Commitment to Clients and Communities
I caught the community development bug in Harvard Law School’s Transactional Law Clinic, where I assisted a local housing cooperative in their organizational overhaul. As a lawyer-in-training who hailed from a similarly underserved community, I left this experience resolved to pursue further opportunities to impact working and poor folks positively through transactional work.
Career Overview
Current Focus: I joined Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen in 2016 with a desire to take part in as much of the firm’s work as possible. My goal was to build a practice which would allow me to engage with a broad array of prospective clients – whether they be developers, service agencies, or community organizations – and have the breadth of experience to identify opportunities for such parties in the landscape of community development. In pursuit of this goal, I have represented not-for-profit and for-profit clients in residential and commercial transactions across the country funded by sources including LIHTCs, tax-exempt & taxable bonds, NMTCs, HTCs, state-issued tax credits, public & private grants, operating subsidies, soft debt, and commercial debt in my time at the firm. That I have been able to serve as legal counsel on such varied matters speaks to the strength and diversity of our client base.
Before joining the firm, I worked at UP Development, an affordable housing developer in Chicago. I focused on early-cycle development issues, including acquisitions, zoning, community engagement, financial modeling, and the assembly of financing applications for various sources. Prior to joining UP, I was a Community Development Fellow at Chicago Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, where I worked on NMTC transactions, engaged in CLC’s Community Benefits Agreement practice, and represented not-for-profits and small businesses through CLC’s legal clinic.
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Member, Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development
- Vice President, St. Leonard’s Ministries
- Board Member, Economic Growth Corporation