Staff List
Ken Wray
Executive Director
kwray@parodneckfoundation.org
Ken has been active in affordable housing for several decades. He started his career in one of New York's garment unions when labor was one the city's major developers of cooperative middle-income housing and served as the Executive Director of the United Housing Foundation, a consortium of unions and financial institutions, for ten years. In the early 1990's, he was one of the founding members of CATCH as we began our efforts to develop tenant-run mutual housing associations in distressed neighborhoods in Harlem, Washington Heights, Brooklyn and the South Bronx. More recently, he's served as a Vice-President at Westhab, Inc., directing housing and social services operations for low- and very low-income households in Westchester County, NY. In that time he acquired extensive experience serving the needs of at-risk populations especially those with unique needs, including Veterans and the mentally disabled. Ken received his BA from Columbia University and his MS from Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Harold DeRienzo
General Counsel and Director of Compliance
hderienzo@parodneckfoundation.org
Harold DeRienzo led the Parodneck Foundation from 1982 to 2006 as President. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. DeRienzo was the founding executive director of the nationally recognized Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, Inc. Mr. DeRienzo holds a JD from the New York Law School, and a B.S. in Economics from Manhattan College. He has authored numerous articles on housing and social justice issues for New York Affairs, City Limits the National Civic Review, and other publications.
Betty Aguasvivas
Bookkeeper
bettya@parodneckfoundation.org
Ms. Aguasvivas acquired a bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the Dominican Republic. She has worked with the foundation since 2003. She has become an important part of the Fiscal team.
Cassandra Jones
SCHAP Coordinator
cjones@parodneckfoundation.org
Ms. Jones came on board in 2008 as the Intake Coordinator and quickly transitioned into a loan processor. After a brief hiatus she returned in 2011 as the Coordinator of our Senior Citizens Homeowners Assistance Program. Cassandra works as an advocate for our seniors from the initial call for assistance to the completion of construction.
DeWayne Robinson
Service Coordinator
dewaynerobinson@att.net
Mr. Robinson has a degree in Social Work from Lehman College. He has over 30 years experience in Human Services. In his current role as Service Coordinator he is responsible for providing and monitoring all social services for the residents at Logan Gardens.
Gerald Carter
Remediation Specialist
gcarter@parodneckfoundation.org
Gerald spent 16 years at Budget and Credit Counseling Services Inc, where he designed and directed their mortgage readiness department and spearheaded their community financial literacy outreach. He holds HUD Certified Credit Counseling Certification. He has extensive knowledge and experience with mortgage remediation and loss mitigation.
Irene Baldwin
Special Projects Coordinator
ibaldwin@parodneckfoundation.org
Irene Baldwin is the Special Projects Coordinator at the Parodneck Foundation. Irene is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer; from 1983 to 1985, she served as an Agricultural Extension Agent in Mauritania, North Africa. After her Peace Corps service, Irene worked in various capacities in community development in NYC; she was a community organizer in the Bronx, worked for a non-profit housing developer in that borough, and managed a grant program for a national housing intermediary. Immediately prior to joining Parodneck, Irene was for ten years the Executive Director of the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, a non-profit trade association of NYC community based housing organizations. Irene is an attorney and she is working towards her certification as a financial planner.
Jasmine Vega
Administrative Assistant
jvega@parodneckfoundation.org
In 2008 Jasmine joined the Parodneck Foundation as an intern through the ISY program and was then hired in 2010 as the Administrative Assistant to the Remediation department. She is currently working on her Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice at John Jay College, and hopes to become a future attorney.
Noemi Aviles
Remediation Specialist
naviles@parodneckfoundation.org
Ms. Aviles joined the Parodneck Foundation in January of 2009. As a lending specialist, she is a Foreclosure & Default Intervention Counselor. She has over 20 years of credit and underwriting experience in the banking industry. She has counseled and presented numerous cases on behalf of clients for loss mitigation. She has acquired several certifications in Income, Property/Underwriting and Real Estate from New York University.
Octavia Brown
Administrative Assistant/Loan Processor
obrown@parodneckfoundation.org
Octavia started as a intern for the compliance department in June 2008, then later became the administrative assistant for the Senior Citizens Homeowners Assistance Program. In her current role, she serves as the contact person for the SCHAP program; she is responsible for assisting clients through the lending process.
Tadessech Lewis
Project Manager
tscott@catchnyc.org
Tadessech Lewis, Project Manager, has worked with CATCH since 2001, first as South Bronx Organizer and then as Field Supervisor. She received a BA in English and Political Science from SUNY Binghamton. Her previous job experience includes case management for a Manhattan social service agency. Mrs. Lewis is responsible for overseeing institutional development activities in all CATCH’s affiliated mutual housing associations, working with the property management companies and resident leadership, overseeing resident relocation, and assisting with all development projects.
Thomasina White-Henderson
Assistant Director of Compliance
twhite@parodneckfoundation.org
Thomasina has worked within the not-for-profit sector over 15 years and has over 25 years experience in Administration. She has been with the foundation since 1998 and has served in a variety of programmatic and administrative positions. In her current role she is primarily responsible for servicing and compliance and is one of our Certified Foreclosure & Default Intervention Counselors.
Virginia Ortiz
Administrative Assistant
vortiz@parodneckfoundation.org
Virginia has been with the Parodneck Foundation since 1997. With a Bachelors in Accounting from Lehman College, she started her work with Parodneck Foundation as a bookkeeper. She currently acts as the Financial Management Administrator, handling all of the money that comes into the foundation. Virginia assists with loan processing and helps keep the office running smoothly. In her current role she is the Administrative Assistant for Fiscal in the Administration/Customer Service department.