DSG | Koya partnered with (CEDAC) Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation on the search for an Executive Director. CEDAC is a public-private community development financial institution that provides project financing and technical expertise for community-based and other non-profit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts. Our work resulted in the recruitment of Ethan Handelman to the role.

As the new executive director of CEDAC, Handelman will lead the organization, including its affiliate, the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF), through its next phase of growth and development as it continues to provide project financing and technical expertise for community-based and other nonprofit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts. He will also oversee CEDAC’s work as an underwriting agent for EOHLC for multiple state bond programs that finance the production and preservation of supportive housing for vulnerable populations.

Handelman has been a long-time leader in affordable housing and housing finance in the public and private sectors. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a position he was appointed to by President Biden in February 2021. Prior to joining HUD, Handelman was a Senior Policy Analyst at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in the Office of Housing and Community Investment, which oversees the affordable housing mission activities of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Before FHFA, he spent seven years as Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at the National Housing Conference (NHC), finishing his time as Acting CEO. Handelman also previously led the advisory practice at Massachusetts-based Recap Real Estate Advisors, assisting public and private-sector clients to understand and shape the affordable housing financial and policy environment. He holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Michigan.