FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HOLLYWOOD, October 16, 2008 — LINC Housing Corporation (LINC) honored two industry leaders today at its “15th Annual Tribute to Affordable Housing Leaders” held at Social Hollywood. Both honorees have shown leadership in advocating for and creating homes that are affordable for all segments of the population.
More than 200 development partners, lenders, city and regional leaders, and housing advocates gathered to honor: Lynn Jacobs, director, California Department of Housing & Community Development; and Geoffrey Brown, president, USA Properties Fund, Inc.
“LINC’s mission is to serve our communities through housing, and we know that Lynn and Geoffrey share our vision of providing quality affordable housing for everyone,” said Hunter L. Johnson, LINC’s president and CEO. “It’s not always easy to gather the resources necessary to fund and build affordable housing, so it’s vital that we have people like this year’s honorees who are dedicated to the cause.”
Each recipient received the William F. McKenna Award, named after one of the founding board members of LINC and a long-time advocate for affordable housing.
About the Honorees
Lynn L. Jacobs was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as the director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), effective April 2006. Jacobs’ position includes oversight for administering the state’s housing finance, rehabilitation, and community development programs; oversight of the state’s housing policy, planning and code-setting processes, and regulating manufactured housing and mobile home parks. In her role, she actively supports sensible solutions to California’s growing housing crisis.
Prior to her current position, Jacobs served as president of Ventura Affordable Homes and president of Affordable Communities, Inc. where she was responsible for the construction of more than 400 homes affordable to first-time homebuyers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. She has written numerous articles for publications and received many awards including the National Building Innovations in Affordable Housing Award in 1997.
Jacobs is also dedicated to community service holding leadership positions on Ventura’s Planning Commission, American Cancer Society in Ventura County, Soroptomist International of Ventura to name a few. Jacobs is a native Californian who has resided in Ventura since 1979. She is married to Gary Jacobs, a local attorney, and has one adult son, Matthew. A product of Los Angeles public schools, Lynn graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College/Harvard University.
Geoffrey Brown is president of USA Properties Fund. USA Properties Fund develops, through construction or acquisition and rehabilitation, affordable housing for families and seniors, primarily in California and Nevada. In addition, its subsidiary, USA Multifamily Management, manages its own projects in a portfolio consisting of approximately 9,200 units. Before joining USA in 1989, Brown was employed at Sanwa Bank California in their Real Estate Industries Division. During his tenure at Sanwa Bank as vice president and manager of the Pasadena Real Estate Office, he oversaw the construction lending activity for residential and commercial loans.
Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Willamette University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Washington. He is a licensed Real Estate Broker and Contractor in California.
