Affordable Housing Summit and Expo - In-Person

Daniel McMillen is Professor of Finance at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He served as co-editor of Regional Science and Urban Economics from 2007 – 2017, and as President of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association in 2017. Since receiving his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University in 1987, he has been a member of the economics departments at the University of Oregon, Santa Clara University, Tulane University, and the Chicago and Urbana-Champaign campuses of the University of Illinois. He has published widely in real estate, urban economics, housing economics, and related fields. He is a Fellow of the Homer Hoyt Institute and a faculty member of the Homer Hoyt Weimer School, a consultant in the Regional Analysis group at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Joe Berrios has over two decades of mortgage origination experience, and has seen the business from all sides of the spectrum. Born and raised in Chicago, Joe has not only been ranked in the 10% of Fundings with his previous employer, but was also ranked #54 in the nation for the Top 250 National Association of Hispanic REALTORS® loan originators, of which he had been a board member of the Chicago Chapter for the organization going on 3 years, and recently so graciously accepted the position of Lake County Chapter as Director of Education and Treasurer. While Joe’s accomplishments speak to his successes, he continues to make his number one priority servicing his clients and treating everyone like they were part of his family, giving honest advice, and providing a plan for people to help achieve the dream of homeownership.

Gideon Blustein serves the Illinois REALTORS® as Senior Director of Local Government and External Affairs. Blustein’s former professional roles include Congressional District Director, Congressional Chief of Staff and Deputy Director of an Illinois State Agency. He has also run local, state and federal political campaigns. Blustein is a graduate of the University of Illinois and earned a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University. 

Tonisha Brown has been in the housing industry since 2010 when she began working with a HUD approved housing counseling agency as a client. Throughout her experience she has helped individuals achieve personal financial goals through budgeting, saving, debt management, and financial literacy workshops.  She has developed curriculum, organized and executed successful foreclosure prevention, homebuyer education, and financial literacy workshops.  

Her greatest achievement is her unyielding ability to be able to connect with clients because she has been on both sides of the table.  She is also very passionate about giving back to the community and has educated 1000+ Chicago Public School K-12 students with her signature financial literacy 8-week workshop during the school year with her signature youth financial literacy curriculum.  She has also been a mortgage loan officer for Associated Bank where she provided mortgage options that fit her clients’ homebuying needs.  Currently she works as the Director of Homeownership with South Suburban Housing Center (SSHC) managing a team of 5 HUD Certified counselors, and she is responsible for development and implementation of housing counseling and financial capabilities programs.

T. Paul S. Chawla is widely recognized in Chicago for his knowledgeable, compassionate & intuitive approach to the law. Mr. Chawla combines his broad legal experience with the ability to quickly and efficiently learn the facts and nuances about each case, making him an effective lawyer across a wide spectrum of legal matters. His practice includes and emphasizes on alternative dispute resolution and litigation. In addition to his transactional practice, Mr. Chawla also represents individuals and companies in both state and federal court.

Mr. Chawla serves on the Chief Judge of Cook County’s Domestic Relations Committee to Appoint and Screen Child Representatives, is a qualified Child Representative, and serves as an Arbitrator on Fee Disputes. Mr. Chawla has served as a panelist on domestic violence seminars and has lectured on leadership to collegiate and high school students.

Mr. Chawla takes pride and is active in numerous not for profit, fraternal and religious organizations. Over the years Mr. Chawla’s memberships include Asian American Bar Association, Indian American Bar Association, Network of Indian Professionals, DuPage County Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Indo American Democratic Organization and the American Bar Association. Mr. Chawla has also served as the General Counsel to the Indian American Medical Association for several years. Mr. Chawla has assisted clients of both Apna Ghar and provided support to several domestic violence shelters.

Mr. Chawla served the United States Senate on the Senate Special Committee on Aging as a Congressional Fellow. As a Congressional Fellow, Mr. Chawla worked extensively on researching and drafting proposed legislation to address the healthcare manpower shortages in rural America. Mr. Chawla is licensed to practice in Illinois and the Federal District Court of Northern Illinois.

