Board of Directors

Bios

Paula Singleton | Chair

Paula Singleton understands the intricate details of housing development and management, having decades of experience managing multi-million dollar properties for real estate development firms in the District of Columbia. Singleton established effective procedures to expand and maintain a low-income, HUD subsidized, multifamily apartment complex for more than 34 years.

A Howard University graduate, Singleton has dedicated her time to improving her community through volunteer service since her retirement in 2006. Singleton is an active member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, served for six years as Treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and serves on the board of Seabury Resources for the Aging.

Earle O’Donnell | Treasurer

Earle O’Donnell was elected to Housing Up’s Board of Directors in March, 2018. He was a partner in the international law firm of White & Case where he served as head of the energy group in Washington DC and global head of the firm’s power industry practice. From 2015 until his retirement in 2016, he and his wife lived in Istanbul, Turkey where he managed White and Case’s offices in Istanbul and Ankara. He graduated from the George Washington University Law School in 1975, and currently serves on the Board of the law school.

For nearly 20 years, he served as a member of the Board and pro bono counsel to the Alliance to Save Energy which supports energy efficiency through such measures as building energy codes and appliance energy standards. He also served as a member of the Board and chair of the grant committee of the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association which, among other things, purchased energy efficient appliances and invested in home insulation and renewable technologies for low income people.

Matthew Jacobs | Secretary

Matt Jacobs brings 40 years of legal experience to Housing Up’s Board of Directors. Currently Of Counsel at the law firm of Jones Day, Matt has successfully litigated complex, multiparty insurance coverage matters in numerous state and federal courts, as well as through arbitrations and mediations. While Matt has advised corporate boards regarding insurance recovery strategies to address company-threatening exposures, he also has worked closely with risk managers in the placement and renewal of various types of insurance coverage, including cyber insurance, directors and officers policies, and property insurance.

Matt has authored or coauthored more than 75 papers and articles on insurance coverage topics. He is a member of the editorial advisory board of the Environmental Claims Journal and was recognized as “Author of the Year — Insurance USA” by the Lexology Legal Writing Awards. Matt holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia in 1981.

Matt has lived in Washington, DC or its suburbs his entire life. Matt has provided pro bono legal services to Housing Up on several occasions, and has worked with Phil Hecht in recovering insurance proceeds for Housing Up’s properties damaged by flooding. Matt views homelessness as something we, as a country, cannot abide, and he views Housing Up’s mission as among the highest in the pro bono area.

W. Kimball Griffith | Chair Emeritus

W. Kimball (Kim) Griffith has decades of experience in affordable debt and equity platforms, public finance, commercial real estate and multifamily housing transactions. Griffith has served as counsel to Norris George & Ostrow PLLC since its founding in 2017. Prior to joining the firm, he was Vice President of Affordable Sales and Investments in Freddie Mac’s Multifamily Division from 2003 to 2015. Under his leadership Freddie Mac significantly increased its participation in the affordable market, ranging from working effectively with the US Treasury on the New Issue Bond Program to the development and initial implementation of the Tax-Exempt Loan program. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, he was a partner at Ballard Spahr Andrew & Ingersoll, LLP and Kutak Rock, LLP, representing parties in commercial real estate and in affordable housing development and finance.

Griffith serves currently on the Boards of Directors of Enterprise Community Investment, Inc., Community Preservation Development Corporation and America First Multifamily Investors LLP. Griffith graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Davidson College in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He received his law degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1974 and he is a member of the Washington, DC bar association.

Allison Gerber | The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Allison Gerber is vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Economic Opportunity, where she leads efforts to create pathways to financial stability and economic mobility for children youth and families across the United States.

Gerber has spent more than 20 years driving economic and workforce development initiatives. She has been a leader at the Foundation since 2013, shaping its strategies on workforce development, apprenticeships and collaborations with public and private partners. As a senior associate, she developed several youth and young adult employment initiatives, including Generation Work and the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. As director of Employment, Education and Training, she played a pivotal role in expanding programs that make education and credentialing opportunities more accessible for young people, especially those who have faced barriers to success.

Prior to joining the Casey Foundation, Gerber was the executive director of the District of Columbia’s Workforce Investment Council and a senior associate with the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative. Gerber earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and public administration from Sweet Briar College and a law degree from Tulane University.

Phyllis Jordan | Future Ed

Phyllis Jordan is editorial director for FutureEd, an education think tank affiliated with Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. She has worked in communications for a variety of nonprofits and foundations, including the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and Attendance Works, two projects dedicated to improving educational outcomes for children from low-income families. Before joining the nonprofit sector, Phyllis spent 26 years in daily journalism, including nearly a decade as an editor at The Washington Post.

Before joining the Post, Phyllis was city editor of the Los Angeles Times’ Ventura County edition. Her 12 years as a reporter included stints as a Washington correspondent for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, a state house reporter for The Fairfax Journal and extensive experience covering education, local government, housing, social services, health care and military affairs.

Ms. Jordan has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a bachelor’s degree in English and history from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. A native of Lexington, VA, she now lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and two children.