While the world was in the global COVID crisis together, individual struggles varied widely, especially among those struggling to stay in their homes. “Maybe they lost their job during the pandemic because the organization they were working for shut down and they didn't have the type of job that allowed them to go virtual,” shares Tonya Tyler, vice president for national initiatives operations at NeighborWorks America. 

Jayna Bower

Jayna Bower is the vice president, national partnerships of our Resource Development division. 

In her former position as director for the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling, (NCHEC), she oversaw the creation, expansion and implementation of national standards, professional certification, training and resource tools for the homeownership education and housing counseling industry nationwide. 

Lee Anne Adams

Lee Anne Adams has more than 20 years of experience working with community development organizations on the design, implementation and evaluation of community-based economic development in the U.S. and Latin America. Her previous roles with NeighborWorks America include the interim vice president of operations and the senior director of Project Reinvest. Prior to joining our National Initiatives Division, Lee Anne spent six years with the NeighborWorks Training Division. 

Susan M. Ifill

Susan M. Ifill is executive vice president and chief operating officer for NeighborWorks America, leading programs and staff who support network and field operations. She previously served as chief executive officer of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City (NHSNYC), a NeighborWorks network organization, working to address affordable housing and fight displacement across New York City. Prior to joining NHSNYC, Ifill was the senior vice president and chief retail officer for Carver Federal Savings Bank in New York.

Marietta Rodriguez

Marietta Rodriguez knows what it’s like to be a new homebuyer because she was one. "I was 25 and living in a high-cost area," she says. “There was absolutely no way I could buy a home without someone holding my hand and walking me through it.” The folks holding her hand were from a NeighborWorks network organization that provided counseling and financial assistance to first-time homebuyers. Soon, Rodriguez went to work for the organization that assisted her so that she could help more people in her hometown.

Often when people speak of Black wealth, they talk first of homeownership, and that's certainly one path to get there, explains Sheila Anderson, senior director of NeighborWorks America's Western Region. "But that's not the end all for building wealth." To truly increase wealth and assets in Black households and communities, we must think more broadly, she says.