Tonya started her Real Estate career in 1994 as a Licensed Salesperson with RE/MAX Excellence in South Holland, IL. She obtained her Illinois Broker’s License in 2001 and in 2009 became an agent at RE/MAX South Suburban in Flossmoor.   In 2011, Tonya joined Keller Williams Preferred Realty in Orland Park, where she held the Managing Broker position. Since 2013, Tonya has been the Managing Broker/Team Leader of Century 21 Affiliated (now Century 21 Circle) in Homewood, IL. 

Tonya has served as Treasurer, President-Elect, and 2013 President of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®. She has served on many MORe Committees and has co-chaired the Pro-Standards Committee,  chaired the South Government Affairs Committee, chaired the Finance Committee and was honored as their 2016 REALTOR® of the Year. 

Her list of accomplishments with Illinois REALTORS® includes the following:  chaired the Housing Committee, chaired the Business Diversity Committee, and served as a member of the IAR Board of Directors,  Public Policy Committee, Education Committee, Bicentennial Committee, Citation Committee, Nominating Committee, Leadership Academy Committee & Graduate of the Leadership Academy.

She has served as President, Vice President of Membership & Treasurer of the South/Southwest Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors. Chair of the Community Services Committee for the National Women's Council of Realtors and is currently a member of the South Chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors.  

On the National Level, Tonya has served as FPC for Congresswoman Robin Kelly and as a member of the Realtor Party Member Involvement Committee. 

Tonya earned her B.A. in Economics from DePaul University.

Matt served as 2020 Chair of NAR's Professional Standards Committee, where he advanced a series of proposals that ultimately resulted in the addition of Standard of Practice 10-5 to the NAR Code of Ethics, a prohibition against REALTORS® engaging in discriminatory hate speech. Matt is 2021 Chair of the Professional Standards Interpretations and Procedures Advisory Board. He served as 2018 President of the Illinois REALTORS®. During his four years on his state leadership team, he gradually became aware of the industry’s persistent shortcomings in diversity, equity and inclusion, and he committed himself to improving it. Matt has since won numerous awards for his work on fair housing and inclusion in the industry. Matt works full-time with clients in his home market of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where he leads a high producing team and is broker-owner of RE/MAX Realty Associates. Matt and his wife Angelle have two teenage children, Gabe and Izzy.

Jeremy Green is the Federal Housing Policy Representative for the National Association of REALTORS. In this role, Jeremy represents NAR on policies and programs related to the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Rural Housing Service. Jeremy has been with NAR for seven years, previously serving in an outreach position with the Member Experience, Engagement, and Legal Teams. Prior to NAR, Jeremy worked at the Glover Park Group lobbying firm and is a graduate of Syracuse University.

Mabél Guzmán is a broker at Coldwell Banker in Chicago, where she specializes in residential real estate, rehabbing properties, and working with investors. Economic development, housing advocacy, and public policy are Mabél’s passions. On behalf of the National Association of REALTORS®, Mabél testified before the House Financial Services Committee in 2019 about the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program. At the state level, Mabél served on the Illinois REALTORS® Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011. In 2014, 2015,and 2018 she received the Illinois REALTORS® President’s Medallion for Outstanding Service. These days she is focused on helping grow NAHREP’s (National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals) presence and relevance in the western Chicago suburbs.

Moises is very passionate about homeownership and the tremendous impact it has in building the American Dream. He started his career at Chase 7 years ago as a Relationship Banker in the heart of Chicago. During his 2-year tenure as an RB, it was very clear that Moises wanted to pursue a career in helping his local community realize the dream of homeownership. He helped families become homeowners for about 3 years before becoming a Lending Development Officer. Since then, Moises became the Business Development Manager for Community and Affordable Lending – in his current role, he seeks to build  partnerships with Community Stakeholders (Real Estate Agents, Non-Profits, Trade Associations and Community Group) to bring awareness/visibility to Chase’s Home Lending resources/services to help drive homeownership in local communities. Moises is also an internal SME for the Home Lending Advisor teams he support. 

