Research & Statistical Modeling
Geospatial Analytics
Meeting Facilitation & Leadership Development
Community Engagement
Research & Data Systems
Lending & Underwriting
Chief Executive Officer
Multi Family Affordable Development
Housing Systems Design
Executive Assistant
Human Resources
Public Affairs
Disability Advocacy & Inclusion
Storytelling, Social-Impact Marketing
Regenerative Systems Design
Homeless Service Systems & Nonprofit Development
Dr. Curtis T. Bradley has over a decade of experience in statistics, research, and implementation initiatives. Throughout his career, Curtis has worked in transportation, managing research programs and projects, and conducting feasibility studies on transportation infrastructures. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Environmental Design from Morgan State University, a Master’s degree in Transportation Planning from South Carolina State University, and a Doctorate in Civil Engineering: Transportation Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His dissertation focused on “Modeling Short-Haul Intercity Travel Impacts and Behaviors: The Feasibility of High-Speed Rail Infrastructure.”
Outside of work, Curtis enjoys spending time with his family. He’s married with three children and loves cooking and barbecuing with them, sharing cherished recipes for barbecue sauces, spice rubs, and smoking different proteins. Curtis also coaches football and enjoys playing golf with family and friends.
Ryan brings over 15 years of experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis, data management, and data visualization, driven by a passion for helping communities answer the question, “Where?”
Ryan has produced maps and web applications to guide community conversations about development in one of Kentucky’s fastest growing areas. He’s built analytical models and data visualizations to help Raleigh Parks target funding for maintenance and land acquisition in areas of greatest need for access to greenspace. And recently he’s built analyses, datasets, and tools to support more efficient operations at Wake County Public School System.
Ryan holds BAs in Geography and German from Ball State University and an MA in Geography from the University of Kentucky. He lives in Raleigh, NC where he and his wife, Meredyth, try to keep up their young daughter, Sydney.
Jessica Day grew up in Knightdale, NC, and has seen it grow from a small community to one of the fastest-growing cities in North Carolina. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and recently graduated with her MBA at the North Carolina State University Jenkins Graduate School of Management.
In 2017, Jessica became the first African American female to be elected to the Knightdale Town Council and in 2021 she became the first African American Female to hold the seat as Mayor for the Town of Knightdale. She continues to serve in this capacity.
Jessica has combined her passion for helping the community and her leadership experience to become an executive coach, training and supporting leaders in operational excellence. She provides coaching and consulting services to facilitate change, increase value creation and improve business efficiency and effectiveness.
Atinuke “Tinu” Diver is a strategist, attorney, community organizer, and award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work sits at the intersection of community investment, housing, philanthropy, fund development narrative change, and systems transformation.
Over the course of her career, she has worked across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors—from federal government and higher education to grassroots organizing and affordable housing—helping organizations build alignment around complex challenges and ambitious goals. She currently serves as Vice President of Impact at DHIC, where she leads initiatives spanning strategic partnerships, philanthropy, community engagement, impact measurement, and storytelling.
A Fulcrum Fellow with the Center for Community Investment, Tinu is particularly interested in how communities build the coherence necessary to attract investment, strengthen civic infrastructure, and expand opportunity. Her work explores the relationship between community voice, narrative, capital, and power, and how those forces can be aligned to create lasting change.
Vanessa Kopp is a BBQ-lovin’, sweet tea sippin’ North Carolinian, currently residing in Philadelphia while she pursues a PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania. She joins Balance Community Advisors with nearly a decade of expertise in data-driven affordable housing policy and program analysis. Resolved to end homelessness in her lifetime, Vanessa is excited to contribute to the growing body of research and action plans that provide answers as to how we’ll do it. Her goal in life is simple – create evidence with integrity and get that evidence into the hands of communities that are hungry for change. She is excited to join a team that so thoroughly embodies this value!
Leslie joins Balance with over 20 years of mortgage finance and real estate industry experience. She holds an MBA in Finance from the Minnesota School of Business and an Undergraduate Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
A Chicago native currently residing in Atlanta, Leslie has a strong passion for helping people, whether in a public or private setting. She has channeled this passion into helping to increase the availability of affordable housing by working with financial institutions, local bodies of government, and affordable housing developers.
In her spare time, Leslie enjoys spending time with her family and friends and has recently become an avid Pickleball player.
With over 20 years of experience in public service and the housing industry, Lorena has dedicated her career to helping communities tackle a broad spectrum of issues. As the leader of Balance Community Advisors, Lorena leverages a vast network of experts to provide local leaders with instant expert capacity and innovative solutions. These solutions foster systems that support residents across all socioeconomic levels and promote healthy housing ecosystems that spur positive economic growth.
