Welcome to the Housing for All podcast, where we explore innovative housing solutions with key stakeholders in the Tri-Valley region. 

In this, our fourth and final episode, host Tim Sbranti, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group, discusses a range of topics with Linda Mandolini, CEO of Eden Housing, including the critical need for more affordable housing in our state, the complexities of its development, and legislative efforts and funding mechanisms essential for the industry. 

As the November 2024 ballot approaches, there are two important housing initiatives on the ballot - ACA 1 and the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA). ACA 1 is as a critical measure that could significantly impact affordable housing initiatives in California. This proposed constitutional amendment aims to lower the voter approval threshold for local special taxes and bonds from two-thirds to 55%, facilitating the funding of essential housing and public infrastructure projects.The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA), would support regional affordable housing efforts, and would greatly benefit from ACA 1. If the BAHFA bonds pass, they would enable more efficient and widespread development of housing solutions to address the region's chronic housing shortages. Passing BAHFA would generate between $10 and $20 billion to build new affordable homes and preserve existing housing across the Bay Area’s nine counties.

Learn more about BAHFA
Learn more about ACA 1

GUEST BIO:
Linda Mandolini, Eden Housing

Linda Mandolini has served as President of Eden Housing since 2001. In her role at Eden, Linda oversees affordable housing production, resident support services, and property management components of the organization, and a staff of more than 500 employees. She is guided in her work by Eden’s active volunteer board of directors.

Under her leadership, Eden Housing has become one of the most productive and successful nonprofit affordable housing developers and owners in California and is nationally recognized for its work. To date, Eden has developed or acquired more than 11,000 affordable rental apartments in communities throughout California, completed three portfolio mergers and acquisitions, and has launched a number of initiatives to increase affordable housing preservation and to promote sustainable practices.

Linda has received a number of awards, including being inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2017, and being named to the San Francisco Business Times’ Forever Influential Honor Roll in 2016.

Linda is a leader in housing policy on the local, state and national level. She was one of the affordable housing leaders who worked tirelessly for the passage of California Housing bonds that collectively generated $10 billion for housing. 

Prior to relocating to California in 1996, Linda held various community development positions in Boston. Linda received her AB degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and earned an MBA at Boston University.

Welcome back to Innovation Tri-Valley's Housing for All podcast.

In this, our third episode, host Tim Sbranti, and guest, Otto Catrina, owner of Catrina Real Estate & Investments and the California Association of Realtors 2022 president, dive into the economics of California and Tri-Valley real estate, the issues facing first-time home buyers and the communities in which they wish to live, and the initiatives, programs, and opportunities being created locally and nationally to address issues of housing affordability.

GUEST BIO:
Otto Catrina, Catrina Real Estate & Investments
Otto Catrina, broker/owner of Catrina Real Estate in Castro Valley, Calif., formerly served as 2022 CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) President.

In addition to serving his clients, Catrina also is active with his local, state, and national associations of REALTORS®.

At the local level, Catrina was 2011 president of the Bay East Association of REALTORS®, where he served on various committees, including Strategic Planning, Board of Directors, Marketing, Professional Standards, and Local Government Relations.

Distinguished in the real estate industry, Catrina has been recognized by the Bay East Association of REALTORS® with numerous honors. He received the Association’s prestigious “REALTOR® of The Year” in 2007, the John A. Deadrich Distinguished Service Awards in 2009 and the Outstanding Leadership Award in 2019.

Catrina also serves as a State Director for the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, where he has served as C.A.R.’s Federal Chairman and Chairman for C.A.R.’s Legislative Committee. He has served as Public Policy Liaison to C.A.R. Leadership, overseeing federal and state legislation.

Catrina also has served in various leadership positions at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) including NAR Director, member of the Issues Mobilization Committee, and REALTOR® Party Member Involvement Committee. He currently serves as chair of the Leading Edge Committee and was recently inducted into NAR’s Hall of Fame. Catrina is a graduate of NAR’s Leadership Academy and past chairman of the Leadership Academy. He also is the Federal Political Coordinator for Congressman Eric Swalwell, (CA, 15th District) and is a key contact for Assembly member Bill Quirk (CA, 0th Assembly District).

