Ismael Guerrero

Ismael Guerrero became Mercy Housing’s President & CEO July 1, 2020. He joins the organization with 30 years of groundbreaking achievements in community development. Guerrero has pioneered the coupling of healthcare and housing as well as success with innovative mixed-income, transit-oriented communities.

Mercy Housing owns and manages over 25,000 units across 20+ states and operates Mercy Community Capital, a national CDFI with a loan portfolio over $100M. This makes it one of the nation’s largest, non-profit affordable housing organizations.

Before joining Mercy Housing, Guerrero was the Executive Director of The Housing Authority of The City and County of Denver (DHA) for 13 years where he oversaw a 5,300 unit portfolio that included public housing and workforce rental units and administered 6,900 Housing Vouchers. DHA completed innovative developments including the HOPE VI Mariposa District TOD Redevelopment, and the Sun Valley Eco-District Choice Neighborhood redevelopment. DHA received national recognition and awards with these transit-oriented, mixed-income, LEED-certified developments.

His in-depth understanding of the connection between housing and healthcare led him to spearhead transformative resident-centered initiatives to improve the quality of life for families with low incomes through programs like the Youth Employment Academy, Healthy Living Initiative, the West Denver Renaissance Collaborative, and $120M DHA Delivers for Denver (D3) Tax-Exempt Bond Fund.

Before DHA, Guerrero was the Vice President and Business Development Officer for U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation structuring investments in Low Income Housing Tax Credit Partnerships. He also served as the CFO of Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing and Vice President of The Resurrection Project in Chicago.

Guerrero is a board member for the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, Housing Partnership Network, Enterprise Community Partners, and The Colorado Health Foundation. He is a native of Chicago and holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago. Guerrero enjoys skiing, scuba, and hiking the great outdoors from his home in Denver, CO.

AC25 Session: Navigating Challenges in Permanent Supportive Housing