Matricia is a proud native of Chicago, Illinois where she serves as a member of the Mainstreet YPN Committee and is a Broker for Keller Williams Elite, proudly servicing active, reserved, and retired service members who served in the United States Armed Forces. Having a passion to educate individuals to see past their current situations, Martricia serves as a strong advocate forproviding the unknown and being a billboard seeking to help anyone.

Matricia's passion for servicing veterans began from her father who served in the U.S. Armed Forces providing freedom for his family and others abroad, because he wasn't aware of the benefits he was entitled to as a U.S. Veteran. Understanding the importance of serving this great nation, and the countless hours, days, months, and years that each veterans gives to ensure our freedom, Matricia began working and advocating for families across the Chicago land areas and have been a voice and resource you can always count on. Not only being a voice for those who serve, but the many families who have no idea of the benefits they deserve and are entitled to.

Having over 20 years of experience in the real-estate industry, Matricia started her career in the world of real-estate. Becoming fascinated with appraising Matricia felt she would be excellent with providing integrity with values of property. At that time many years ago, Matricia even named her business “True Appraisals”. Matricia went on afterwards to pursue how she could directly assist people fairly in financing. Matricia served as a licensed loan originator for many years, to learn the different programs available to individuals to qualify for at a minimum investment. After becoming a licensed real estate broker currently working full-time to help as many families one on one, Matricia's career path has been one that has been very gratifying knowing that she's put someone on the path to the American Dream.

Matricia Jackson is a wife of 24 years, a mother of two sons, and recently became a new grandmother of identical twins. Matricia a proud and hardworking broker recently received the highest level service award, “Veteran Friendly Agent Award” from Rick D. West, 12 Master Chief Petty officer of Navy. Who recognize her for her strong commitment and dedication to Veterans and Service members abroad. Matricia currently sits on the board of Government Affairs where she along with other board members, advocates on behalf of consumers, fighting on their behalf to ensure fair housing is upheld.

Matricia's hobbies are, learning, reading, traveling and relaxing, creating a spa experience. One of the things she loves the most is making a difference. Matricia also enjoys the grass roots of what it takes to make ends meet, by believing ends meet by helping one another.

Yvette Jones – Swanson has been a Realtor for 25 years and works in the field full-time at Real People Realty for the past 12 years. She began her career in rentals and has excelled to becoming one of the top agents working with HCV tenants. Her course Navigating the HCV Process & Legal Issues was a Core B for a few years at the Main Street Board of Realtors, Chicago Association Board of Realtors and Three Rivers. She continues to educate agents on the subject.
Yvette holds a Master’s Degree in Human Relations Development concentrating in Instructional Design. She was an Instructional Designer for several years in the real estate and construction industry. Her real estate career also includes property management (600 + units), Assistant Property Manager (upscale units), Operations Manager and Leasing Manager.
She is also a published author of Veteran’s Buying and Real Estate Guide for Today’s to help guide veterans and Realtors how to navigate the VA home purchase process. Which quickly became #1 in New Releases on Amazon 2021.
Yvette has been housing veterans for 17 years – from homeless to homes to home ownership. She’s been conducting Veteran home buying seminars for 9 years at local Vet Centers and City of Chicago Colleges. In 2020, Yvette was Top Agent in Excellent Customer Service by Homesnap and in the Top 15% in property sales nationwide – simply serving Veteran buyers.
Yvette being an Army veteran herself and married to a Retired Army Master Sergeant working with Veterans is second nature. She is also the founder and President of 100 Pretty Purses for Female Veterans. A not-for-profit organization that provides joy around the holiday by gifting over 1000 purses filled each year and back to school functions for the veteran’s children.

Prior to beginning his career in Cook County government, Fritz spent more than 20 years valuing assets as a mutual fund portfolio manager and analyst. In his 13 years at Columbia Wanger Asset Management, Fritz served as a financial steward, helping average families save for retirement and focusing on small companies operating around the world. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Illinois Assessment Officer designations. He is also a member of the IAAO, the International Association of Assessing Officers.

