BPI BOARD ELECTS FIVE NEW DIRECTORS

BPI is pleased to announce the election of five new directors at its September 2007 Board meeting. 

Danielle Meltzer Cassel, a partner at DLA Piper US LLP, has extensive experience in real estate law, including zoning and land use. In addition, Danielle teaches land use seminars at the Northwestern and University of Chicago Law Schools. She has provided pro bono counsel to numerous non-profit housing providers and serves as a director and/or advisor to a number of non-profit groups, including the Primo Center for Women & Children, the Community Economic Development Law Project, Public Allies Chicago, the Chicago Community Trust Young Leaders Forum, and the Yale Club of Chicago. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Danielle also holds an MMP from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a BA from Yale University. 

Elizabeth I. Holland is the Chief Executive Officer of Abbell Credit Corporation, a commercial real estate investment, development and management firm. Previously she served as a senior staff attorney for the National Bankruptcy Review Commission in Washington, D.C., and as an associate at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Before law school, Liz was a portfolio manager at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. A graduate of Brooklyn Law School and Hamilton College, Liz is a trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers, vice president of the Uptown Community Development Corporation Board, and has served as a tutor with Partners in Learning for seven years.

The election of Betsy Lassar to BPI’s Board is something of a homecoming. A BPI staff attorney from 1977 to 1984, Betsy recently rejoined BPI's staff as a member of the Affordable Housing team.  Most recently, Betsy served as Housing Planner and Consultant to the City of Highland Park, where she was responsible for affordable housing activities, including coordinating implementation of the city’s Affordable Housing Plan. She is the founder and presently a vice-president of the Highland Park Community Land Trust, and served as Vice Chair of the City’s Housing Commission for four years. In addition, she is a Commissioner of the Lake County Affordable Housing Commission. Betsy holds a JD from Northwestern University and a BA from the University of Michigan.

As President/CEO of the Eleanor Foundation, Rosanna A. Márquez is overseeing its transformation from a housing and services provider to a grantmaking foundation focused on housing and self-sufficiency for low-income working women. Previously Rosanna was the top Midwest official for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseeing over $3 billion in annual funding. As the City of Chicago’s Director of Programs, she held a Cabinet-level position in the Mayor’s Office for five years before joining HUD. Currently Rosanna is Board President of the Chicago Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation and serves on the Board of the City of Chicago Community Land Trust. She holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

An attorney with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, Donna Wilson Peters is a member of the Real Estate, Public Finance, and Government Law Practice Groups. She represents clients in commercial and mixed-use real estate transactions and state and local governmental matters. In public finance practice, she has represented clients on financings for airports, utilities, healthcare and housing facilities and public improvement projects. Donna serves on the Board of Governors of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and has served on that city’s Board of Police Commissioners and Landmarks Commission and as a board member of Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Donna holds a JD and BS from Howard University.