As a full-time real estate broker/REALTOR® since 2002, Catrina has earned numerous industry designations including GREEN, Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Graduate REALTORS® Institute (GRI), Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR), Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Specialist, Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE), Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES), & e-PRO.

Catrina is a graduate of the University of San Francisco with a bachelor’s degree in government. He has been married to his wife, Gigi, for 26 years and has three children and four grandchildren.

Welcome to Innovation Tri-Valley's Housing for All podcast's second episode.

In our second episode, host Tim Sbranti, talks with Livermore City Council Member Brittni Kiick* about her history in the Bay Area, the challenges of raising a family, living and working in the area she has experienced first-hand, and how these experiences have influenced and translated into her actions and initiatives to help the Tri-Valley community, and the city of Livermore, tackle the issue of affordable housing.

* Please note, this episode was recorded when Brittni was serving as Vice Mayor of Livermore.

GUEST BIO:
Brittni Kiick, Livermore City Council Member
Brittni Kiick was elected to Livermore’s City Council in 2020, representing District 3. Before joining the Council, she worked in community service and non-profit organizations, managing collaboration between diverse groups of people. Bringing together diverse communities, finding a common goal, and helping chart a path forward are skills she has practiced in all her community organizing efforts and hopes to put to good use on the Council.

Brittni and her partner, Will, have two children, Cora, age 9, and Max, age 7. In 2015, shortly after Cora was born, Brittni and her young family moved to Livermore, drawn to its beautiful open spaces and vibrant downtown. They’ve been happy to call Livermore their chosen home ever since. In 2016 Brittni started her own photography business in Livermore, which now focuses on brand management for small businesses and nonprofits. In 2017, while 9 months pregnant with her son Max, she was the lead organizer for the Livermore March for Science. Concerned she would go into labor before the event, she mentored a young leader who could step in to take charge of the event. Brittni ended up giving birth just 11 hours before the march and missed it, but it still went off without a hitch under her mentee’s leadership. In 2019, she helped to create the first-ever LGBTQ+ celebration in Livermore. What started as an idea for a small picnic expanded to a 2500+ person event and the formation of the first-ever LGBTQ-focused non-profit in the Tri-Valley.

Prior to moving to Livermore, Brittni served 3 years in AmeriCorps. In 2011, as the AmeriCorps VIP Fellow for the Cal Poly LGBTQ Pride Center, she led educational programs and a peer counseling team and created a volunteer program focused on developing opportunities for mentorship and community growth. From 2012 to 2014, Brittni served as an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow for Citizen Schools in East Palo Alto. In addition to leading a classroom of 6th through 8th-grade students, her primary role was to act as a liaison between local business professionals and the non-profit. She recruited and trained tech employees, artists, and lawyers to become “Citizen Teachers” who would then mentor middle school students in after-school elective courses. Brittni grew up in Rohnert Park, CA, and earned a B.S. in Psychology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. When not in Council meetings you can usually find Brittni at one of Livermore’s fantastic parks or libraries with her little ones.

Welcome to Innovation Tri-Valley's Housing for All podcast.

In this episode, our host Tim Sbranti, talks with Jeff Schroeder, Senior Vice President of
Ponderosa Homes, about the history of California housing and the challenges and opportunities facing housing developers and residents in the Tri-Valley area. 

Jeff and Tim examine the economic, municipal planning, and environmental factors impacting the development of housing in the Tri-Valley and Northern California and suggest what should be done to ensure the Tri-Valley's continued economic and social vitality.

GUEST BIO:
Jeff Schroeder, Senior Vice President, Ponderosa Homes
As senior vice president of land acquisition and planning, Jeff Schroeder has overseen all of Ponderosa’s land acquisition, entitlement, and development activities since 1999. Schroeder started his home-building career at Dividend Homes and has held land acquisition and planning positions at A-M Homes, Greystone Homes, and Ryland Homes. He is a licensed real estate broker and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and urban affairs from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley.