Federal
Housing
Finance
Board
NEWS



1777 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 408-2818


For Release
January 12, 1998
FHFB 98-01
Contact: Naomi Salus 202/408-2957
Bill Glavin 202/408-2546


FINANCE BOARD APPOINTS PUBLIC INTEREST DIRECTORS

Also Names 1998 Chairs of FHLBanks


The Federal Housing Finance Board today announced seven new appointments and nine re-appointments to public interest director positions on the boards of the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) and also designated Chairs of the FHLBanks for 1998.

For the public interest director appointments, the Finance Board selected a diverse group of people from both the private and public sectors who have distinguished themselves as community leaders, particularly in the areas of housing finance, community revitalization, or real estate development.

"The individuals the Finance Board has chosen as public interest directors are eminently qualified to represent the communities served by the FHLBanks," said Finance Board Chairman Bruce A. Morrison. "With their experience and community ties, they can ensure that the FHLBanks fulfill their public purpose of helping to increase housing finance and community development opportunities."

The Finance Board continues to emphasize diversity in selecting public interest directors. Including the 1998 appointments, more than a third of the public interest directors in the FHLBank System (26 out of 75) are women. Of the Chairs named for 1998, six (50 percent) are female, two are African Americans, and one is Hispanic. As recently as 1993, there were no minorities and only one woman among the FHLBank Chairs.

Each of the boards of the 12 FHLBanks typically have six public interest directors, appointed by the Finance Board, who serve staggered four-year terms. In order to have a proper ratio of industry directors and public interest directors on their boards, the FHLBanks of Boston, Des Moines and Seattle recently received approval from the Finance Board to add a seventh public interest director, beginning in 1998.

At least two of an FHLBanks' public interest directors must be designated as "community interest" directors, who are chosen from organizations with more than a two-year history of representing consumer or community interests in banking services, credit needs, housing or consumer protection. The Finance Board designated twelve individuals to be community interest directors, filling one vacancy at each FHLBank.

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FHLBANK PUBLIC INTEREST DIRECTORS

New Appointments

(* = Also Designated as a Community Interest Director)

FHLBank of Boston

Clesson J. Blaisdell

Clesson J. Blaisdell, of Keene, New Hampshire, is Dean of the Senate of the State of New Hampshire. He is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and has been a State Senator for 28 years, covering 14 terms. During that time, Mr. Blaisdell has sponsored a number of legislative initiatives, most recently those focusing on congregate housing. Mr. Blaisdell has received numerous honors, including an Outstanding Community Service Award from the Cheshire Housing Trust and the Walter Dunfey- Leo Kanteres Award for Commitment to Social and Economic Justice. He has been a member for 45 years of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials.

FHLBank of Atlanta

*Terrence R. Duvernay

Terrence R. Duvernay, of Atlanta, Georgia, is Vice President and Co-manager of Legg Mason Wood Walker's Housing and Finance Group. Previously, he was Director of CS First Boston's Urban Finance Group. From March 1993 to September 1994, Mr. Duvernay was Deputy Secretary to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros. Mr. Duvernay is a former Executive Director of the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority and of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. He is a former President of the National Council of State Housing Agencies and the National Community Development Association and has held positions on numerous boards, including Fannie Mae's National Advisory Council.

FHLBank of Chicago

Mindy W. Turbov (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Mindy W. Turbov recently launched the Chicago consulting firm of Turbov Associates, which specializes in providing development consulting, program development and policy and strategic planning. Previously, she served as Special Assistant to Federal Housing Finance Board Chairman Bruce A. Morrison, where she was responsible for developing strategies to further the community development activities of the FHLBank System. Ms. Turbov also was a Special Assistant to Secretary Henry Cisneros at HUD and a Deputy Commissioner for Development for Chicago's Department of Housing. She is also a former Senior Associate at Shorebank, a Chicago-based Community Development Financial Institution.

FHLBank of Des Moines

F. Joseph DuBray

Joseph DuBray, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is President and CEO of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Dakota, the state's largest domestic health insurance company. It was formed following the merger under Mr. DuBray's leadership of Blue Cross of South Dakota and South Dakota Blue Shield, which had operated as two separate companies for almost 50 years. Mr. DuBray has been Vice President of Wellmark, Inc., an Iowa mutual insurance company, since November 1994. Prior to that, he was a partner for 12 years in the Sioux City, Iowa, law firm of Shull, Cosgrove, Hellige, DuBray & Lundberg. He is a member of numerous boards, including the Industry and Commerce Association of South Dakota.

