As Chief Executive Officer of the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), Rafael E. Cestero brings over 30 years of experience in tackling the most pressing housing and community development challenges facing cities today.

Under Rafael’s leadership, CPC has grown its impact and diversified its multifamily lending and investing platforms, operating nationally as one of the largest CDFIs in the country solely committed to the creation and preservation of multifamily housing. Today, CPC uses its unique expertise in housing finance and public policy to expand access to affordable and workforce housing, advance diversity and equity within the development industry, and expand investment in the green economy to lessen the impact of climate change. CPC is a carbon-neutral company and is among a select group of CDFIs to achieve and maintain a AA- S&P rating.

Prior to joining CPC in 2012, Rafael was Managing Director at L+M Development Partners, a leading developer of affordable and mixed-income housing committed to fostering diverse communities through its development practices.

From 2009 to 2011, Rafael served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the largest municipal affordable housing development and housing code enforcement agency in the country. In his capacity as HPD commissioner, he simultaneously served as chairman of the board for the New York City Housing Development Corporation, the nation’s largest municipal Housing Finance Agency. He also served as HPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Development from 2004-2007.

Rafael’s career in community development began at Enterprise Community Partners in 1990 as a Chief Program Officer. In 2007, he was named Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer – a capacity he served in until 2009 and his departure to take over the leadership role at HPD.

Rafael is a regular voice in the media on topics related to housing policy. He is the co-host of the popular housing-focused podcast The Housing Problem, and has been featured in publications such as The Hill, New York Daily News, Crain’s New York, The New York Times, and City Limits, among others.

Rafael earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Policy Analysis from Cornell University and his Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently serves on the CPC board of directors, Citizens Housing and Planning Council board of directors, Morgan Stanley Community Development advisory board, YMCA real estate committee, Center for an Urban Future board of directors, and the NYU Furman Center advisory board.

As Chief Strategy Officer, Erin Burns Maine leads the development and alignment of CPC’s organization wide strategies while advancing the organization’s brand, voice, and external impact. She plays a central role in defining and driving CPC’s long term goals, identifying opportunities for strategic growth, and overseeing the Executive office and board relations. Erin also leads CPC’s external communications function, including public policy, government relations, public and media relations, and marketing, and is responsible for setting the organization’s policy priorities at the city, state, and federal levels and ensuring clear, consistent internal and external messaging.

Erin brings extensive experience in housing policy and external affairs to her work. Prior to joining CPC as its first Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs in 2021, she served as Senior Director, Policy and External Affairs at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the nation’s largest public housing authority. While at NYCHA, Erin was responsible for directing the Housing Authority’s Federal Affairs agenda, setting budget and legislative priorities, analyzing regulatory changes and more. She also managed partnerships with the New York Congressional Delegation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), federal advocacy and trade organizations, local elected officials and partner agencies.

In addition to her work at NYCHA, Erin has held several positions at organizations where policy and housing intersect. She served as the national Director of State Policy for the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), identifying and advancing policy priorities in 43 states. In her role there, she worked toward creating better alignment of public systems to serve the most vulnerable individuals, youth, and families.

Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Master of Arts in Community Development and Planning from Clark University. She also completed the Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.

Stephanie Canzani is the Chief Operating Officer of The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC). With nearly two decades of experience in multifamily finance, Stephanie brings a wealth of knowledge in loan administration, compliance, asset management, relationship management, and technology to our executive team.

In her role, Stephanie plays a crucial part in steering CPC’s operational strategies to ensure our infrastructure aligns effectively with our business growth. With a dedicated focus on efficiency and effectiveness, she leads efforts to enhance our over $10 billion permanent loan portfolio in servicing, asset management, and customer service functions, while also driving improvements in our information technology infrastructure.

Stephanie has been an integral part of CPC since 2006, holding various leadership positions across servicing, finance, loan production, operations, and investor relations. Notably, she led the integration of technology platforms with business strategies as the Senior Vice President of Technology and Business Infrastructure.

Following Hurricane Sandy, Stephanie took on the role of overseeing CPC’s administration of $45 million in HUD disaster recovery funds through the Build it Back Multifamily program. Her responsibilities included program design, operational oversight, community outreach, and coordination with government and nonprofit partners.

Stephanie holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida. With her extensive experience and dedication to CPC’s mission, Stephanie continues to drive operational excellence and contribute to our organization’s success.

