Who We Are

Chairman

King Harris is Chairman of Harris Holdings, a family investment company, and a Senior Fellow at the Metropolitan Planning Council where he has focused on metropolitan Chicago housing issues. He is Vice-Chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art and a Visiting Committee member of the University of Chicago’s School for Public Policy Studies. He also is a member of the Keystone Board of the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. Previously, he was a Board member and Board Chair of the Francis Parker School, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Planning Council as well as a trustee of the University of Chicago between 1987-2018. Between 1971 and 2000 he worked for Pittway Corporation (NYSE), ending his tenure as President & CEO between 1987 and 2000. Between 1995-2018 he served as Board Chair of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE). A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School, he served two years in the Peace Corps in Chile between 1965-1967 and an additional two and a half years in the U.S. Anti-Poverty program between 1969-1971.

Luz Ramirez

Vice-Chairman, Asset Management Committee Chair, Finance Committee Member

Luz Ramirez, Vice President of YWCA La Voz Latina, oversees the day-to-day functions of La Voz Latina programs by ensuring that services and programs are made available to high-need families and the Latino community to help them progress and become self-sufficient. Prior to merging with YWCA, she served as the Executive Director of La Voz Latina, Inc. for four years and worked for the Rockford Public Schools for 16 years, holding various positions within the district, including a position on the Superintendent’s Cabinet.

She is a Rockford native and Jefferson High School Graduate. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Administration and Supervision. She has over 25 years of experience and training in working with the Latino/Hispanic community and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Spanish at Rockford University.

In 2010 she was awarded the Latinos of Distinction award by La Voz Latina (prior to being employed by the organization), was recognized in 2014 by late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka as a Leader in Education, and in 2015 was recognized by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce as one of the 20 People You Should Know.

Secretary, Asset Management Committee Member

Sonia is a Realtor with Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors. She is dual licensed in Illinois and Iowa. Before getting her real estate license, Sonia was employed as the Director of Community Relations with Economic Growth Corporation and served as a Consultant for Bridge Investment Community Development Corp. and was the CRA Officer for Quad City Bank & Trust.

Sonia was a previous Moline Housing Authority commissioner. In April 2009, Sonia was elected to the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees. Prior to being elected, she was a member of the Black Hawk College Foundation Board. She was recruited by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to coordinate a “Financial Access to Immigrants” Conference in the Quad Cities. Sonia was selected by the Illinois Bankers Association to serve on the “Emerging Markets Advisory Committee”. She has previously served on the “New Alliance Task Force” through the FDIC. In addition, Sonia was named as a 2005 Quad City Area Leaders Under 40 Award recipient and recognized for her accomplishments by the 2005 Quad City Times Business Journal’s “Women in Business” and Class of 2007 Quad City Chamber of Commerce Federation Community Leadership. Sonia is on the Board of Directors of the First Tee of the Quad Cities. She was recently elected as President of the National Council of State Housing Board.

Asset Management Committee Member, Audit Committee Member

Daniel Hayes has almost three decades of commercial real estate investment and lending experience across multiple asset classes. He is currently a Senior Director – Structured Debt in the Chicago office of New York Life Real Estate Investors (NYLREI). In this role, Dan is responsible for the origination and closing of structured loans in the central United States, including construction, bridge and mezzanine financing. In addition to originations and asset management responsibilities, Dan has taken on direct leadership roles with NYLREI’s hotel lending platform and the firm’s diversity/inclusion committee. Prior to joining NYLREI, he has held similar debt and equity investment roles at Heitman, Hunt Investment Management, Capmark Finance, and GE Healthcare Financial Services. He began his career in commercial real estate investment with Low Income Housing Tax Credit acquisitions at The National Equity Fund. Dan has a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Masters in Regional Planning from Cornell University. Dan also holds executive certificates in seniors housing care and management as well as hotel real estate and asset management from Johns Hopkins University and Cornell University, respectively.

