Rob Wiener
Executive Director
rob[AT]calruralhousing[DOT]org
Rob has 30 years’ experience in rural housing and community development, 25 of them as the ED of CCRH. He has successfully administered numerous federal grant programs of USDA, HUD, and other agencies, provided capacity-building assistance to community-based organizations, and made significant contributions to public policy formation. Wiener also has a Doctorate in City and Regional Planning from UCLA, teaches housing policy at the University of California, Davis, and wrote a landmark book on Housing in Rural America: Building Affordable and Inclusive Communities published by Sage Publishers in 1999.
Dewey Bandy
Deputy Director
dbandy[AT]calruralhousing[DOT]org
Dewey has more than 25 years’ experience in rural housing development and technical assistance, working both for nonprofit housing development corporations and as a trainer with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation before joining CCRH over 7 years ago. At CCRH, he has headed up our local capacity-building component. Dewey has a deep understanding of the housing and community development process and financing programs and the ability to transfer the knowledge needed by emerging groups to undertake complex development projects and build their organizational capacity. He has a Doctorate from UCLA in City and Regional planning.
Gisela Salgado
Internship Program Coordinator
gisela[AT]calruralhousing[DOT]org
Gisela graduated from CCRH’s Internship Program in 2003 and has a bachelors in business administration from the University of San Diego. Her responsibilities include program publicity and outreach, intern and host agency recruitment and placement, development of intern and host agency Learning Plans, development of intern and host agency trainings and technical assistance, partnership agreements with outside trainers, site visits, monitoring, evaluation of program performance and fund development. Before joining CCRH in 2005, she worked as a project developer for three years with Community Housing Works in San Diego County. There she successfully packaged and developed three properties with 168 units total. She is fluent in Spanish and, coming from an immigrant and farm worker background, has a strong cultural and social affinity for helping disadvantaged communities.
Lilly DeYoung
Account/Office Manager
lilly[AT]calruralhousing[DOT]org
Lilly retired from working for the State of California after 28 years of service. The last 13 years of service she served as the Executive Assistant to the Little Hoover Commission. During retirement she volunteered at the Methodist (Mercy) Hospital and the Sacramento Food Bank. Over the last 20 years she has worked part-time at CCRH as the Accountant and Office Manager.
Sonia Aery
Director of Asset Building Programs
sonia[AT]calruralhousing[DOT]org
Sonia received her B.S. in Community & Regional Development from UC Davis and went on to complete a graduate degree in City & Regional Planning at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispso (SLO). She has both a theoretical and practical understanding of community development and planning. She helped coordinate a Community Plan Update for Arroyo Grande, CA through a studio at Cal Poly, SLO. She has also been an intern for Pyatok Architects in Oakland, CA and worked on conceptually redesigning a revitalized Upper Broadway Corridor to include affordable housing. At Cal Poly, SLO, Sonia’s professional project analyzed economic development trends in Oakland, CA and she was able to prepare a set of career ladders based on a combination of demographic data and industry employment trends and projections. Prior to CCRH, Sonia worked as a personal banker for Tri Counties Bank for just under two years.
Currently, Sonia oversee the National Neighbors Silver program for senior financial empowerment as well as the Rural California Asset Development Network.
Maya Abood
Housing and Community Development Specialist
maya[AT]calruralhousing[DOT]org
Maya is originally from Stockton, California where she first became interested in rural issues and the San Joaquin Valley. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College’s Urban and Environmental Policy Program where she devoted most of her time to studying participatory urban planning and community organizing. During her professional career, Maya has worked on in a variety of local, regional, and state campaigns ranging from housing and community development to public health and agriculture. In her most recent position, she served as a tenant organizer in South Los Angeles and assisted in developing a base of leaders to advocate for equitable community development and safe, healthy housing.