Staff Directory

Stockton Williams was appointed Executive Director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies in March 2018. NCSHA’s state housing finance agency members have delivered nearly $500 billion in financing to make possible the purchase, development, and rehabilitation of more than 7 million affordable homes for low- and moderate-income households. Stockton leads NCSHA’s wide-ranging efforts to advocate and strengthen the central role of state HFAs in the nation’s housing system.

Stockton has 25 years of experience in housing development, finance, policy, research, and advocacy. He was previously Executive Vice President of Content and Executive Director of the Terwilliger Center for Housing at the Urban Land Institute. Before joining ULI, Stockton was Managing Principal of HR&A Advisors’ Washington, D.C., office. He previously served as Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Energy. He has also held senior leadership positions at Enterprise Community Partners, Living Cities, and with an affordable housing developer.

Stockton holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Princeton University. He is a member of the National Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing.

Garth Rieman is director of Housing Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives for the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), where he has worked since 1993. He helps NCSHA formulate and execute its policy on the Housing Credit, Housing Bonds, housing finance reform, appropriations, and other affordable housing issues and leads NCSHA’s advocacy efforts.

Garth has also worked for the U.S. Senate Housing Subcommittee, National Association of Realtors, HUD, and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Garth graduated from Pomona College and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Jennifer Schwartz serves as the Director of Tax and Housing Advocacy at the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA). She rejoined NCSHA in 2014 after previously holding the role of Senior Legislative and Policy Associate at the organization from 2001-2005.

Prior to returning to NCSHA, Jennifer was the Director of Policy and Programs for the Southern Governors’ Association, where she focused on facilitating bipartisan collaboration between governors in various policy areas. Earlier in her career, she worked as a counselor and case manager at Women’s Protective Services, a domestic violence shelter and rape crisis counseling center in Massachusetts, and as a project consultant for the Massachusetts Advocacy Center (now Massachusetts Advocates for Children).

Jennifer earned a Master of Science degree in Public Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University with a double major in Psychology and Sociology.

James Tassos is the Deputy Director of Tax Policy and Strategic Initiatives at the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), where he represents the interests of state housing finance agencies with the U.S. Congress, the Department of the Treasury, and the affordable housing industry. His primary focus is developing best practices, regulatory policy, and legislative initiatives to strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. He also directs NCSHA initiatives related to Opportunity Zones.

Earlier in his career, he worked for an urban planning and development firm in North Carolina and as an affordable housing consultant focusing on green building and sustainable development issues. James holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in architecture and building science from Clemson University.

Lisa Bowman joined the NCSHA staff in 2016 as Director of Marketing and Communications. She previously held senior management and communications positions with the National Cooperative Business Association, the Society for Marketing Professional Services, and APICS. She began her career as an editor and writer for a hospitality management consultancy.

Lisa is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park and a member of ASAE.

Maury L. Edwards is the Director of Meetings at NCSHA. Prior to assuming this role Maury served 12 years at The Nature Conservancy where he was director of meeting management services. He oversaw the execution of the international annual conference, all Board-related meetings, and specialized meetings executed by the home office. In addition, he managed corporate travel for the organization.

After receiving a bachelor of science in zoology from North Carolina State University in 1986, Maury joined the Peace Corps and served two years as a science teacher in The Gambia, West Africa.

Kevin Burke joined the NCSHA staff in 1999. He served as NCSHA’s controller for seven years before advancing to his current position as Director of Finance in January 2006.

Prior to coming to NCSHA, Kevin worked as an auditor for a public accounting firm in the Washington, DC, area.

Kevin is a certified public accountant (CPA) and graduated from Penn State University with a degree in accounting.