In addition to being a board member of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Dan is also an active member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Audit Committee Member

Brice has over twenty years of banking experience in the areas of commercial, wealth management, credit, management, and business banking. He is the Champaign Market President for First State Bank (Monticello) where he oversees the bank’s Champaign County banking operation, being active in the community, and he continues to work with commercial and business clients. Brice holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Leopold is a Licensed Illinois Real Estate Managing Broker. She is currently the Co-owner/Managing Broker of Nester Realty, Inc. The business encompasses four offices and sponsors 30 broker-associates. Leopold’s Certifications include Referral and Relocation, Military Relocation Professional, Home Staging Expert, and Luxury Market Specialist. Leopold is a member of the Southwestern Illinois Board of Realtors, Illinois Realtors, National Association of Realtors, and a past member of Employee Relocation Council. She served twice on the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois (RASI)/Greater Gateway Association of Realtors (GGAR) Merger Committee, served on the RASI Board of Directors, Professional Standards Committee, and Budget-Finance Committee. She also served on the Southwestern Illinois Regional Multiple Listing Service Board of Governors, SIRMLS/MARIS Transition Committee, MARIS MLS Board of Governors, and is a Major Investor of RPAC. Leopold is a sustaining member of the Junior Service Club of St. Clair County, IL. She volunteers on several charity, civic and organizational boards and gives back to the community by supporting local charitable projects. Leopold attended the University of Illinois and St. Louis University and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Audit Committee Chair, Asset Management Committee Member

Tom is a Managing Director at H2C Securities Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, NA. He is also the founder and President of Morsch Expeditions, LLC. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Prager & Co., LLC. Prior to his time at Prager, Tom was a partner and Managing Director of Public Financial Management, LLC, where he co-led the firm’s public private partnership practice. Tom’s previous roles included several positions with the Marsh and McLennan Companies, as Midwest Real Estate Practice Leader and as a management consultant specializing in public-private work. Tom began his career working in a variety of positions for the Governor of Illinois, including as the Executive Director and CEO of the Illinois Tollway System for six years. Tom also has served as a board and advisory board member of the Metropolitan Planning Council and Community Partners for Affordable Housing. In addition, he was elected and served for three terms on the City Council of the City of Lake Forest and was appointed a member of the City of Lake Forest Planning Commission. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Beloit College.

Finance Committee Member

Erika currently serves as the Executive Vice President for Strategy and Planning at the Civic Committee and Commercial Club of Chicago. Previously, Poethig was the Special Assistant to the President for Housing and Urban Policy on the White House Domestic Policy Council. In this capacity, she led interagency policy development on the housing, community, and economic development components of President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda.

Prior to joining the Biden-Harris administration, she served as Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at the Urban Institute where she created and led the Research to Action Lab. Before joining Urban, Poethig was acting Assistant Secretary for Policy, Development, and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. During her tenure in the Obama administration, she was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and was a leading architect of the White House Council for Strong Cities and Strong Communities. She also previously worked at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation developing grantmaking strategies focused on rental housing policy and research and research on how housing matters.

In the 1990s, she was assistant commissioner for policy, resource, and program development at the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing and developed Mayor Richard Daley’s campaign to combat predatory lending, prevent foreclosures, and stabilize communities.

Poethig serves on the Harris Council, the Advisory Committee for the J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Low-Income Investment Fund’s board of directors. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the College of Wooster, where she was a Phi Beta Kappa member, and she was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Vienna. Her Master of Arts with honors is in public policy from the University of Chicago. In 2022, she received a Career Achievement Award from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair

Sam is a principal in the Tornatore Law Office located in Bloomingdale and Roselle, and a member of the DuPage County Board. He is a former Trustee for both the Village of Roselle and Bloomingdale Township, and former member of the Roselle Zoning Board of Appeals. Sam is a graduate of the John Marshall Law School and DePaul University in Chicago.