialist for NCB Capital Impact. As a resource specialist he provided technical assistance with facilities development and financing to Florida and Georgia charter schools, assisting more than 90 schools representing more than $110 million in projects. He also served as Chairman of the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission.
Mr. Moreno has a master’s degree in business administration from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s in finance (with honors) from the University of Florida.
Tom Porter manages real estate transactions and directs project management efforts for public charter schools in the mid-Atlantic region, including the District of Columbia.
Tom Porter manages real estate transactions and directs project management efforts for public charter schools in the mid-Atlantic region, including the District of Columbia. He also directs the Charter School Incubator Initiative and directs Building Hope’s nationwide credit enhancement program through Building Hope’s America’s Charter School Finance Corporation affiliate.
Mr. Porter has more than 20 years’ experience in key administrative positions in start-up organizations in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from San Francisco State University and a master’s in nonprofit administration from the University of San Francisco.
Mr. Porter volunteers in support of public education and health care and has served on numerous board of directors, including Washington Yu Ying and Two Rivers public charter schools, both in Washington, DC; and Chase Brexton Health Care services in Maryland. He was the second Building Hope employee and over his tenure has been instrumental in growing Building Hope in the D.C. market.
Dru Damico leads Building Hope’s charter school development and construction projects nationwide and provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the western region of the United States.
Dru Damico leads Building Hope’s charter school development and construction projects nationwide and provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the western region of the United States.
With 20 years’ experience in real estate and construction, Mr. Damico has been active in community-based development and has overseen charter school, retail, and entertainment projects. These projects include historic and LEED-certified real estate development.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. Damico served as an owner’s representative in the planning, design, financing, construction, and completion of new charter school space. He has served as Director of Development for Howa Construction Inc.; as a project executive for the Pyramid Companies; and in project management and business development positions with subsidiaries of two publicly held companies, Omnicom and Interpublic Group.
Mr. Damico has a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Fairfield University School of Management. He lives in Utah, where he is active in the local community and serves on several boards for charter schools and other nonprofits.
As the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Offley is responsible for organizational development, recruitment and staffing, performance management, employee relations, compensation and benefits.
As the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Offley is responsible for organizational development, recruitment and staffing, performance management, employee relations, compensation and benefits. Mr. Offley comes to Building Hope with extensive experience as a Human Resource executive.
Most recently Mr. Offley served as Director of Human Resources at the Cambridge Housing Authority where he was the youngest HR executive in the organization’s history. During his time there, he drove organizational effectiveness while refining its talent acquisition strategy, to support a high-growth period for the organization. Prior to working at the Cambridge Housing Authority, Mr. Offley worked for the Boston Public Schools (BPS) as their Human Capital School Business Partner. While serving in this role, he managed all aspects of the HR function, supporting over 30 schools and the central Special Education department comprised of 2,900+ employees in addition to helping charter schools get acclimated to the district. Before joining BPS, Mr. Offley spent three years working with Pro Teck Valuation Services where he focused on Real Estate valuations and employee relations for clients such as JP Morgan Chase. Mr. Offley’s experience in the financial, educational, and construction industry makes him uniquely qualified to serve as Building Hope’s Director of Human Resources.
Mr. Offley attended Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and attained his Bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Business Management where his core concentration was economics.
He joins the team with extensive experience in finance and capital management. Before starting at Building Hope Mr. Odland served as the Executive Vice President of the Opportunity Finance Network.
He joins the team with extensive experience in finance and capital management. Before starting at Building Hope Mr. Odland served as the Executive Vice President of the Opportunity Finance Network. While there he managed all aspects of $104 million Debt and Equity fund, including investment origination and monitoring. In addition to this he managed the New Market Tax Credit Allocation and OFN’s role as the qualified issuer under the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. Prior to his time at OFN Mr. Odland held senior lending positions with a number of mortgage and finance organizations such as Capmark Finance and RAIT Investment Trust and the National Cooperative Bank. Mr. Odland hold a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.
Lucy Tuck is responsible for developing Building Hope’s lending goals and strategies; loan origination and servicing; and monitoring individual credit transactions.
Lucy Tuck is responsible for developing Building Hope’s lending goals and strategies; loan origination and servicing; and monitoring individual credit transactions.
Ms. Tuck has managed CDFI lending functions since 2008 having most recently served as Chief Lending and Credit Officer at Partners for the Common Good and, prior to that, as Vice President of Capital Solutions at IFF. Ms. Tuck began her career at Citibank where she spent over 30 years in commercial lending and real estate finance as a Senior Credit Officer. She has a BA from Connecticut College.
Jerry Zayets is based in Washington D.C. and is responsible for managing the development and construction process for BHRE.
Jerry Zayets is based in Washington D.C. and is responsible for managing the development and construction process for BHRE. In conjunction with his team, he oversees site acquisition, entitlements and project management, pre-construction and construction management in the Northeast region. Prior to joining BHRE, Mr. Zayets was the Director of Acquisitions and Development for Capital City real estate where he implemented large-scale multifamily and mixed-use development projects including entitlements, design, construction management and property management selection. Prior to his Director of Acquisition and Development role, Mr. Zayets was a Construction Manager for the company, supervising multiple new residential condo construction projects in the D.C. market. Mr. Zayets is a graduate of University of Maryland – College Park MD and holds a masters degree from the University of Maryland – College Park MD School Of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Mr. Zayets is a member of the Board of Trustees for Creative Minds, a public charter school in Washington, D.C. Mr. Zayets is fluent in Russian and Spanish.
