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New York, N.Y. — Aug. 5, 2019 — The Community Development Trust (“CDT”), which provides long-term debt and equity capital for the creation and preservation of affordable housing and charter school facilities, has announced the election of Citi executive Andrew Ditton as Chairman of its Board of Directors.
“Andy has extensive experience successfully navigating the complexities of affordable housing and community development finance,” said Joseph F. Reilly, CDT President and CEO. “His vision and leadership will help CDT to continue meeting our mission of providing long-term capital to preserve and expand the nation’s supply of affordable housing.”
Ditton is Managing Director and Head of CRA Strategy and Business Execution at Citi. Prior to that role, he served as Managing Director and Co-Head of Citi Community Capital. In addition, he previously served as Managing Member of Davis/Ditton LLC, an affordable housing development and syndication business in Chicago.
Highly regarded as an industry leader in housing policy at the local, state and federal levels, Ditton serves or has served on numerous boards, task forces and advisory bodies, where he advocates for resources, programs and policies that support the preservation and production of affordable housing for low-income residents.
Previously, Ditton was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. He is currently a Director of the National Equity Fund, and previously chaired the Board of the Low Income Investment Fund. A graduate of Shimer College, Ditton received his master’s degree in urban studies from Loyola University. Ditton is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.
Ditton replaces former CDT Board Chair Nicolas Retsinas, who will remain on CDT’s board. Retsinas is Director Emeritus of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, a collaborative venture of the Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Kennedy School.
The members of CDT’s board can be found at http://cdt.biz/about-us/board-of-directors/.
About CDT
The Community Development Trust is a national lender and investor in affordable communities. Working with local, regional and national partners, CDT makes long-term equity investments and originates and acquires long-term mortgages. In its 20 years, CDT has invested over $1.7 billion in debt and equity capital in properties in 44 states and regions — helping to preserve and create approximately 49,000 units of affordable housing. CDT is a private real estate investment trust (“REIT”), a certified Community Development Financial Institution (“CDFI”), an approved Fannie Mae affordable housing lender and a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. As a CDFI and private REIT with a social impact mission, CDT operates as a double-bottom-line organization by utilizing creative financial solutions to provide debt and equity capital to underserved real estate markets, all while seeking attractive returns for its shareholders.