Lorena draws upon her deep experience in some of America’s fastest-growing regions, having lived and worked in major metropolitan cities across the country. She believes in harnessing the power of people – supported by research and data – through thoughtful planning and coalition building to create greater opportunities and a better quality of life for all.
When she’s not leading this dynamic group, Lorena enjoys spending time with her beloved family, arts & culture, and travel.
Marla Newman is a mission-driven civic and community-development executive with 30 years of leadership experience across municipal government, affordable housing, nonprofit administration, community investment, and national board governance. She brings deep expertise in building and modernizing public institutions, advancing equitable housing and neighborhood investment strategies, structuring public-private partnerships, deploying complex funding, and translating policy priorities into durable results.
Most recently, Marla served as Community Development and Neighborhood Connections Director for the Town of Apex, North Carolina. She joined the Town in September 2023 to establish a new department integrating the AskApex Call Center, community engagement, and housing functions. Her work centered on strengthening resident access, civic participation, and coordinated approaches to community development.
Previously, Marla held senior leadership roles with the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, including Housing Development Director and Community Development Director. In those positions, she led efforts to develop and preserve mixed-income housing; administer rehabilitation and first-time homebuyer lending programs; oversee code enforcement, community planning, real estate development, and public-service grant programs; and steward federal and local investments, including HOME, CDBG, housing finance funds, and general obligation bond resources.
Her career also includes service as Executive Director of the Louisiana Housing Alliance; Director of Economic Development for two Kansas City, Missouri nonprofits; and Program Officer with Greater Kansas City LISC. Across these roles, she has worked at the intersection of housing, economic opportunity, neighborhood revitalization, philanthropy, and public policy. She has also helped secure legislative wins across six consecutive legislative sessions.
Marla’s national governance experience includes service on the Board of Directors of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which she chaired from 2020 to 2022, and the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations. She has also served on the boards of the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the Capital Area Transit System in Baton Rouge.
She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of New Orleans. Marla is licensed to practice law in Missouri, Texas, and Alabama; holds National Development Council certifications in Economic Development Finance and Housing Development Finance; and is a member of the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute. She is a 2011 Fellow of the Louisiana Effective Leadership Program.
Known as the glue that holds the team together, Mauri provides high-level administrative, clerical, and organizational support to BCA’s CEO and Advisors. Mauri’s efforts ensure smooth business operations and effective communication.
When she’s not supporting the team, Mauri enjoys spending time with her four children and five grandchildren.
Nathan has dedicated his career to all facets of people services as a human resources professional. He focuses on fostering employee engagement and strives to create an employment environment that “works” for employees and managers alike. Nathan is committed to helping build a workplace culture of inclusion and belonging. With over 20 years of experience in various sized organizations, Nathan is able to address challenges faced by small and large organizations.
Nathan is committed to addressing issues facing communities, particularly food and housing insecurity. Since 2001 he has been active in the nonprofit community, working to end food and housing insecurity. In a volunteer capacity, Nathan has provided human resources guidance and structure to the non-profit organizations in his community.
Nathan received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Belmont University and a Master’s of Divinity from Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond. He is married to Libby Stephens and they have one son, Henry. The family enjoys traveling, working in the garden and cooking together.
Dr. Terrance Ruth received his PhD in Public Affairs from the University of Central Florida. He received his Master in Education from Nova Southeastern University and his BA from Oglethorpe University. Dr. Ruth completed national fellowships through both Harvard and Boston College with a certification in nonprofit leadership.
Dr. Ruth is an advocate for public education, once serving as a teacher, principal and the parent of a son who attends public schools in Wake County. Dr. Ruth led social justice organizations at the national, state and local levels with a reputation for being the implementation expert. He served as the NC NAACP Executive Director under Dr. Barber and Dr. Spearman and has served as National Director of Programming for the Repairers of the Breach. Recently he partnered with United Way of the Triangle to launch a community investment fund for local community organizers.
Dr. Ruth has work in K-12 schools across Florida and in Wake County. Currently, Terrance is a Professor at NCSU and is the former President of the Justice Love Foundation. He is deeply engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion work across the city of Raleigh and the Triangle. You can find more information at TruthforRaleigh.com. Dr. Ruth was a Raleigh Mayoral Candidate for 2022 and 2024. He received over 42% of voter support, equating to over 61 thousand votes, during his 2022 campaign for Mayor.