FHLBank of Dallas

Donald D. Martin

Donald D. Martin has been president since 1986 of Martin Development Corporation, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, real estate development firm. From 1970 to 1986, Mr. Martin was an executive with Woods Bros. Homes, Inc., during which time he oversaw the development of over 6,000 homes, many in the affordable housing market. He has held a number of positions with the National Association of Home Builders, where he is currently First Vice President. He is a past president of both the Denver and New Mexico Home Builders and serves on numerous boards, including the National Advisory Council of Fannie Mae.

FHLBank of Topeka

James C. Orbison

James Orbison is a senior member of Riggs, Abney, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis, one of Oklahoma's largest law firms. A resident of Tulsa since 1962, Mr. Orbison specializes in banking, business and finance law. He is a former Chairman of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and a Director of the University of Tulsa College of Law Alumni Association. Mr. Orbison previously served as a Director of Downtown Tulsa Unlimited, the Tulsa Boys Home and the Tulsa Regional Center Foundation Board. Mr. Orbison also earned two Bronze Star Medals while serving with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

FHLBank of Seattle

Harry Pryde

Harry Pryde is President and CEO of Pryde Corporation in Bellevue, Washington, a real estate development firm which he founded in 1960. He is actively involved in building affordable housing and serves on several affordable housing committees, including the Master Builders Affordable Housing Council for King and Snohomish Counties. Mr. Pryde is a past president of the National Association of Home Builders and member of its Housing Hall of Fame. He has been a board member of numerous organizations, including the Municipal League of Seattle, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Seattle Housing Authority.

Reappointments

(* Also Designated as Community Interest Director)

FHLBank of Boston

*Elizabeth H. Mitchell (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

The Honorable Elizabeth H. Mitchell, of Augusta, Maine, has been reappointed to the board of the FHLBank of Boston as a community interest director and chair, positions she has held for four years. Ms. Mitchell currently serves as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 118th Maine State Legislature. She previously served as Assistant Majority Leader for the Maine House of Representatives and as House Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Education. She is also a member of the board of the Maine Coalition for the Homeless.

FHLBank of New York

*Reese W. Fayde

Reese W. Fayde has been reappointed as a community interest director on the board of the FHLBank of New York, where she has served for four years. She is the founder of Reese Fayde & Associates, a management consulting firm in New York City that provides technical assistance to community-based non-profit organizations in the development and operation of low and moderate income housing. Ms. Fayde has also been President since 1979 of Real Estate Enterprises, Inc., a real estate development and consulting firm. Ms. Fayde is a Lecturer at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and Kennedy School of Government.

FHLBank of Pittsburgh

*Raymond R. Christman (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Raymond R. Christman has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of Pittsburgh, positions he has held for the past four years. Mr. Christman is President of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, a nonprofit economic development organization providing financial assistance programs, educational training and technical assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. Mr. Christman is also Vice President on the board of directors for the National Council for Urban Economic Development, a nationwide full-service economic development association. Mr. Christman is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

FHLBank of Cincinnati

*Nancy C. Miller-Herron (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Nancy C. Miller-Herron has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of Cincinnati, positions she has held for four years. She is a partner with the law firm of Herron & Miller-Herron. She is chair of the local affiliate of the Habitat for Humanity, an organization established to build and rehabilitate houses with the help of prospective homeowners; the houses are then sold at no profit to partner families with no interest mortgages. Ms. Miller-Herron is also involved with the National Advisory Board for the Habitat for Humanity. She is from Dresden, Tennessee and, while presently on leave from the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church, continues to serve occasionally as a minister.

FHLBank of Indianapolis

*M. Margaret DeSantis (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Margaret DeSantis, of Detroit, has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of Indianapolis, positions she has held for four years. She is the Executive Director of the Warren/Conner Development Coalition, a nonprofit community-based coalition of residents, businesses and service providers in a distressed eastside neighborhood in Detroit. The coalition focuses on crime prevention, youth employment, community education and planning, public policy advocacy and community economic development. Ms. DeSantis also serves on the boards of the East Detroit Area Non-Profit Housing Corporation, Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative and New Detroit, Inc.

