Staff Directory

Barbara Kennedy
Admin/Finance Assistant/Crisis Housing
bkennedy(at)mhponline.org
651.925.5550

Bill Vanderwall
Capacity Building Manager
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651.925.5541

Cherre Palenius
Housing Development Manager
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651.925.5545

Dawn Goldschmitz
Director of Development & Partnerships
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651.925.5544

Jerad Rasmussen
Finance Director
651.925.5556

Josh Northey
Grants Manager
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651.925.5540

Julie Johnson
Policy & Outreach Coordinator
jjohnson(at)mhponline.org
651.925.5548

Karin Todd
Communications Intern
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651.925.5549

Leigh Rosenberg
Research & Outreach Manager
lrosenberg(at)mhponline.org
651.925.5543

Luke Avery
Grant Writer
lavery(at)mhponline.org
651.925.5546

Michael Freedman
Federal Policy Intern
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651.925.5555

Rosemary Fagrelius
Housing Development Director
rfagrelius(at)mhponline.org
651.925.5542

Sarah Bellefuil
Housing Programs Officer
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651.925.5558

Staff Bios

Bill Vanderwall - Capacity Building Manager

Bill assists many affordable housing organizations with strategic planning and organizational development efforts.  He also is responsible for getting new MHP initiatives up and running.  With over 20 years of experience in leadership, nonprofit management, partnerships & collaboration, and community engagement, he also works to build community development strategies that lead to economic sustainability. Bill believes in community involvement, and lives that ethic out as Board Chair of the Conflict Resolution Center and many other volunteer activities.  Trained in professional facilitation and community mediation techniques, Bill's favorite thing is to create the hidden opportunity in each and every challenge! 

Cherre' Palenius - Housing Development Manager

Cherre' has over three decades of experience working in the housing industry. As a certified HOME Program Specialist and Housing Development Finance Professional, Cherre' specializes in providing HUD-related technical assistance to promote single family and rental housing development and rehab. At her prior position working with the City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Department (CPED) Cherre' provided technical assistance to promote the design of homebuyer programs, homeownership rehabilitation, and rental housing development. Cherre' enjoys working with diverse groups of individuals/organizations creating and implementing affordable housing programs for their communities.  In her spare time, she enjoys most outdoor activities: gardening, camping, hiking, fishing and spending time with family and friends. 

Chip Halbach - Executive Director

Chip is responsible for overall coordination of MHP. Chip also specializes in state and federal housing policy. Chip's work in affordable housing spans several decades (and two centuries!). He has been occupied as a housing developer, tenant and policy advocate, researcher, organizational developer and program administrator. He takes most pride in his efforts to improve public perception and support for activities that improve the living conditions of lower income people and create communities which are inclusive. While three kids, two cats, a dog and spouse claim some of his time he does not venture far from the world of affordable housing.

Dawn Goldschmitz - Director of Development and Partnerships

Dawn is responsible for MHP's fundraising and development strategies. Dawn has over 25 years experience as an executive director, senior level manager, consultant and technical assistance provider for community development corporations. She recently developed and implemented a successful community engagement model on St. Paul's east side to support evolving leadership within underrepresented communities and to engage them in community-based foreclosure research, neighborhood planning, and policy advocacy. In her free time, Dawn enjoys outdoor photography, kayaking, hiking, gardening, and hanging out with her adult daughters. She is an avid reader and, according to family and friends, a great cook.

Jerad Rasmussen - Finance Director

Jerad is responsible for the financial management functions of the Minnesota Housing Partnership including all accounting functions, financial forecasting/budget administration, development of financial policies and procedures, program/project management, sourcing/purchasing, capital equipment acquisition, and vendor selection/negotiation.  He has worked in the non-profit sector for over 15 years providing financial services to various non-profits throughout the twin cities as both an employee and as an independent consultant.    

Joshua Northey - Grant Manager

Joshua does much of the behind-the-scenes paper pushing and number crunching involved with administering MHP's work on large federal contracts. Josh has five years of experience working in federal compliance. His day-to-day work focuses on tracking and reporting staff time and expenditures on a variety of projects. He is also partially responsible for maintaining MHP's IT infrastructure. When not at work Josh can be found spending time with his wife watching movies and playing games, biking, or at the hockey rink.

