Michael D. Lappin, Founding Member

Michael D. LappinPast CEO and President of The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) and CPC Resources Inc.  (1980 – 2011)

Led CPC to become a national leader in. the development and financing of affordable housing. During his tenure at CPC, over 140,000 affordable homes were financed and developed representing investments of almost $8 billion. CPC sourced new funds for affordable housing, most notably pioneering a major investment program  with the New York City and New York State public employee pension funds. CPC was a important advocate for many legislative initiatives at the Federal, State and City. Mr. Lappin has served on the advisory board of Fannie Mae, was the first president of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Advisory Committee for its Affordable Housing Program, and a founder and first president of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders. He has written and lectured on housing and community development.

CPCR’s development activities included the restoration of the 12,271-unit Parkchester housing complex in the Bronx; the entitlement of 2.8 million square feet for the 11 acre Domino site on Brooklyn’s waterfront for the development of a mixed- income, mixed-use community; and, the development of over 100 buildings, including 70 in-fill buildings, for low, moderate and middle income housing in New York City.

NEW YORK REGION

Deborah A. Widerkehr

Deborah A. Widerkehr

In her more than 25 years of affordable housing experience in both the public and private sectors, Debbie has lead the development of more than 1100 housing units and the financing of thousands more.  Her work has included mixed-use projects, senior housing, home ownership, and the rehabilitation of distressed assets, involving virtually every stripe of public and private financing. Debbie’s career has included senior positions with CPC Resources, Inc. and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Christopher Garlin

Mr. Garlin is the Managing Member/Owner of RCG Development Group, LLC (RCG). RCG is a MBE-Certified real estate development firm specializing in residential and mixed-use development in Cities that have a growing demand for affordable housing. Its mission is to contribute to the transformation of Cities by developing projects that embody the three main pillars of sustainability: Environmental, Social and Economic. RCG’s most recent project involved the adaptive-reuse development of a three building, $12 million, 46 Unit affordable housing project for older adults located in the downtown section of Jersey City, NJ.

Mr. Garlin is the former Director of the Domus Corporation a non-profit housing development corporation located in Northern, NJ. As the company’s first Director, he developed 400+ units of family, senior and special needs housing, including over 100 units in Jersey City, while establishing the company’s reputation as one of the more productive non-profit housing developers in the State of New Jersey.