Community Development Trust Announces Promotion of Three Senior Managers

Bob Rice

New York—The Community Development Trust (CDT), which provides long-term debt and equity capital for the creation and preservation of affordable housing, announced the promotions of three senior managers: Bob Rice to senior vice president–debt programs, and both Desiree Fisher and Carol Roman to vice president–underwriting.

Rice, who was previously vice president–debt, has worked on nearly every type of debt transaction since joining CDT’s Chicago office in 2004. In his new role, he will take on increased responsibilities within CDT’s debt program.

Prior to joining CDT, Rice was associate director of the Chicago Mutual Housing Network, where he managed affordable housing development, training and education activities. He was also a consultant with S.B. Friedman & Company, a Chicago-based real estate and development consulting firm. Rice has a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies from DePaul University and a Master of Arts in urban planning and public policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Desiree Fisher

Fisher’s responsibilities have increased since she joined CDT in 2012, to include training new staff and consultants, conducting external training for CDT clients and participating in the implementation of the TIAA-CREF forward program. Since 2015, she has managed the credit underwriting process for all forward commitments, permanent conversions and immediate delivery transactions.  In her new role, Fisher will be responsible for overall management of CDT’s forward debt program and will provide oversight on CDT’s expanded debt program.

She is a graduate of Columbia University with a master’s degree in real estate development and the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a master’s degree in public administration. She currently serves on the loan committee of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City and previously served on the board of Women in Housing and Finance.

Roman, who joined CDT in 2015, is assuming added responsibilities in CDT’s Underwriting Department, where in her first year she underwrote more than $17 million in forward commitments. She also participated in the development of CDT’s underwriting guidelines for affiliate loan transactions.

Carol Roman

Prior to joining CDT, Roman was a vice president with Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s community development group providing capital to community development financial institutions and tax credit funds that financed affordable housing and community facilities. Previously, she served as a vice president with JPMorgan Chase with a banking career of more than 15 years as a senior lender and client manager, and was responsible for structuring and closing transactions in community development, commercial real estate finance, private banking and syndicated corporate lending.

Roman holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Virginia. She is accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Green Associate (LEED GA).