As Chief Business Officer and Head of CPC Capital, Nicole Ferreira oversees CPC’s suite of multifamily lending and investing platforms. This includes the company’s Construction Lending, Equity Investing, CPC Mortgage Company’s permanent mortgage lending, and ACCESS businesses. Her deep industry expertise guides the alignment and coordination across business lines and capital solutions, providing greater flexibility, clearer connectivity between products, and enhancing CPC’s ability to support the unique financing needs of our borrowers and partners.

Nicole joined CPC in 2023 as president of CPC Mortgage Company. As Chief Business Officer, she continues to lead CPC’s agency lending subsidiary that offers a full suite of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) multifamily finance products.

Prior to joining CPC, Nicole established an impressive track record of success in leadership positions across the housing and community development industry. She served as Executive Vice President of Development at Beacon Communities where she oversaw the development and preservation of affordable housing throughout New York and Connecticut. As Senior Vice President of Multifamily Finance and Development at New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), she oversaw all HFA multifamily lending and debt issuance, investing $2 Billion a year into communities across New York. Before joining HCR, she was Executive Vice President for Real Estate Development at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), where she closed one of the largest public housing revitalization transactions in the country, and launched NYCHA’s multi-year PACT revitalization program transforming tens of thousands of units and investing billions of dollars into public housing. Ultimately, she led the team responsible for creating the 10-year strategic plan to repair NYCHA’s aging building stock and stabilize the agency’s finances.

Nicole serves on the board of directors of the New York Housing Conference, New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), Milford Street Association and is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals for America. For 10 years she was an adjunct professor at the Pratt Institute’s Graduate School of Real Estate in Brooklyn, NY, and taught graduate classes at NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Nicole received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and government from NYU, as well as a Master of Science in real estate development from the NYU SPS Schack Institute.

Andrea Gladstone serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), where she leads the Legal Department and serves as a key advisor to CPC’s CEO, Operating Committee, and Board of Directors. As a member of CPC’s executive leadership team, Andrea plays a central role in shaping the organization’s strategic direction and advancing its mission to finance affordable and sustainable housing.

With more than two decades of experience at CPC, Andrea brings deep expertise in real estate finance, nonprofit governance, and regulatory compliance. She oversees all legal matters impacting CPC’s lending and investing activities, including construction and permanent mortgage lending, equity and impact investing, and agency lending. Andrea also manages CPC’s legal team, outside counsel relationships, and internal legal support across departments such as Finance, Asset Management, and Public Policy.

Andrea has led the legal structuring and documentation of CPC’s credit facilities, loan sales, and public-private partnerships, including the federally funded Build it Back Program following Hurricane Sandy and the $200 million Climate Friendly Homes Fund in collaboration with New York State. She has also provided critical legal support for CPC’s Community Stabilization Partnership (CSP), the joint venture between CPC and equity investor Related Fund Management (RFM) and Neighborhood Restore in managing and servicing the Signature Bank portfolio , and the Upstate Preservation Lending Program (PLP), which expands access to flexible financing for small buildings in underserved upstate communities.

In her role as Corporate Secretary, Andrea advises on corporate governance and compliance with 501(c)(3) requirements, supports CPC’s Board of Directors, and oversees subsidiary formation and management.

Prior to joining CPC, Andrea held legal roles at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and in the private sector. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from New York University and her Juris Doctor from the Cardozo School of Law.

Monique Jefferson is an expert in human capital management with an instinct for determining the impact of organizational change, particularly on marginalized groups. She is a results-oriented, proven human resources executive with over 20 years of global experience in the financial services, legal, Insurance, media, non-profit and professional services industries. She provides strategic input and guidance to leadership teams to drive growth, ensuring alignment of organizational objectives with human capital considerations while maintaining a strong focus on culture.

Monique has led regional and global teams to deliver value-add human capital solutions to c-suite executives. Her primary areas of expertise include talent and performance management, compensation, leadership development, inclusion & belonging, talent acquisition, executive coaching, cultural change, employee engagement, training, employee and labor relations.

Monique currently serves as Chief People Officer of Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) within the multifamily affordable housing sector, where she develops the human resources strategic plan and builds a culture that will enable CPC to attract, engage, grow and retain a high performing workforce. Monique previously served as the Chief Human Resources Officer of New York Public Radio, the second largest public media company in the U.S., where she led a culture transformation. She has also served as the Head of HR for Business Services across the Americas region and head of the global HR business partner function for Hogan Lovells, an AmLaw 25 international law firm. Additionally, Monique was Vice President of Human Resources and senior HR business partner at New York Life Insurance Company. As a Senior HR Business Partner, she led a team that provided HR client support to all corporate functions and was the strategic HR advisor to five executive management committee members including the enterprise CFO, General Counsel, Chief Risk officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Actuary. Prior to joining New York Life Insurance in 2009, Ms. Jefferson spent over seven years with Merrill Lynch in the Global Markets & Investment Banking division as Director of human resources and senior HR relationship manager for Investment Banking covering the domestic offices, Latin America, Canada and the Financial Institutions group globally. Ms. Jefferson began her career as a financial auditor in the New York office of Ernst & Young LLP.

