Our Leaders: Dedicated to Creating Vibrant, Affordable Housing Communities

John K. McIlwain is the Senior Resident Fellow and J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing at the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC, a non-profit education and research institute that provides responsible leadership in the use of land in order to enhance the total environment. Mr. McIlwain's responsibilities include leading ULI's research efforts to seek and promote affordable housing solutions, including development and housing patterns designed to create sustainable future environments for the nation's urban areas.

Prior to joining the ULI staff, Mr. McIlwain served as Senior Managing Director of the American Communities Fund for Fannie Mae in Washington. The American Communities Fund is a venture fund founded by Fannie Mae and dedicated to investing in hard-to-finance affordable housing and retail development. In this capacity, he was responsible for structuring, underwriting, and closing equity investments in more than $700 million of residential and neighborhood retail developments in lower-income communities around the country. He also structured, negotiated, and closed more than $100 million in historic tax credit and inner city equity investments funds with Lend Lease, AEW Capital Management, and the Community Development Trust.

Before taking that position, Mr. McIlwain was president and chief executive officer of the Fannie Mae Foundation. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, he was the managing partner of the Washington law offices of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy, where he represented a broad range of clients in the single-family and multi-family housing areas. Mr. McIlwain served as executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He began his career in housing as Assistant Director for Finance and Administration and Deputy Director of the Maine State Housing Authority.

For more information about CPDC, how you can help or get involved, please contact CPDC.