Dr. Ruth is leading a coalition of leaders to engage in local solutions through impact investing, design thinking, and creative collaborations. Right now he is facilitating a process to increase the use of faith based assets in improving the affordable housing stock. He is also working with United Way of the Triangle to offering a human centered design lens to the philanthropic network in the Triangle. He is a proud husband to Kiara and father of Miles.
Anastasia Somoza, known to her friends as Tas, began her advocacy work in 1993, when, at the age of 9, she had the opportunity to ask then President Bill Clinton to help mainstream her twin sister (Alba) into the New York City public school system. Anastasia is now leading the inclusion revolution as a human rights defender, speaker, and consultant.
On the first night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she gave a moving speech about her relationship with Hillary Clinton and Americans with disabilities. Following her appearance at the DNC, Anastasia traveled the country as a surrogate speaker for the Hillary for America campaign.
Post Election 2016, Anastasia became the first ever Community Liaison to serve a represent disabled New Yorkers’ in the city of New York under former Speaker Corey Johnson. During her time at the City Council, she was appointed by the Speaker to the Civic Engagement Commission where she remained an active commissioner until 2024.
From 2022 through mid 2023, her advocacy and work brought her to serve as consultant and coalition co-leader for Accessible Fueling Efforts in California where she worked on helping push for legislation to increase access to mobile fueling technology. Then from mid 2023 – early 2024, she joined United Spinal where she worked in collaboration with the Director of Advocacy and Policy to grow their national network of grassroots advocates with a focus on accessible transportation.
Most recently, in the Fall of 2024, Anastasia had the honor of serving as the National Director of Disability Engagement on the Harris for President campaign where she worked with fellow advocates, organizations, and constituents across the country to mobilize, energize, and educate disabled voters during the 2024 campaign cycle.
As a passionate advocate for women’s rights, she has received the Susan B. Anthony Award (2016) from the National Organization for Women, Martha H. Ziegler Founders Award (2017) from the Federation for Children with Special Needs, and most recently the David B Kriser Medal (2020) from NYU College of Dentistry.
Her advocacy work has also taken her across the globe as a keynote speaker for the 25 Year Anniversary of the ADA at US Embassy (2015 China), Springboard Consulting’s Disability Matters Conference & Awards (2017), Zero Project at United Nations Headquarters (2019 Austria), International Disability Summit ‘Bridge for Sustainable Dialogue (2021 Turkey) and the Summit on Women with Disabilities hosted by the World Events Disability Coalition at the World Expo (2021 Dubai). Presently, she serves on the board of The New York Women’s Foundation.
Aaron’s mission is to dovetail creativity and humanity to their greatest potential. His background as a Producer, Creative Director, and Entrepreneur cultivated an ever-growing love of collaboration and people. His empathy and drive for everyone’s voice to be included shapes his storytelling style and human-first approach to his work. He’s an inclusive, human-centered, storyteller and innovation advocate that believes co-creation of quality content will lead the way to successful communications and thriving communities.
With over 10 years of experience in the creative industry, Aaron Thaddeus has partnered with startups, government initiatives, and Fortune 500 companies to create ambitious campaigns as a Creative Director and Project Lead. Working directly with clients, he outlines a brand’s vision and provides quality assurance to every aspect of the project.
Leilani Vella is a regenerative systems strategist who designs infrastructure solutions that integrate social, environmental, and economic outcomes. Their work helps communities, public agencies, and private-sector partners develop initiatives that strengthen local resilience, expand economic opportunity, and create long-term value.
They have led communications, stakeholder engagement, and partner development for complex infrastructure initiatives involving diverse public and private interests. Their expertise spans stakeholder strategy, impact assessment, and blended finance, helping organizations align community priorities, economic development goals, and investment strategies to advance implementation and long-term success.
Leilani specializes in building partnerships and operational structure that move complex projects from vision to action. Their approach combines systems thinking, collaboration, and practical implementation strategies to create durable outcomes for communities, institutions, and investors alike.
With 15 years of executive-level experience in the non-profit sector and homeless service systems, Ashley possesses a wealth of knowledge and has demonstrated success in program development, project management, and resource coordination within the nonprofit sector.
As a domestic violence survivor and Executive Director of a domestic violence agency, her tenacity to “step outside of the box” and explore new innovative strategies to address housing barriers has proven to increase housing sustainability and long-term success amongst the unhoused and domestic violence populations.
When she is not providing community awareness and emergency housing to victims of domestic violence, she enjoys quality time with her two sons and their dog, Amina.
Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work from Georgia State University.