Ms. Jefferson is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR & SHRM-SCP). She is also an executive coach and is certified in The Leadership Circle Profile. Ms. Jefferson graduated from Bentley University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and holds a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from the New School University.

She currently serves as a board trustee for the New School University and board member of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR) and Bentley University’s Global Alumni Board.

As Head of Innovation at CPC, Sadie McKeown is responsible for the company’s efforts to identify, evaluate, and invest in new building and operating technologies that can reduce costs and increase efficiency, at scale, across the multifamily and affordable housing sectors. This work includes the integration of CPC’s industry-leading sustainability platform and programs that support multifamily developers, owners, and tenants by delivering low-cost mortgage capital to finance high performance new construction and retrofits of existing housing.

Sadie most recently served as President of CPC where she oversaw the operations and strategic growth of the company’s full suite of lending and investing platforms, business infrastructure, and played a pivotal role in the founding of the company’s Agency mortgage lending subsidiary, CPC Mortgage Company. Sadie started her career at CPC as a Mortgage Originator in 1992, serving later as Senior Vice President, Director of Lending in CPC’s Hudson Valley Regional Office; Senior Vice President, Director of Originations; Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President, Head of Construction Lending and Initiatives.

Sadie brings an eye toward collective solutions to her focus on addressing the capital challenges facing disinvested communities. Having harnessed dozens of municipal tools and public subsidy programs to drive affordable, sustainable multifamily development and economic revitalization, she has developed a passion and skill for aligning private resources and government priorities for impact and change.

A recognized leader in the multifamily real estate industry, Sadie has been a fierce proponent and architect of innovative financing solutions that drive both affordability and long-term resilience in multifamily housing. In 2009, CPC launched a Sustainability platform under Sadie’s direction, and she continues to oversee the company’s high-performance financing efforts focused on driving more efficient performance, resilient, healthier housing and creating economic opportunity in disadvantaged communities. Under her leadership CPC has invested more than 2.5 billion to finance more than 16,000 high-performance and energy efficient units since the company began tracking in 2015.

As a board member of the New York State Housing Finance Agency, Sadie uses her decades of multifamily housing finance experience to align resilience, efficiency and affordability in the multifamily space. She previously served on the New York State Climate Action Council’s Energy Efficiency and Housing Advisory Panel, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority board, the Bright Power, Inc board and the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation board.

Sadie received her Bachelor’s Degree in communications from Fordham University, and earned her Master’s Degree in human services administration with a concentration in housing from Cornell University.

David Rothberg is CPC’s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer. In this role, he provides leadership and partnership to all of CPC’s business lines in achieving the company’s strategic goals and growing its impact. This includes a focus on managing risk, capital allocation, capital raising and ensuring that investments position the company to execute strategic priorities. Rothberg’s responsibilities also include overseeing the alignment of CPC’s finance and operations departments and all finance department functions, including investor reporting, accounting, treasury operations and corporate finance responsibilities. In addition, CPC’s credit and risk function reports to Mr. Rothberg, who is largely responsible for managing the risk across the company’s growing portfolios.

As a member of CPC’s Operating Committee, Mr. Rothberg partners with senior leadership to oversee the organization’s strategic investment and capital allocation decisions. He provides expertise and strategic guidance to several board committees in areas related to capital allocation, risk, and the annual audit. In addition, Rothberg serves as a voting member on CPC’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining the company in 2012 as Senior Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis, Rothberg worked for CPC as a consultant with the Capstone Advisory Group. He played an instrumental role in assisting the company with its restructuring during credit agreement negotiations, the development of its business plan, and ultimate recapitalization.

In his former role as a director at the Capstone Advisory Group, Rothberg was responsible for providing financial restructuring advisory services to the company’s clients. While there, he represented creditors and creditors’ committees, including secured lenders, banks, financial institutions, lender groups, bondholders and unsecured creditors. He also represented debtors through the bankruptcy process.

During a nine-year career with The CIT Group, Rothberg served in numerous positions including Vice President, Business Development Officer and Vice President, Underwriter within the National Restructuring Group. He also served as Assistant Vice President, Portfolio Manager – Underwriter within the Business Capital/Loan Purchasing and Commercial Services groups.

Rothberg earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Duke University.