Who We Are

King Harris

Chairman

King Harris is Chairman of Harris Holdings, a family investment company, and a Senior Fellow at the Metropolitan Planning Council where he has focused on metropolitan Chicago housing issues. He is Vice-Chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a Visiting Committee member of the University of Chicago’s School for Public Policy Studies. He also is a member of the Keystone Board of the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. Previously, he was a Board member and Board Chair of the Francis Parker School, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Planning Council as well as a trustee of the University of Chicago between 1987-2018. Between 1971 and 2000 he worked for Pittway Corporation (NYSE), ending his tenure as President & CEO between 1987 and 2000. Between 1995-2018 he served as Board Chair of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE). A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, he served two years in the Peace Corps in Chile between 1965-1967 and an additional two and a half years in the U.S. Anti-Poverty program between 1969-1971.

Karen Davis

Vice-Chairman, Audit Committee Chair

Karen is the Executive Director of the Greater Peoria Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where she leads a team that is dedicated to transforming distressed neighborhoods into healthy and sustainable communities of choice and opportunity.

Before accepting the position with Greater Peoria LISC, Karen was Director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the city of Springfield, where she oversaw the city planning initiatives for housing and business development. She had been passionately involved in community and economic development activities over the last 20 years, holding executive level positions within corporate America and with socially responsible not-for-profits focusing on strategic solutions to propel community and economic development initiatives.

Prior to her position with the city of Springfield, Karen was Senior Vice President and Regional Community Affairs Manager of Regions Bank, where she directed the community and economic development initiatives across the Midwest. Karen, with the help of designated staff, identified and promoted programs that fostered and spurred community and economic development in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, and Arkansas.

Karen received both a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management and a Master of Arts Degree in Community Development from the University of Illinois. Karen is also the Past President of the National Association of State Housing Boards (NCSHB).

Sonia Berg

Asset Management Committee Member

Sonia is currently a Realtor with Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors. She is dual licensed in Illinois and Iowa.

Before getting her real estate license, Sonia was employed as the Director of Community Relations with Economic Growth Corporation and served as a Consultant for Bridge Investment Community Development Corp.

Sonia previously held positions as a Vice President of Operations for a local payroll company and a local collection agency. She was employed as the Special Events Coordinator for the Trinity Health Foundation, CRA Officer with Quad City Bank and Trust and she held various positions with Rock Island County.

Sonia was a previous Moline Housing Authority commissioner. In April 2009, Sonia was elected to the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees. Prior to being elected, she was a member of the Black Hawk College Foundation Board. She was recruited by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to coordinate a “Financial Access to Immigrants” Conference in the Quad Cities. Sonia was selected by the Illinois Bankers Association to serve on the “Emerging Markets Advisory Committee”. She has previously served on the “New Alliance Task Force” through the FDIC. In addition, Sonia was named as a 2005 Quad City Area Leaders Under 40 Award recipient and recognized for her accomplishments by the 2005 Quad City Times Business Journal’s “Women in Business” and Class of 2007 Quad City Chamber of Commerce Federation Community Leadership. She currently serves as the Alderman At Large for the City of Moline and on the Board of Directors for Skip-A-Long and the First Tee of the Quad Cities. Sonia received her higher education from Black Hawk College.

Darrell R. Hubbard

Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair, Audit Committee Member

Darrell is currently an independent consulting after spending nearly 30 years in banking and investment management. He most recently served as President and CEO of Urban Partnership Bank, where he also served as Chief Banking Officer and Director – Business Banking/Commercial Real Estate. Prior, he was the Vice President for Investment Management at the National Equity Fund and the Managing Director for Capital Markets at First National Bank of Chicago. He has also served on Boards for the Urban Development Fund, Roosevelt University, Ravenswood Community Services, Saint Bernard Hospital, and the Mercy Housing Loan Fund. Darrell earned his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Aarti Kotak

Aarti has nearly twenty years of experience in economic and real estate development, public policy and public-private finance. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Neighborhood Economic Development in the Office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, focusing on those neighborhoods most in need. Previously, she served as Managing Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Planning and Development, leading the Department’s Economic Development Bureau in its work to strengthen commercial and industrial corridors, creating and retaining jobs and amenities within them. Prior to joining the City, Aarti served as general counsel for the NATO Summit Host Committee and Choice Neighborhoods Director and associate counsel at the Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).

Tom Morsch

Asset Management Committee Member

Tom is the founder and President of Morsch Expeditions, LLC. Prior to forming his company, he was a partner and Managing Director of Public Financial Management, LLC, where he co-led the firm’s public private partnership practice. Previously, he was the Midwest Real Estate Practice Leader for Marsh and McLennan Companies, a management consultant specializing in public-private work and was appointed by Governor James R. Thompson to serve as the Executive Director and CEO of the Illinois Tollway System for six years. Tom serves as a board and advisory board member of the Metropolitan Planning Council and Community Partners for Affordable Housing, was elected for three terms to the City Council of the City of Lake Forest, and was appointed a member of the City of Lake Forest Planning Commission. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Beloit College.

Luz Ramirez

Finance Committee Member

Luz Ramirez, Vice President of YWCA La Voz Latina, oversees the day-to-day functions of La Voz Latina programs by ensuring that services and programs are made available to high-need families and the Latino community to help them progress and become self-sufficient. Prior to merging with YWCA, she served as the Executive Director of La Voz Latina, Inc. for four years and worked for the Rockford Public Schools for 16 years, holding various positions within the district, including a position on the Superintendent’s Cabinet.

