RBC Community Investments

Bob Spangler is the Head of the 284-person Municipal Finance department which includes the Community Investments syndication and direct investment platforms as well as the Municipal Banking franchise in the US.  He serves as the Chairman and President of RBC Community Investments, LLC.   Mr. Spangler has been an employee of RBC since 1998 and is a member of the US Regional Operating Committee.  Mr. Spangler serves as Chairman of RBC’s USA Political Action Committee and serves on the board of RBC’s Capital Markets US Diversity Leadership Council.  He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s Municipal Securities Committee. Mr. Spangler holds the FINRA series 7, 24, 50, 53, 54 and 63 and 79 licenses.

Mr. Spangler was formerly with First Union Capital Markets (now Wells Fargo Securities), where he was a Senior Vice President and Manager of the Housing Finance Department.  Prior to joining First Union, Mr. Spangler worked in the housing finance department of Merrill Lynch & Co.  Mr. Spangler received an AB in History from Stanford University and a Masters in Management from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Craig Wagner, RBC Community Investments Head, joined RBC in 2002 and served as the Co-Head of the RBC Community Investments team from December 2011-January 2021. In his current role, he is responsible for the Tax Credit Syndication, the Workforce Housing, and Direct Investing platforms including the management of over 100 professionals.  Additionally, Craig is on RBC Community Investments’ Operating Committee and Chairs the Investment Committee.  Previously, Craig was Director of Business Development with responsibility for new product business development and managed the firm’s national accounts, the Director of Originations, and a Regional Director – Southeast where he led a team in the areas of origination, financial underwriting, and partnership structuring of investments.

Craig’s experience includes the acquisition and underwriting of LIHTC, HTC, and various state tax credit investments.  He has worked with numerous housing authorities, for-profit developers, and non-profit developers on various property types including RAD, mixed-income, mix-use transactions, and workforce housing.  Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Wagner served in various leadership roles as an officer in the United States Navy and as a production manager for Frito Lay, Inc. in California.  Craig, a graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, earned his Master’s in Business Administration with concentrations in Real Estate and Finance from the Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Yonette Chung McLean is a Managing Director within the RBC Community Investments leading the over 100-person team’s business development, and has portfolio management responsibility of RBC’s direct investments in US tax credits. Ms. Chung McLean also manages RBC Community Investments’ syndications and co-investments in renewable energy tax credit investments, holding key relationships with multiple investor clients of financial institutions, insurance companies and investment grade corporates. As an 18-year veteran at RBC, Ms. Chung McLean has previously worked in RBC’s US Corporate Banking as part of the lending team principally credit underwriting multifamily and single family housing transactions, and in Municipal Investment Banking structuring and executing numerous multifamily bond financings. She also holds a Series 24 FINRA license.

Eric Moody was promoted to Managing Director-Underwriting in 2019 and currently serves as Managing Director, Co-Head of Originations Management.  Mr. Moody has assumed greater responsibilities since joining RBC in 2006, which includes serving as Director of Underwriting since 2011.  He currently has oversight of all aspects of lower tier closings, management of underwriting staff and relationship coverage of select investor clients. Prior to this role, he served as Vice President-Acquisitions for RBC's Southeast Region in Charlotte, NC. Mr. Moody began his LIHTC career as an underwriter within Wachovia’s Tax Credit Investment Group in 2000, and has over 20 years of real estate industry experience within large financial institutions.  Eric’s industry experience includes the nationwide acquisition, underwriting and structuring of federal and state tax credit investments for syndication to institutional clients. Mr. Moody is a board member of Charlotte Family Housing, a non-profit whose mission is the empowerment of families experiencing homelessness to achieve long-term self-sufficiency through housing and supportive services. He graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Ken Lohiser currently serves as Managing Director, Co-Head of Originations Management supervising the Investment Diligence and Investment Manager groups and collaborating with the Underwriting team on all aspects of closing investments at the lower tier. Ken joined RBC in early 2006 to serve as Associate General Counsel. He brings to the organization over thirty years of real estate experience, including fourteen years in private practice and six years as corporate counsel for a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Lohiser has represented real estate developers in acquisitions, dispositions, commercial and residential developments and financing of real estate. He has an extensive background in due diligence for multi-parcel transactions, including title insurance, environmental compliance, survey review, zoning and construction issues. Mr. Lohiser is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College of Law and has an undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has served is a member of the Governing Committee for the American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law.

