Jorge Morales is the Loan Origination Team Lead and Loan Financing Specialist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 108 Loan Guarantee Assistance Program since 2014. Jorge is an experienced Community and Economic Development professional with over 22 years in the CPD, Housing, and Economic Development programs. His extensive background includes the directing of Housing and Economic Development Departments in both large and small cities. He was instrumental in the development of a multimillion-dollar convention center project which included $22 million of Section 108 funds and the establishment of a “municipal bank” using Community Development Block Grant funds. Jorge received his undergraduate degree from the University of Puerto Rico. Additionally, he holds master’s degrees in public administration and in business administration from Webster University, St Louis. He also holds an Economic Development Finance Professional Certification from the National Development Council. Jorge is a former U.S. Air Force officer and a Desert Shield/Storm veteran.

Erik Pechuekonis is a Community Planning and Development Specialist who works with HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program. He has been with the Section 108 program for over 5-years. He came over from HUD’s Multifamily Housing Program in Baltimore. Prior to joining HUD, Erik served in Albania as a Peace Corps Volunteer where he worked with local municipalities on urban planning related issues. Before the Peace Corps, he worked as an urban planner at a local government in South Carolina. He has a master’s in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University and a Bachelors in Geography from University of Colorado Denver.

As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, Claudia Monterrosa oversees affordable housing and community development programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the HOME Investment Partnerships program, the Housing Trust Fund, and CDBG Disaster Recovery funds, in addition to Department-wide energy and environmental policy. DAS Monterrosa brings decades of non-profit and public sector experience incorporating social justice, grassroots organizing, and equity to her work at HUD. Previously, Ms. Monterrosa served as the Chief Housing Officer for the City of Los Angeles. In this capacity she oversaw the implementation of Measure HHH’s $1.2 billion for the development of Permanent Supportive Housing and successfully secured over $1.6 billion for emergency rental assistance for COVID-impacted tenants. She served as the Public Policy & Research Director at the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCIDLA), where she managed a team that secured more than $800 million in new funding for affordable housing, energy efficiency programs, foreclosure prevention, and strategic planning and preservation initiatives. Ms. Monterrosa directly led efforts to secure the adoption and implementation of the City’s inaugural Eviction Defense Program, including $10.5 million in funding for the first year and subsequently securing an additional $30 million to extend the program through 2024. In 2017, her efforts led to the creation of the City's first permanent local source of funding for affordable housing via the adoption of the Affordable Housing Linkage Fee. In that same year, she led the City’s successful adoption of the Assessment of Fair Housing Plan under HUD’s new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule (AFFH). DAS Monterrosa holds an MA in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA in Political Science and Latin American & Iberian Studies from UC Santa Barbara.

Paul Webster is the Director of the Financial Management Division in HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). For over four decades, Mr. Webster has overseen the implementation of the Section 108 loan guarantee program, developing innovative financing mechanisms resulting in $9+ billion in approvals, and over 119,000 jobs created and retained. He also provides financial management guidance, advice, and technical assistance for CPD programs and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. Mr. Webster has received numerous awards at HUD, including the Distinguished Service Award, Certificate of Merit, HUD’s highest group award, as well as the 2015 Federal Leadership in Economic Development Programs Award from the International Economic Development Council and the 2012 Council of Development Finance Agencies Excellence in Development Finance Awards. He holds an MBA with a specialization in finance and investments from George Washington University and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Alabama.