Julie Johnson - Policy/Outreach Coordinator

Julie is responsible for community organizing to support MHP's engagement and policy work.  She has over 11 years of experience in community organizing, policy and government in Minnesota and Louisiana, and has worked on housing and community development issues as a relief worker and FEMA liaison for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She holds a graduate degree in Public Health from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University. Julie was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Texas and has lived in Louisiana, Utah, Montana and Minnesota. The best experience she ever had was as a red bus "jammer" for Glacier National Park. Julie is an award winning artist; currently she has a piece on display at Texas A&M University. 

Karin Todd - Communications Intern

Karin is responsible for ensuring that MHP's communications engage and educate stakeholders about affordable housing issues. A recent graduate from the University of Minnesota, Karin has over 1,000 hours of experience doing community outreach and advocacy at nonprofit organizations throughout the metro area. Utilizing her knowledge of affordable housing policy and nonprofit management, Karin is a member of the Board of Directors at HOME Line, an organization that focuses on renters' rights. Karin is a community organizer at heart, believing strongly in relationship building through honest and respectful dialogue. When not blogging or tinkering around with MHP's social media sites, Karin can be found at her neighborhood yoga studio or biking along the Mississippi River trails.

Leigh Rosenberg - Research and Outreach Manager

Leigh does much of the behind-the-scenes research and writing at MHP. Leigh has almost fifteen years of experience in research, evaluation, and data analysis in university, government, and non-profit settings in the US and abroad, mostly for social justice projects. She writes most of MHP's research reports such as the 2x4 Report, the County Profiles, and Housing Trends. She takes special pride in making wonky data and information accessible and understandable. She is also responsible for a mélange of communications work, as well as MHP's internship program. When not hanging out with data, words, and people, she can often be found meditating gratefully and marveling at the squash growing in her back yard.

Luke Avery - Grant Writer & Communications Technician  

Luke is responsible for communicating MHP's program goals and accomplishments to current and potential funders.  He has been with MHP for ten years, first as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member, and then as part of MHP's staff.  Along with preparing funding requests and reports for corporate and private foundations, he leads the application process for MHP's collaborative technical assistance contracts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and USDA Rural Development.  These national, multi-year requests bring together partners from throughout the Upper Midwest and across the country. He also participates in the management of MHP's technology resources, and helps people remember what that random report from five years ago said, and figure out where it might be living after all these years.  When he's not at MHP, he can be found enjoying the seasons in Como Park.

Michael Freedman - Federal Housing Policy Intern

Michael is responsible for assisting MHP staff in their research and advocacy of different issues pertaining to federal housing policy. This involves researching and evaluating specific pieces of housing legislation, fostering communication with different advocacy groups about housing issues, and helping MHP plan federal policy events. Before coming to MHP, Michael worked as a research intern at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC and as a communications intern at the Al Franken for Senate campaign. Michael graduated from Macalester College in the spring of 2011 with a degree in Political Science. In his free time he likes to read and play basketball. 

Rosemary Fagrelius - Housing Development Director

Rosemary has 35+ years of experience in the affordable housing field. She has designed and implemented housing programs at the federal, state, and community level, and has raised over $20 million dollars through public and private funding proposals. Rosemary has participated in the development or rehabilitation of over 2,000 affordable housing units through technical assistance and capacity building work with organizations developing multi-family ownership, rental, and supportive housing projects.  Her TA expertise includes accessing and complying with HOME, CHDO, CDBG, SHP (ESG), CoC (S+C), and NSP funding, conducting feasibility analysis, and coordinating public and private funding sources. She is a Certified HOME Program Specialist—Regulations. Rosemary lives in St. Paul with her husband and has three adult sons.  In her spare time she loves to downhill ski, bike and stay physically active and is the cofounder and Board Vice-Chair of the Highland Friendship Club, a nonprofit organization serving individuals with disabilities by providing a range of opportunities to develop lifelong skills, friendships and connections within their community.

Sarah Bellefuil - Housing Programs Officer

Sarah provides direct technical assistance and capacity building under the CHDO, HOME, McKinney-Vento, and rural development programs.  She holds two HOME Program certifications: HOME Specialist—Regulations and HOME Specialist—Rental Housing Compliance. Previously, Sarah worked as a Planner responsible for housing development and redevelopment activities.  When not at work, Sarah enjoys all the sights and sounds Minnesota has to offer.

Board