Team

Board of Directors

George Welsh

President

George is an accomplished building designer, pilot, aircraft fabricator and community leader in Vancouver, Washington. He’s devoted decades to the development of his beloved Clark College Foundation, CDM Care Giving Services, Southwest Washington’s largest not-for-profit in-home care service provider and several other community endeavors. George has been the heart of Specialized Housing, Inc’s. Board of Directors for 32 years, having served as Board President and Secretary. He’s guided SHI through the adaptive reuse of 35 existing homes for use by Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled residents and the ground-up development of 60 group homes, many of which he designed. George is a long-time member of the American Institute of Building Design, serving as National President and College of Fellows Chancellor.

Daniel Rogers

Treasurer

Dan is the Chief Financial Officer of Clark College Foundation in Vancouver, Washington. In that capacity, he is responsible for oversight for all administrative, financial and fiduciary
matters and asset management including portfolio and real property activities. He directly manages budgeting, fiscal reporting and compliance, planned giving and trust administration. He has special expertise in nonprofit, governmental and higher education audit practices and
serves on the Board of the Clark College Foundation, and other community organizations that assist families and individuals in becoming economically self-sufficient through job training,
support services and job placement. Daniel joined the SHI Board of Directors in 2019 and serves as Board Treasurer. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Washington State
University in accounting and is a member of the Washington Society of Certified Public
Accountants.

Cheryl Twete

Board Member

Cheryl Twete  is the Community Development Director for the City of Beaverton. She has served in this capacity for the past seven years. Her department delivers a broad range of functions, including all development review services, urban renewal, planning, economic development, affordable housing, code compliance and transportation planning. Cheryl’s professional career has focused on public sector development, including 23 years at the Portland Development Commission, now known as Prosper Portland,  and six years working at Metro and MERC. She understands the importance of creating strong working relationships with private sector partners and providing high-quality and timely customer service.

Cheryl received her master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Oregon and an undergraduate degree in planning from Minnesota State University. She is active in Urban Land Institute NW, serves on the Beaverton School District Bond Accountability Committee and is a board member of REAP USA, Inc.

Joe Cha

Board Member

Joe Cha is the former President of HIPZONE, an integrated media systems provider with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Shanghai, China. He is also the former President of QubecorWorld Pre-Media and Vice President of Strategy at Yahoo, Inc. Joe has experience working with Fortune 500 clients helping them develop and deliver new media workflow strategies and solutions across video, print, web, and social media. Prior to Yahoo, Joe started and ran as CEO, XUMA and SaaS, managed service technology businesses. The companies were purchased by CDI and are now part of Verizon Business Services.

Joe has served in a number of strategic consulting businesses including Price Waterhouse Coopers where he was the Principal Strategist for engagements in China and Accenture where he served in the change management practice in San Francisco, CA.

Joe is a former board member of SAPAAC, IDEALLIANCE, and Cause 21. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree of Master in Business Administration and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with departmental honors from Stanford University.

Komi Kalevor

Board Member

Komi has 30 years of affordable housing experience in development finance, banking, and organizational development. He is the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Washington County where he oversees Rental Assistance, Continuum of Care, Public Housing and Affordable Housing Development programs that serve 10,000 households.

He was Assistant Vice President with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, a Senior Program Manager with the Portland Housing Bureau, and Housing Director (Interim) with the Portland Development Commission. Komi managed 15,000 mixed-income and affordable housing units in the states of Oregon and Washington. As the Tax Credit Program Manager with the State of Oregon, he created innovative programs to expand access to Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Tax-Exempt Bond financing for 5,000 affordable housing units.

Komi holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the Atkinson School at Willamette University and is a certified Public Housing Manager and Voucher Executive Manager.

Richard (Dick) Halvorson

Board Member

Richard is Regional Vice President, Primerica, Independent Contractor in Financial Services. He was the Director of the Sandy, Oregon Senior Center/Recreation Department, and a Recreation Supervisor, for the City of Vancouver, Washington. He was also a delegate to the National Institute of Senior Centers/National Council on The Aging, was appointed to the Senior Center Development task force and served as a Rural Senior Center Representative in Washington, D.C.

Richard is a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of The Annual Early Learning Champions Awards Program sponsored by Educational Opportunities for Children & Families. He is past President of the Board of Directors for CDM Caregiving Services that provides Home Care and Elder Day in Vancouver, Washington. He holds a B.S. in Psychology, from Portland State University, a M.S. in Recreation & Park Management, University of Oregon and is a Graduate Trainee in Gerontology at The University of Oregon Center for Gerontology.

Howard Klink

Board Member

Howard is the Principal Consultant in the Klink Consulting Group (KCG) that provides services to regional and national nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and the philanthropy sector. He was Deputy Director of the Multnomah County Department of Human Services, County Director of Developmental Disabilities Services and Chief Investment Officer for United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. He has worked as an early childhood and special education teacher, community organizer, criminal justice reform advocate, and public health agency lobbyist at the Oregon Legislature. Key clients include Housing with Services LLC, Cedar Sinai Park, The National Well Home Network, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), NeighborWorks, The Lewin Group, Enterprise Community Partners, REACH Community Development, Home Forward and the National Center for Healthy Housing and Catholic Charities.

Howard holds a Masters’ Degree in Education from Harvard University and was an Adjunct Professor at University of Portland, teaching Nonprofit Management. He is an enthusiastic mountaineer in the US and abroad.

Timothy V. Ramis

In Memoriam

Visit Tim Ramis and SHI History Here

Our Staff

Lydia Whitaker

CPA, Director of Accounting

Lydia has been SHI Director of Accounting since 2015. She has extensive audit experience with private regional accounting firms and has worked with several non-profit organizations. In addition to the management of all financial accounting and reporting for SHI’s portfolio of group homes and multifamily properties around Oregon, she manages SHI tax, human resource matters and works closely with the Executive Director and SHI Board of Directors. Lydia holds degrees in Business Management from Oregon State University and in Accounting from Portland State University. She earned her CPA designation in 2001.

David A. Pond

Senior Asset Manager

David has 15 + years of progressive experience in all aspects of residential construction and renovation, senior multifamily living, building analysis and maintenance management. He is a past Construction and Maintenance Director with Sunridge Property Management in Dallas, Texas, and Regional Operations Director for Fortress Investments. In his role at Fortress, he provided leadership for maintenance staff selection and training. From 2008-2012, he was Regional Maintenance Director for Holiday Retirement and provided oversight for all building operations and capital improvements.

David is a creative problem solver. He works well with other people and uses his experience and attention to detail to evaluate whole building repair and maintenance needs while motivating building engineers to deliver high quality living environments on-time and on-budget. David holds an Associates of Applied Science Degree in Computer Science from Western Business College, Portland, Oregon.

Brian McCarl

Executive Director & Board Secretary

Brian has 40 years of public and private real estate development experience in Oregon and Washington. He’s a recognized leader for the development of affordable, special needs, senior and high-density urban housing. He was President & CEO of Brian McCarl & Co. for 25 years and served as Regional Vice President for Newland Communities for the acquisition of 4,500 acres of land in the Pacific Northwest entitled for 7,000 single family homes and 3,000 jobs. As a Development Manager for PacifiCorp and the Portland Development Commission he master planned and managed the development of 170 blocks of urban land in downtown Portland, Oregon. He is the recipient of awards for RiverPlace, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Waterfront Park, Pacific Tower and The Westshore Apartments. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts.