Trainers

Morgan DebuskMorgan Debusk
Principal | Novogradac & Company LLP

Morgan Debusk is a principal in the Portland, Ore., office of Novogradac. Ms. Debusk has experience in all areas of real estate accounting, with an emphasis on new markets tax credit (NMTC) and affordable housing sectors. She specializes in audit and taxation of NMTC and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) partnerships, including those subject to the auditing requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, OMB Uniform Guidance, and OHCS. She has also worked extensively in a wide range of services, including financial statement audits; tax return preparation; final cost certification audits; and financial forecasts of NMTC, LIHTC, historic tax credit, and opportunity zones transactions. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration, majoring in accountancy and finance, from Oregon State University. Ms. Debusk is licensed in Oregon as a certified public accountant.

Kathryn GrosscupKathryn Grosscup
Manager, Housing Tax Credit | Colorado Housing and Finance Authority

Kathryn Grosscup is the manager of housing credits for CHFA. CHFA is the allocating agency of federal and state housing tax credits in Colorado, which are awarded to developers of affordable rental housing. In this role, Grosscup is responsible for the administration of CHFA’s tax credit allocation program and leading CHFA’s tax credit team. Since the program’s inception, housing tax credits have supported more than 80,000 affordable rental units in Colorado by leveraging over $3.5 billion in private sector equity investment into the state’s affordable housing need.

Prior to joining CHFA, Grosscup garnered more than 20 years of experience in affordable housing with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing, Garfield County Housing Authority, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Debra GuerreroDebra Guerrero
Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Government Affairs | The NRP Group

Debra Guerrero is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Government Affairs for The NRP Group. She serves as a valued professional, a respected civic leader, an empowering mentor, and a champion for quality affordable housing. Guerrero is credited with opening NRP’s Texas Office in 2004 which has been responsible for the development of over 30,000 multifamily units throughout Texas. She brings deep expertise in navigating the intricacies of public/private partnerships and possesses an in-depth understanding of organizational and financing structures involved in such ventures.

 

Marti, JohnJohn Marti
Partner | Nixon Peabody LLP

John Marti focuses on helping corporate investors and syndicators use tax incentives, in particular the federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), as a means for financing various community revitalization projects.

 

Thomas StaggThomas Stagg
Partner | Novogradac & Company LLP

Thomas Stagg is a partner in the metro Seattle office of Novogradac. He specializes in audit and tax services for real estate transactions. He is experienced in auditing affordable housing developments and specializes in the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and federal governmental auditing requirements, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, United States Department of Agriculture Rural Housing and NAHASDA. He has extensive experience with LIHTC deal structuring, including assisting developers and investors navigating acquisition/rehabilitation developments and Year 15 disposition issues. In addition, Stagg has assisted many clients in applying for and obtaining the LIHTC. He has extensive experience in performing LIHTC property compliance testing. Stagg regularly contributes articles to the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits, and serves as an editor on the Novogradac Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Handbook, Novogradac Tax-Exempt Bond Handbook and Novogradac LIHTC Property Management Handbook. Stagg frequently speaks at industry events as well as Novogradac’s affordable housing conferences and webinars. Stagg received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University. He is licensed in California and Washington as a certified public accountant.

Cat VielmaCatalina Vielma
Director, Acquisitions | Red Stone Equity Partners

Cat Vielma is a Director of Acquisitions at Red Stone Equity Partners. She originates, underwrites, and closes tax credit transactions in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, and Midwest. Prior to Red Stone, she worked at two national syndicators, including the National Equity Fund, the country’s largest non-profit syndicator. She served at HUD, first within the Chicago Multifamily Office, overseeing the FHA tax-credit pilot program, and subsequently managing transactions within the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program at HUD HQ. In that role, she drafted policy and directed the underwriting of tax-credit RAD conversions, including the portfolios of San Francisco, El Paso, and Baltimore. She is a board member of the Illinois Housing Council, Women’s Affordable Housing Network, Mercy Community Capital, and Housing Opportunity Development Corp. She lives in Evanston, Illinois with her wife, daughter, and goldendoodle.

Dirk Wallace Dirk Wallace
Partner | Novogradac & Company LLP

Dirk Wallace is a partner in the Dover, Ohio, office of Novogradac & Company LLP. Dirk has extensive experience in developer consulting and real estate syndication with an emphasis in real estate partnership audit and taxation. He is experienced in affordable housing developments and specializes in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, including properties financed through NAHASDA, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sections 221(d)(4) and 223(f) loan programs. Dirk’s audit experience includes the preparation of tax credit equity funds, LIHTC cost certifications for various state housing agencies, mortgagers and contractors cost certifications for HUD entities with HUD Section 8 contracts and those financed under HUD sections 221(d)(4) and 223(f), which are subject to the requirements of the Consolidated Audit Guide for Audits of HUD Programs. Dirk also leads and coordinates the LIHTC Working Group, a membership organization that provides a platform to address technical programmatic issues surrounding the LIHTC industry. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ohio University and is licensed as a certified public accountant in Ohio and Tennessee.