She is a Rockford native and Jefferson High School Graduate. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Administration and Supervision. She has over 25 years of experience and training in working with the Latino/Hispanic community and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Spanish at Rockford University.

In 2010 she was awarded the Latinos of Distinction award by La Voz Latina (prior to being employed by the organization), was recognized in 2014 by late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka as a Leader in Education, and in 2015 was recognized by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce as one of the 20 People You Should Know.

Salvatore (Sam) Tornatore

Secretary, Asset Management Committee Chair, Finance Committee Member

Sam is a principal in the Tornatore Law Office located in Bloomingdale and Roselle, and a member of the DuPage County Board. He is a former Trustee for both the Village of Roselle and Bloomingdale Township, and former member of the Roselle Zoning Board of Appeals. Sam is a graduate of the John Marshall Law School and DePaul University in Chicago.

Kristin Faust

Executive Director

Effective November 12, 2019, Director Faust was appointed Executive Director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), bringing more than 30 years of affordable housing industry experience to the Authority. As the state’s chief affordable housing official, Executive Director Faust provides leadership in state housing policy to advance IHDA’s mission of financing the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout Illinois.

Prior to joining IHDA, Executive Director Faust served as President of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), a community development organization committed to helping homeowners and strengthening neighborhoods. As President, Ms. Faust’s strong leadership and holistic vision helped spur community revitalization by creating homeownership opportunities for those most vulnerable, improving not only their lives, but their neighborhoods as well.

Before joining NHS, Executive Director Faust was Chief Credit Officer and Director of Lending & Network Services at Partners for the Common Good. In that role, she was responsible for the growth and oversight of the domestic and international loan portfolio. In addition, Executive Director Faust served as president of the Enterprise Community Loan Fund, one of the largest non-depository community development financial institutions in the country.

Earlier in her career, Executive Director Faust spent fifteen years in community development banking in Chicago, primarily with LaSalle National Bank, where she started the Community Development Lending Department. Her work in Chicago earned her distinction in Crain’s Chicago Business “Forty Under 40” list.

Ms. Faust is a graduate of Harvard University, where she obtained a Master in City and Regional Planning and Brown University, where she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy.

Debbie Olson

Chief of Staff/Assistant Executive Director

Debbie is an accomplished executive, government and community leader with 16 years of experience working with affordable housing nonprofits, 13 years in elected office and over 30 years of business ownership and administration. Before joining the Authority in April of 2016, Debbie was the Executive Director of the DuPage Homeownership Center where she managed the staff, programs and finances of a premier housing counseling agency in Chicago’s western suburbs while working with federal, state and local governments to create better housing policies. Prior to this, she served on the DuPage County Board and was a member of the DuPage Federation of Human Services Reform, the DuPage County Continuum of Care and several suburban Chambers of Commerce. Debbie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Northern Illinois University.

Tracy Grimm

Acting Chief Financial Officer/Assistant Treasurer

Tracy joined the Authority in May 2005 and has served as Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since October 2019. She is an accomplished finance professional with more than 15 years of experience in Housing Finance Agency operations, previously holding senior roles as IHDA’s Director of Homeownership, Assistant Director of Finance and Assistant Director of Loan and Portfolio Management. Among her key accomplishments in these roles, Ms. Grimm lead the design and implementation of in-house single-family pipeline interest rate risk management through the internalization of interest rate hedging, and effected the consolidation of loan servicing for $800 million in IHDA loans from fifty different servicers to one. As Acting CFO, Ms. Grimm oversees all aspects of the IHDA’s financial plans and policies including the issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds, loan securitization and secondary marketing activities. Prior to joining IHDA, Ms. Grimm held management and equity trading positions in the financial services industry, serving as the Manager of Operations at UBS Financial Services, the Associate Manager of Operations at RBD Dain Rauscher and as an Equity Trader at ABN AMRO Inc.

Maureen G. Ohle

General Counsel/Assistant Executive Director/Assistant Secretary

Maureen joined the Authority in November of 2010 as Senior Counsel and was promoted to General Counsel in August 2011. Before joining the Authority, she worked in the real estate group at Sidley Austin LLP, practicing out of the firm’s Chicago office. Prior to this, she worked for J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. in the commercial mortgage-backed securities group, having started her legal career at Sidley Austin’s Washington, DC. office from 2001 to 2007. Maureen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies from the University of Illinois-Springfield and a Juris Doctorate degree from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.

Scot Berkey

Chief Information Officer

Scot joined the Authority as CIO in 2017.  He has thirty years of professional experience in the technology sector in organizations ranging from Fortune 500 multi-nationals to smaller high-growth corporations.  Scot has founded and led multiple domestic and international organizations, and he has held executive-level roles in both buy and sell sides of the technology industry.  He has extensive experience in for-profit education, insurance brokerage, and in turnaround leadership situations in a variety of business segments.  His professional experience includes leadership roles as CIO, executive roles in global operations and application development, client services and contract negotiation, and applied business technology.  Scot earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Northwestern University and earned his MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurial Private Equity at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Kevin O’Connor

Chief Internal Auditor

Kevin joined the Authority’s Internal Audit department in June 2011 and was appointed to his current position in September 2012. Kevin is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Accountant. He has extensive experience in public accounting having started his career with Price Waterhouse. Kevin has also held executive roles in finance, accounting and internal auditing. He graduated with a Bachelor degree in finance from the University College of Dublin.