
Board of Directors
Chris Gandy
Managing Director, JLL Capital Markets
Chris is a Managing Director in the San Francisco/Menlo Park offices of JLL and is primarily responsible for originating debt and equity transactions for all property types throughout the western United States. Throughout the course of his career, he has been involved in more than $8.0 billion in completed transactions and transactions currently under contract to close.
Chris started at HFF, a predecessor company of JLL, in December 2010. Before that, he was in operations and asset management at JRK Property Holdings, which had a portfolio of more than 40,000 market-rate and low-income multifamily units located primarily in Colorado, Texas, Ohio and Florida. Prior to that, he worked at Protiviti, Inc., a subsidiary of Robert Half International, where he was a consultant focused on clients in the real estate, construction and financial services industries.
Chris and his wife Laura live in Mill Valley with their three children (10, 3, and 1) and are a foster care resource family in Marin County. They are active members of Cornerstone Church in the Mission District of San Francisco. Chris is also an active member of the Silicon Valley NAIOP Chapter and currently sits on the programs committee as well as being involved in the annual Developing Leaders program as a mentor.

Board of Advisors
Joel Hopman
Managing Director, Newmark
Joel specializes in the acquisition and disposition of multi-family buildings and retail properties and residential development opportunities. Mr. Hopman uses his experience as a real estate principal and agent to help clients achieve their real estate goals. In 2019, he was the Runner Up for the Association of Silicon Valley Brokers (ASVB) Multi-Family Broker of The Year Award and is consistently a top producer in the Palo Alto Newmark office, having closed in excess of $500m in deal volume throughout his career.
Mr. Hopman earned a Masters in Business Administration degree from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Joel lives with his wife and three children in Menlo Park, CA. In his spare time, he enjoys volunteer coaching his children’s Little League and AYSO Soccer teams and all water sports.
Joel was compelled to join the HIF Board for many reasons, but most importantly to help answer a fundamental question, “How can we take care of ourselves and those around us with a little more intention?” Joel is passionate about the mission of HIF and strives to create additional beneficial impact and outcomes surrounding the renovation and emergency services programs the community needs now more than ever.

Board of Directors
Ryan Rusler
Vice President, BluSky Restoration Contractors
BluSky is a national emergency restoration contractor that responds to building disasters (fire, flood and other calamities). BluSky specializes in Project Management, Capital Improvement & Roofing, as well. He spends most of his time with clients proactively planning for their next building emergency. His experience stems from responding to building disasters for BluSky’s commercial real estate clients across the west coast for the past 14 years.
He has been on the HIF Advisory Board since 2015. He is leading the Board of Governance Committee that focuses on overall Board engagement and health. Previously, he worked on the Summit Committee and has assisted with the Sharks and Kickball event.
He has a wife of six years (Courtney) and a six-year-old rescued German shepherd. He has a baby boy on the way in August. He loves to explore. He also loves to learn about people and places. His friends used to call him curious George because he asked so many questions.

Board of Directors
LaTrice Taylor
Associate Director, Samaritan House
La Trice Taylor has been with Samaritan House for seven years and oversees multiple programs including Client Services, Food Services and Financial Empowerment. Mrs. Taylor has her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Texas and Master of Science degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania.
LaTrice has over 20 years experience in the non-profit and educational realms, including staff and program management and development and strategic planning across multiple cities and counties. She has worked with foster youth and their families, community resource centers, fundraising institutions, charter schools and early childhood development centers.
She is well-versed in budget management, public-speaking, quality assurance, and maintaining compliance within contractual and licensing standards according to funding, county and state regulations. A proud Texan, Mrs. Taylor has been married for 27 years and has a son who is a junior in university on the east coast.
LaTrice has been a great resource and friend to HIF and hopes to continue to expand opportunities for the communities she has served throughout her career.

Board of Advisors
Paul M. Van Every
Vice President & National Account Manager, Chicago Title
Paul lends his expertise to a wide variety of commercial transactions, having spent the past ten years working in 1031 exchange. With past roles including Regional Manager, Paul has built strong relationships with all of his clients and he puts his enthusiasm for the industry into every deal he is a part of. Paul received his BA in Sociology from San Jose State University. Paul resides in San Jose with his wife Kristen and their two children Kiana and Vincent. In his free time, he is an avid golfer, snow skier and water skier.