FHLBank of Des Moines

*Anthony J. Scallon (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Anthony J. Scallon, of Minneapolis, has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of Des Moines, positions he has held for four years. Mr. Scallon is currently the Vocational Coordinator for West St. Paul Schools. Formerly, he served on the Minneapolis City Council for thirteen years and was Commissioner of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency. Mr. Scallon is currently serving on a Citizen Advisory Committee to the Agency which reviews banking investment in small businesses and affordable housing. He is an active member of the Longfellow Community Council focusing on loans for housing rehabilitation and neighborhood improvement.

FHLBank of Dallas

*Enrique (Henry) Flores (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Henry Flores, of Austin, Texas, has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of Dallas. He has been a community interest director for four years and chair for three years. Mr. Flores currently serves as a principal with Flores, Elizondo and Associates (FEA), a company which specializes in real estate development, public/private investment partnerships, tax credit syndication and property management. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Mr. Flores is on the Executive Boards of the National Housing Trust and the National Rural Development Finance Corporation and was a founding member and first president of the Hispanic Housing Council.

FHLBank of San Francisco

*Mary Lee Widener (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Mary Lee Widener has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of San Francisco, positions she has held for four years. Ms. Widener is a co-founder and current President and CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of America in Oakland, a national nonprofit organization which operates a nonprofit secondary market to support the neighborhood revitalization efforts of the NeighborWorks network. She served on Fannie Mae's Advisory Council and for two years chaired the Affordable Housing Advisory Council of the FHLBank of San Francisco. Ms. Widener also has an extensive record in service to her community.

FHLBank of Seattle

*Harry C. Thomas (Also Designated as 1998 Chair)

Harry C. Thomas has been reappointed as a community interest director and chair of the FHLBank of Seattle. He has been a community interest director for seven years and chair for the last three years. Mr. Thomas is the Executive Director of the Seattle Housing Authority which provides housing opportunities for over 20,000 low-income residents. He is an active member of Neighborhood House, a nonprofit agency which serves low-income residents in the major public housing developments in the Seattle King County Metropolitan Area. The agency has earned a distinguished record as an advocate for low-income and homeless persons and families. Mr. Thomas is from Seattle, Washington.

Three individuals currently serving as public interest directors were reappointed as Chairs for 1998:

Guy V. Molinari (FHLBank of New York))

Guy V. Molinari has been a director and chair of the board of the FHLBank of New York for the past three years. Mr. Molinari is currently serving his second term as Borough President of Staten Island, New York, a position he has held since January 1, 1990. Mr. Molinari is a former U.S. Congressman, who has served in various elected offices since 1975. He has a long history of promoting economic growth and created Staten Island's first Economic Development Corporation and the Staten Island Partnership to attract businesses to the Borough. Mr. Molinari is from Staten Island.

Rita I. Fair (FHLBank of Atlanta)

Rita I. Fair, of Washington, D.C., became a public interest director and chair of the FHLBank of Atlanta July 1, 1997. Previously, Ms. Fair served as Managing Director from April 1994 to April 1997 of the Federal Housing Finance Board, where she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the agency. Prior to joining the Finance Board, she was Managing Director of the Secura Group, a financial institutions consulting firm in Washington. Ms. Fair was formerly Senior Vice President for Regulatory Operations at the U.S. League of Savings and Chief of Staff of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and served in a number of positions at HUD.

Paul S. Barru (FHLBank of Topeka)

Paul S. Barru has been a director and chair of the board for two years of the FHLBank of Topeka. He is President of BHI, Inc., a builder and land developer of market-rate and low-income single-family and multifamily housing. Mr. Barru serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and that Board's Executive Committee, and is past Chairman of its Mortgage Roundtable. For his contributions to the housing industry, Mr. Barru has been elected to NAHB's Housing Hall of Fame. Mr. Barru is from Littleton, Colorado.

Two individuals currently serving as public interest directors were also designated as community interest directors: Leslie Ann Howard (FHLBank of Chicago) and David W. Herlinger (FHLBank of Topeka)

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