Co Founder
With nearly 20 years of experience in the multifamily real estate industry, Steve has worked for many of the nation's leading developers, investors and operators including AvalonBay, Greystar and Gates Hudson. It was through his experience working with visionaries in the field of workforce housing that Steve developed a passion for helping others through his idea of leveraging technology in a manner that allows for the scalable layering of social services atop affordable housing. Recognizing the many gaps that exist in the traditional approach to real estate investment and operations, Steve co-founded Foundation alongside his wife, Marissa. Their vision is that one day every community is proud to embrace having a Foundation Community as their neighbor, seeing the transformational impact our model has in helping residents recognize their full potential.
Co Founder
With a multi-disciplined background that envelopes Education Policy, Housing Development, Realty and Social Work, Marissa embodies the principles of Foundation through her unique perspective and desire to give back. Marissa combines her knowledge from leading institutions such as Ryan Homes, Education Pioneers, and Bread for the City to curate an operational model that encompases best practices as well as proprietary wellness programming. Utilizing the North Star of "Do the Right Thing", she works to establish the best possible resources and wellness plans that make a measurable impact in the lives of Foundation residents. Together with her husband, Steve, they share a home with two labradoodles named Carter and Quincy, in Northern Virginia.
While serving as Senior Vice President of Business Development at Gates Hudson, Steve partnered with DC-Based Developer Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners, Arlington County and Amazon's Housing Equity Fund to preserve the affordability and provide authentic and impactful resident services to the underutilized and previously under-managed 1334-unit historic apartment community in Arlington, VA.
Marissa served both the Behavioral Health and Care Management teams at Bread for the City, a DC based non-profit providing low income residents with food, clothing, medical care and legal and social services to reduce the burden of poverty. Responsible for clinical assessments, diagnosis and treatment for patients in need of support, Mar
Marissa served both the Behavioral Health and Care Management teams at Bread for the City, a DC based non-profit providing low income residents with food, clothing, medical care and legal and social services to reduce the burden of poverty. Responsible for clinical assessments, diagnosis and treatment for patients in need of support, Marissa leveraged the tools of an integrated health clinic to provide collaborative treatment plans and referral recommendations.
A 245-unit mid-rise apartment with an 80/20 market/affordable unit mix, The Shay was in many ways a social experiment - what would happen if we went beyond traditional lifestyle branding and actually tied our purpose to that of a worthy social impact cause? We chose to support the LGTBQ+ youth community of DC, partnering with a mission
A 245-unit mid-rise apartment with an 80/20 market/affordable unit mix, The Shay was in many ways a social experiment - what would happen if we went beyond traditional lifestyle branding and actually tied our purpose to that of a worthy social impact cause? We chose to support the LGTBQ+ youth community of DC, partnering with a mission driven non-profit and the DC Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness for the needs of local area youth in need of affordable housing, job training and mental and physical health support.
We believe that while profit fuels growth which can benefit everyone, it should not come at the cost of doing the right thing for residents, employees and our planet. That's why we organized our firm as Benefit Corporation, allowing us to be a socially conscious, triple bottom line firm focused on doing the right thing while also generating better than inflation adjusted returns.
"Focus on our similarities and ignore our differences." We embrace the perspectives of all, and believe that when everyone is bought into a shared vision and understands the impact of their contribution, we can all win. We actively seek to partner with underserved communities, minority-owned service providers and socially conscious impact equity funds to create this alignment of authenticity.
Prosperity is not a monopoly that should be owned by a select few. We believe that when success is shared, there tends to be more of it to go around. This is embodied in our efforts to promote employee profit sharing, livable supplier wages, community resident advisory committees and various other equitable sharing programs.
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