Adam Briones is the CEO of California Community Builders (CCB), where he leads research, advocacy, and community organizing efforts to end California’s racial wealth gap and housing crisis for communities of color. Prior to CCB, Adam was the Greenlining Institute’s Senior Director of Economic Equity and helped to secure over $10 billion in community reinvestment commitments from large financial institutions. Previously, Adam spent a decade in housing development and real estate finance, primarily in New York. His work there included acting as Vice President of Real Estate Development at the Genesis Companies, one of the city’s most active African American-owned affordable housing developers. Adam was also a Senior Analyst for HR&A Advisors, a leading national consulting firm specializing in real estate and economic development advisory services. Before that, Adam was a Housing Fellow with New York City’s primary affordable housing finance agencies, the NYC Housing Development Corporation and the Department of Housing Preservation & Development. As a Housing Fellow, he closed construction and permanent financing on over 1,300 units totaling more than $150 million in debt and tax credit equity. As a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Fellow in Washington DC, Adam interned with the office of Congresswoman Maxine Waters and the House Financial Services Committee. Adam has also held internships with Union Bank’s Community Development Finance group as well as the West Angeles Community Development Corporation, a faith-based community developer. Adam holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California Los Angeles and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz.
Chief Operating Officer
Sylvia Aguilar
Sylvia brings over 15 years’ experience in operations and leadership roles in the public and private sectors. In her role as COO of California Community Builders, her primary responsibility is ensuring optimal operational efficiency and effectiveness. She has extensive experience in communications, organizational development, and leadership. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of California, Berkeley and earned a graduate certificate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
Director of Community Development
Ron Chavez
Ron Chavez is a lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area having attended local schools including the University Of California at Berkeley obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and California State University at Hayward, earning a master’s in public administration degree in Public Management. Ron worked for many years in real estate and owned a mortgage brokerage company. He subsequently received a fellowship from the Non-Profit Housing Association and worked as an affordable housing project manager in San Francisco. The last ten years Ron has worked at California Community Builders as a policy advocate focused on promoting homeownership to close the racial wealth gap.
Program Manager
Hannah Phalen
Hannah is currently getting her Masters of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy. She grew up in El Cerrito, but has lived in four other countries since graduating high school through a gap year in Ecuador, studying abroad in Ireland and Chile, and getting her Teaching English as a Foreign Language over a summer in China. She got her start in housing policy through a variety of positions at the Berkeley Student Cooperatives, where she lived through the entirety of her undergraduate career. She joined California Community Builders in June 2019 to work on housing policy analysis and research. Her work includes research on homeownership, the need for new development, acquisition/rehab, ADUs, and alternative models for homeownership. She is also managing the New Paradigm initiative at CCB in partnership with California Forward.
John serves as the Board Chair of California Community Builders. John is the co-founder and former President of CCB. John is also the former Executive Director of the Greenlining Institute, and has diverse experience serving in academia, the private sector and the non‑profit sector. Prior to the Greenlining Institute, he was Executive Director of Latino Issues Forum, Communications Manager at U.C. Berkeley, Executive Director of Project Participar, a citizenship program, and Marketing and Advertising Manager at Pacific Bell. He has been active in combating redlining and in providing a voice for the poor and underserved in insurance, philanthropy, banking, housing, energy, higher education and telecommunications issues.
Secretary
Robert Apodaca
Robert Apodaca has a 40-year professional and civic career that spans both private and public sectors and several industries. Following his service as Chair and Trustee of the Alameda County Retirement Board (pension fund), he joined the investment industry as a Senior Vice President and Partner of Kennedy Associates, an institutional investor for pension funds. New and retained accounts credited to his leadership include CalPERS, Chicago Transit Authority, San Diego County Retirement Board, Dallas Police and Fire, Kansas City Public Schools, N.Y.C. Fire Fighters and International Glass Molders. He was a frequent public speaker at conferences and participated in numerous state and national pension fund associations. Additionally, Mr. Apodaca represented Kennedy Companies on Barings Private Equity’s “Mexico Fund” board of directors. He later joined McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, a leading international architectural and planning firm, as Senior Vice President of Business Development. During his tenure, he secured architectural contracts for developments that exceed $1 billion in construction costs. He currently serves on numerous boards in California.
Treasurer
Ortensia Lopez
Ortensia has been directing El Concilio, an umbrella organization of Latino service providers that improve the quality of life for Latinos, for over 10 years. Previously she was a co-founding member and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bay Area Latino Non-Profit Association, and CEO of the North Peninsula Neighborhood Services Center. In these capacities she was responsible for developing and managing successful and innovative programs for the poor and disadvantaged. She serves as Chair of the CPUC Low-income Oversight Board and on the Advisory Committees for Comerica Bank and One California Bank. Among the organizations for which Ortensia performs volunteer work are the Greenlining Institute, Latino Issues Forum, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, California Energy Efficiency Commission, California Community/Business Partnership on Diversity, and many more. Ortensia has received awards from Hispanic Magazine (Hispanic Achievement Award), Woman’s Foundation, the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame, and many more. Her most recent recognition is The Women Who Could Be President award. Ortensia is a Past-President and Vice President and currently serves as Treasurer of the Chicana/Latina Foundation, and resides in Belmont. Ms. Lopez received a BA in Psychology & Chicano Studies from Los Angeles State University and a Master’s in Urban/Social Planning from the University of Southern California. She is a graduate of the Institute for Executives of Non-Profits at Springfield University in Massachusetts.