Since assuming office in 2018, Fritz has brought fairness, ethics and transparency to the Cook County Assessor’s Office with a vision focused on operational changes, technological upgrades, and the elimination of favoritism. These changes have increased predictability in the assessment system and spurred investment in Chicago and Cook County.

Fritz was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago and still maintains close ties to the community. He attended Hyde Park’s Kenwood Academy for high school, completed his undergraduate studies at Haverford College, and received his MBA from Stanford University.

In 2020 Fritz received the A. Philip Randolph Change Agent Award from the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum and in 2021 the Adlai Stevenson Award for Public Service from the Chicago chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.

Fritz’s wife Rebecca is a teacher; they live in Oak Park, with their three children, where Fritz is a member of First United Methodist Church of Oak Park.

Laurie Muphy was appointed Acting Director of Real Estate for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation effective April 1, 2021. Previously, Ms. Murphy served as the Deputy Director of the Division of Real Estate. In that role, Ms. Murphy helped develop processes to increase efficiencies within the Division, led the team in legislative and rulemaking initiatives, and served as a liaison to the Department's advisory boards, auditors, and trade associations. She currently serves as the representative for IDFPR on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Real Estate Education Foundation ("IREEF") which administers scholarships to those wishing to enter the real estate profession or advancing their careers. Ms. Murphy started in state government as Estate Brokerage and Community Association Management. In this capacity she also served as the chairperson for the Real Estate Administration and Disciplinary Board, ex-officio, without vote. 

Ms. Murphy came to IDFPR with more than 20 years of real estate experience. She currently holds a Real Estate Managing Broker License and during her career served as the Designated Managing Broker for two different real estate franchise brokerages as well as operating her own independent real estate brokerage. She is a lifelong resident of West Chicago, Illinois and received her Bachelor of Science from Northern Illinois University. 

Gwendolene Newton is the 42^nd President of the Dearborn Realtist^® Board. The Dearborn Realtist^® Board chartered 80 years ago in 1941, is the oldest African American Real Estate Trade Association.  Newton has been in Real Estate for 17yrs and holds a Managing Brokers license.  Newton’s mission in Real Estate is to educate in under resourced, underfunded, hardest hit communities, and mentor families so each can leave a legacy in homeownership.

As President, Newton’s vision for The Dearborn Realtist^® Board is to focus on 3 pillars: Education, Community & Membership!  Simply put, education is the foundation and preparation for change and the conduit to impact communities & membership.  As a former Asset Manager with Federal National Mortgage Association, Newton was responsible for $150 million in portfolio sales.  Prior to joining the Real Estate Industry, Newton worked as a Market Research Coordinator and Financial Analyst for Helene Curtis & Unilever, respectively.  Currently, Newton manages a team at Century 21 SGR, conducts homebuyer education class, educates, and empowers people on building wealth through homeownership.  In Newton’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with family & friends, traveling abroad, reading, watching movies, attending concerts, or hitting a few summer festivals. 

Kurt Nishimura has been a real estate consultant for over 10 years focusing on acquiring, developing, and asset managing commercial and residential real estate.  He is a licensed realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty. 

Nishimura previously worked for the Pivotal Group serving as Vice President of Acquisitions. While at Pivotal, Nishimura asset managed the St. Regis Los Angeles and the Westin Century Plaza.  He oversaw the repositioning of a weight loss clinic in St. George, Utah, a property that was rebranded to Red Mountain Spa, recognized as a Top Destination Spa by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine in 2007.   

Nishimura is the Founder of the local chapter of Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) Greater Phoenix and served as President in 2014, 2015 and 2019.  He also served on the National Board of AREAA as the National Commercial Chair in 2018 and 2019.   He served as Treasurer for AREAA Global in 2018/2019 and currently serves as Development co-chair in 2020.   He will serve as National President of AREAA in 2023.  

Nishimura earned his MBA with an emphasis on real estate development from DePaul University and earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Illinois University.