James D. Campbell
Principal

A founding principal of Somerset Development, Mr. Campbell has led the company in identifying, analyzing and packaging the financing of Somerset's real estate development portfolio valued at $184 million with over 824 multi-family residential units with retail units and new community buildings. He has special expertise in forging public-private partnerships and affordable housing development, including Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic and New Markets Tax Credits, and federal, state, and local housing finance.

Prior to starting Somerset, Mr. Campbell served for eight years at the AFL-CIO Investments Trusts, primarily as the Chief Investment Officer. The Investment Trusts consist of two-co-mingled real estate investment funds: the Housing Investment Trust and the Building Investment Trust. Together the Trusts invested approximately $1 billion of pension capital per year in new housing and commercial real estate projects.

Prior to joining the Trusts, Mr. Campbell was Vice President for Development for Related Companies Northeast, a private developer of housing in the Boston area. Mr. Campbell has managed economic and housing developments for city and state governments; among them, the highly successful $1 billion, mixed-use redevelopment of the East Cambridge Riverfront. He has served as the executive Director of a non-profit community development corporation. Mr. Campbell has a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning from Harvard University.

Nancy L. Hooff
Principal

A founding principal of Somerset Development Company, Ms. Hooff has led the company by overseeing the pre-develop-ment aspects of the real estate development portfolio in the design, construction, environmental and engineering of projects; as well as the construction administration, asset management and resident services. She served as co-chair of CNHED’s Resident Services Working Group, working with like-minded affordable housing developers and community groups to strengthen resident programs in the Washington DC area.

Prior to starting Somerset, Ms. Hooff worked in the field of development economics, housing and community development, municipal finance and local government in the international arena for 15 years as a Foreign Service Officer and contractor with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Ms. Hooff managed USAID's programs in local government, democracy, urban development and housing for Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union. This work included overseeing housing guarantee funds and the development of municipal finance systems.

She also served in Mauritania, Tunisia, Guatemala, and provided technical and programs support services to the other countries of Central America. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Hooff was founder and principal of a business consulting firm in West Africa. She has a Master's Degree, with a specialization in international development economics, from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

William Whitman
Development Partner

William Whitman has joined forces with Somerset to undertake new development opportunities and to initiate Washington Multifamily Equity Partners, LLC (WMEP). Mr. Whitman received his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his J.D. from Western New England University School of Law.

Prior to starting New Community Partners, LLC in 2006, Mr. Whitman served as Executive Vice President of Telesis Corporation where he planned or developed several thousand units of mixed-income housing and mixed-use projects in 24 cities in the Eastern United States. He also established and served as President of Telesis CDE Corporation, securing and investing $85 million of New Markets Tax Credits.

Prior to joining Telesis, Mr. Whitman engaged in the private practice of law, was a real estate consultant for institutional clients with Meredith & Grew in Boston and was responsible for major housing developments and programs for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Whitman serves on the Board of Directors of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association and is a member of the Urban Land Institute.

James Ruffing
Asset Manager

Mr. Ruffing serves as Asset Manager for Somerset’s properties. He has extensive experience in the real estate industry and prior to joining Somerset in 2010, held senior positions in asset management and investment management with national firms. He brings extensive knowledge and expertise in affordable housing finance, acquisition, asset management, and underwriting.

Mr. Ruffing has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University in Institutional Real Estate Investment Management.

Alexandra Nassau-Brownstone
Resident Services Officer

Alexandra Nassau-Brownstone, Resident Services Officer Ms. Nassau-Brownstone serves as a Resident Services Officer for Somerset. Ms. Nassau-Brownstone works with property resident services staff to develop holistic onsite resident services programming, systems for financial and outcomes tracking and measurement, and community partnerships. Ms. Nassau- Brownstone also develops marketing materials (print, photo, and web) for Somerset and its resident services programs.

Prior to joining Somerset in June, 2009, Ms. Nassau-Brownstone worked on the national Resident Services Initiative at Enterprise Community Partners. Ms. Nassau-Brownstone received her Bachelor's of Arts Degree from American University in a self-designed interdisciplinary major, Power and Poverty in the Media. During her undergraduate work, Ms. Nassau-Brownstone focused on issues of inequality, racial/ethnic relationships, and the use of media to give voice to and strengthen underserved communities.

Natalie Jean
Executive Assistant

Ms. Jean serves as Executive Assistant to the principals of the company and provides administrative support services to the entire staff. Prior to joining Somerset, Ms. Jean had nine years of administrative experience in a New York law firm. She takes the lead in office management, and administration, and assists in tenant relations, public relations, and tax and regulatory issues. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Salisbury State University in Salisbury, MD

Darius Thornton
Development Manager

Mr. Thornton serves as a Development Manager for Somerset Development Company. Prior to relocating to the Washington, DC area in 2010, he worked in frame construction and design for several years as a structural designer. Within the community development finance sector, Mr. Thornton has worked for the DC Deputy Mayor’s Office of Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) under the New Communities Initiative and at Bank of America as a Tax Credit Equity Investment Analyst. Most recently, he worked in the asset management sector performing distressed workouts for CMBS-financed commercial real estate deals.

Mr. Thornton has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Peirce College in Philadelphia. He is currently in the final stages of completing his Master’s degree from Georgetown University in Real Estate Development & Finance.

Lynn Weintraub
Accountant

Ms. Weintraub has over 20 years of professional experience and provides accounting. She handles the daily financial operations for Somerset and works with Somerset's independent accounting firm. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN and completed her accounting coursework at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, in preparation for the CPA examination. She was certified in 1987.

Leroy Hubbard
Consultant

In Memoriam
Mr. Hubbard passed away on September 27, 2007. He served as a Community and Tenant Relations Advisor to Somerset since 2002. He provided consulting services in government relations, community development, and tenant relations. 

He brought over 30 years of experience in community and affordable housing development in Washington, DC. He was a founder of the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights and served on its Board. He provided consulting services for Faircliff Plaza East, Urban Village, Faircliff Plaza West, Galen Terrace, and Cavalier Apartments. He was also a Board member of Urban Village Com-munity Center Association, Faircliff Community Center Association, and Hope Housing. Cavalier Apartments on 14th Street will be renamed Hubbard Place in honor of Mr. Hubbard in 2009.

Jake Stern
Development Manager

Mr. Stern serves as a Development Manager for Somerset. With knowledge of the greater Baltimore housing market, Mr. Stern assists Somerset with the management of their current portfolio and the development of new opportunities in Baltimore. He has experience in both property management and compliance from prior work in affordable housing.

Mr. Stern has a Bachelor of Science from Tufts University. He studied sustainable urban development and earned degrees in both Environmental Studies and Spanish. He worked with the Tufts University Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Program, studying best practices in green building, and earning a LEED Green Associate credential.