Tammy Thiessen serves as Managing Director, Co-Head of Originations and Sales.  In this role, Ms. Thiessen manages Regional Directors and Equity Sales staff and provides leadership and guidance on Community Investments’ originations, sales and fund structuring strategy.  Ms. Thiessen also originates and manages both multi investor fund and proprietary investor client relationships.  Ms. Thiessen is a tenured LIHTC professional with over 18 years of LIHTC experience.  Having joined RBC in 2004, Ms. Thiessen has continued to assume greater leadership responsibility within the organization after holding previous roles including Director of Equity Sales and Vice President of Investor Relations.  Prior to joining RBC, Ms. Thiessen began her LIHTC career with KeyBank Real Estate Capital in 2002.  As a proud graduate of the University of Iowa, Ms. Thiessen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Law Studies, Philosophy and Political Science. She also has her FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Dan Kierce, Managing Director, Co-Head of Originations and Sales is responsible for co-managing and providing leadership and guidance to Community Investments’ originations and sales team.  Mr. Kierce is also responsible for originating, structuring and negotiating LIHTC investments in the Central Region.  Mr. Kierce originally joined RBC in 2003, has over 28 years of experience in LIHTC syndication and has closed equity transactions in over 30 states.  His experience includes working with for-profit and non-profit developers on a wide range of projects which includes 9% tax credit and tax-exempt bond projects, historic tax credit projects, RAD conversions, high profile urban projects, as well as rural communities.  Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Kierce had 11 years of experience with a major financial institution and a syndication firm where he was responsible for acquiring and structuring tax credit investments, as well as providing additional debt products to developer clients. 

Mr. Kierce is a board member of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers, where he serves as immediate past president.  Mr. Kierce is also a board member of the Michigan Housing Council, a member of the Indiana Affordable Housing Council, the board chairman of the Rose-Mary Center, a non-profit organization that serves children and adults with development disabilities and an ex officio board member of Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland.  Mr. Kierce graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Nichols College and also served with honor in the United States Marine Corps.  He is a frequent speaker at state and national industry conferences. 

Lorraine Coram joined RBC Community Investments in 2004 and currently serves as Managing Director, Head of Asset Management.  She leads the Development Risk Management, Stabilized Asset Management, Asset Risk Management and Asset Management Operations teams for the firm.  This team oversees the RBC Community Investments portfolio and their primary focus is minimizing investment risk and ensuring the dependable flow of benefits to the investor.  Lorraine has been a senior member of the Asset Management leadership team since 2007, overseeing Stabilized Asset Management through 2011. Ms. Coram has over 30 years’ experience in property management and LIHTC asset management.  Prior to joining RBC, she had over 16 years of experience in residential property management for a portfolio of conventional, HUD and LIHTC properties.  She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Marketing from the State University of New York, College at Oswego.

Nancy Amstadt joined RBC in 2012 and currently serves as Director, Head of Sales Management, supervising equity sales and legal processes of closing investor funds and closing transactions into RBC’s investor funds.  Ms. Amstadt also co-manages RBC Community Investment’s strategy for state tax credit investments.  Prior to this role, Nancy served as Director, Senior Counsel for RBC, providing legal advice and business support for RBC Community Investments.  Ms. Amstadt has a diverse background in the business and legal aspects of Affordable Housing and Historic Rehabilitation projects having previously been the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for a real estate development company that specialized in large, urban affordable/historic rehabilitation projects.  Prior to this, Ms. Amstadt was a partner in a boutique tax consulting firm that specialized in historic and state tax credit transactions.  Ms. Amstadt holds an L.L.M. in Taxation from Case Western University, a J.D. from North Carolina Central University and a B.A. in Political Science from Michigan State University.

