DEBORAH J. WELCHEL

Director

Professional Experience

Over ten years of public and private sector financing experience have provided Deborah Welchel with a broad knowledge of the structure‚ development and management of a variety of residential housing transactions.  As a Director at EAH‚ Deborah serves in multiple capacities.  Her primary roles involve assessing the financial feasibility of potential acquisitions‚ identifying‚ securing and closing funding sources‚ and working with civic and public interests during the predevelopment and construction/rehabilitation of EAH communities.  In these varied roles she works extensively with state and local agencies‚ elected officials‚ lenders‚ investors‚ and community and neighborhood organizations to provide affordable housing and promote its many positive aspects.

Prior to joining EAH‚ Deborah was Director of Tax Credit Development for the American Housing Foundation‚ a non-profit owner and developer of affordable housing.  In that role‚ she was responsible for the financing and development of the Foundation’s new communities and oversaw the successful conclusion of developments in process.

Before that she served as Senior Vice President with The Siegel Group where she provided financial services to real estate oriented non-profit and for-profit organizations. These services included risk evaluation‚ due diligence review‚ preparation of market studies‚ housing program administration and development‚ problem real estate workouts‚ loan and equity origination‚ organizational capacity building‚ municipal programs‚ as well as HUD and conventional credit facility application preparation.  While providing these services Deborah worked with real estate developers‚ banks‚ insurance companies‚ thrift institutions‚ state housing finance agencies‚ municipalities‚ counties‚ and investment banking firms.

Deborah began her career in affordable housing as Manager of Credit Underwriting at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.  For four years she was responsible for the administration of credit policies and underwriting standards and for determining risk and viability for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit‚ Multifamily Private Activity Bonds‚ HOME‚ CDBG‚ and Housing Trust Fund programs.  There she prepared detailed underwriting analyses that included review and verification of operating proformas and development costs as well as appraisal evaluations‚ market studies‚ environmental assessments‚ and engineering reports.

For seven years prior to her entry into affordable housing‚ Deborah served the fine arts community as Assistant to the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Museums‚ the non-profit service organization for the museum community in Texas.

Education

Bachelor of Business Administration‚ Sam Houston State University‚ Huntsville‚ Texas‚ 1980

Professional License & Affiliations

National Development Council / Economic Development Professional Certification
National Development Council / Housing Development Finance Professional Certification
National Center for Housing Management‚ Certified Occupancy Specialist
Certified HQS Inspector‚ Texas Housing Association

Community Service

City of Lago Vista Building Committee
City of Lago Vista Master Plan Committee‚ Land Use Subcommittee