Todd Surbey serves as Director, Co-Head of Financial Management at RBC, responsible for the financial reporting function of RBC and its various tax credit partnerships, along with management of the Financial Management department staff.  Additionally, Mr. Surbey oversees the dispositions process, which is a collaborative effort between the financial management and asset management groups. Furthermore, Mr. Surbey provides financial analysis assistance and review and offers tax technical guidance to the asset management department.  Prior to joining RBC in 2003, Mr. Surbey worked in the public accounting field where he specialized in the tax and accounting projects for many types of real estate entities, such as architects, contractors, developers, management companies and syndicators. He gained experience preparing and supervising cost certifications for low-income housing projects, preparing financial underwriting for low-income housing and historic rehabilitation developers and supervising annual audits and tax engagements.  Mr. Surbey is a Certified Public Accountant and graduate of Mount Union College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting. He is a member of the AICPA and the Ohio Society of CPAs.

Jainesh Shah was promoted from Vice President to Director, Co-Head of Financial Management in 2022 and responsible for the efforts of RBC Community Investment’s Pricing Group and Financial Analysis departments. He joined RBC as an Asset Manager in the Charlotte office in mid-2010, moved into a Financial Analysis role in October 2011 and assumed leadership of the Pricing Group in late 2017 overseeing the financial structuring of investments. Over his 10 year tenure, Jainesh has increased his responsibilities and has been recognized through department (Emily Moss Award) and company-wide (RBC Performance Conference) awards for his contributions and commitment. Prior to joining RBC, he was with the industry accounting firm of CohnReznick as a Senior Associate. Mr. Shah is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a MS-Accounting and a BS-Business Administration, and is also a CPA.

Shari Kisamore serves as Vice President, Head of Business Management, responsible for a variety of business management functions, including marketing and communications, facilities and operations, and human resources liaison.  In addition, effective January 2021, Shari now oversees NMTC compliance and asset management for RBC Community Development. She originally joined RBC in 2014 as an Investment Diligence Specialist in the Charlotte office and was promoted to an Associate in 2017 and Vice President, Business Manager in 2018. Shari had 20 years of experience in accounting management & controller positions and a total of 27 years in the real estate industry (investment, development, and property management) prior to assuming her role with RBC.  Ms. Kisamore is a graduate of Montreat College with a B.S. in Business Management and also obtained an Associate Degree in Accounting from CPCC.

Dan Kierce, Managing Director, Co-Head of Originations and Sales is responsible for co-managing and providing leadership and guidance to Community Investments’ originations and sales team.  Mr. Kierce is also responsible for originating, structuring and negotiating LIHTC investments in the Central Region.  Mr. Kierce originally joined RBC in 2003, has over 28 years of experience in LIHTC syndication and has closed equity transactions in over 30 states.  His experience includes working with for-profit and non-profit developers on a wide range of projects which includes 9% tax credit and tax-exempt bond projects, historic tax credit projects, RAD conversions, high profile urban projects, as well as rural communities.  Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Kierce had 11 years of experience with a major financial institution and a syndication firm where he was responsible for acquiring and structuring tax credit investments, as well as providing additional debt products to developer clients. 

Mr. Kierce is a board member of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers, where he serves as immediate past president.  Mr. Kierce is also a board member of the Michigan Housing Council, a member of the Indiana Affordable Housing Council, the board chairman of the Rose-Mary Center, a non-profit organization that serves children and adults with development disabilities and an ex officio board member of Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland.  Mr. Kierce graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Nichols College and also served with honor in the United States Marine Corps.  He is a frequent speaker at state and national industry conferences. 

Tammy Thiessen serves as Managing Director, Co-Head of Originations and Sales.  In this role, Ms. Thiessen manages Regional Directors and Equity Sales staff and provides leadership and guidance on Community Investments’ originations, sales and fund structuring strategy.  Ms. Thiessen also originates and manages both multi investor fund and proprietary investor client relationships.  Ms. Thiessen is a tenured LIHTC professional with over 18 years of LIHTC experience.  Having joined RBC in 2004, Ms. Thiessen has continued to assume greater leadership responsibility within the organization after holding previous roles including Director of Equity Sales and Vice President of Investor Relations.  Prior to joining RBC, Ms. Thiessen began her LIHTC career with KeyBank Real Estate Capital in 2002.  As a proud graduate of the University of Iowa, Ms. Thiessen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Law Studies, Philosophy and Political Science. She also has her FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Stacie Altmann joined RBC in 2010 as VP-Acquisitions and currently serves as Director – West Region responsible for originating, structuring and negotiating LIHTC investments throughout the western US.  Ms. Altmann has over 20 years of investment banking and real estate finance experience, with a specific focus on the affordable housing industry. Ms. Altmann has relationships with for-profit and non-profit developers and has experience structuring 9% tax credit, tax-exempt bond, RAD, state and historic tax credit, mixed income and mixed use projects in both urban and rural markets.  She also actively works with state and local agencies as well as community affordable housing groups on policy and program issues. 

Prior to joining RBC, Ms. Altmann served as a corporate officer and Director of Project Finance for USA Properties Fund, Inc. in Roseville, CA where she oversaw the financing activities for the firm.  She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Finance.

Kathleen Calvert joined RBC in 2018 as the Director-Equity Sales in the Los Angeles office.  She is responsible for originating and managing relationships with Equity Investors as well as closing real estate equity investments with such investors.  Prior to joining RBC, Kathleen served as VP, Relationship Banker with US Bank Community Development Bank.  Prior to US Bank, Kathleen served as a Development Consultant and VP of Development for an affordable housing developer as well as VP, Relationship Banker at JPMorgan Chase Community Development Bank.  She has over 20 years of real estate and tax credit industry experience.   Ms. Calvert obtained a B.S. in Economics from California State University, Northridge and has served as Board Member for Western Community Housing, California Counsel for Affordable Housing, and Project Review Committee for Innovative housing Opportunities.

Jonathan Cheng joined RBC as a Director, Renewable Investment Manager in the New York office reporting to Yonette Chung McLean. Jon will lead origination efforts on RBC Community Investments’ Renewable Energy Tax Credit investment syndications. As part of his origination leadership, he will manage solar and wind industry sponsor relationships, structure and negotiate tax equity investments, and oversee transaction documentation and execution. Jon brings over a decade of experience in executive roles focused on acquisition and development of renewable energy projects and execution of tax equity investments. His background covers all tax equity transaction types – utility scale, commercial and industrial, and community solar projects. Jon received a Master of Business Administration from New York University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Applied Economics from Cornell University. He is FINRA SIE and Series 7 licensed.

Brian Flanagan currently serves as Director – Southeast Region with RBC Community Investments, with a focus on originations activity in the Southeast, District of Columbia and Missouri. Brian joined RBC’s Charlotte, NC office in 2006 and prior to this role Brian was a Regional Director and Vice President-Acquisitions. Brian’s experience includes the acquisition of federal, state and historic tax credit properties. Brian works with for-profit and non-profit developers, underwritten a variety of property types, including affordable housing only, mixed income, tax credit and commercial retail, structured transactions that involved both federal and state historic tax credits, and has invested in multiple mixed finance properties utilizing HOPE VI funds. Prior to joining RBC in 2006, Mr. Flanagan worked for First Union/ Wachovia as an equity originator and closer in the company’s Tax Credit Investment Group. Prior to joining First Union/Wachovia Mr. Flanagan worked for Aetna Real Estate Investors as a correspondent accountant. Mr. Flanagan received a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Assumption College in Worcester, MA.

Aaron Krasnow originally joined RBC in 2008 and currently serves as Regional Director-Midwest/Western Plains in the Denver office originating tax credit investment opportunities in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.  Aaron possesses over 20 years’ experience working within several facets of the affordable housing finance and development industries including quasi-governmental gap lending at the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, non-profit sponsored LIHTC and affordable housing development at Mercy Housing, and tax credit syndication.  He is versed in the structuring and underwriting of LIHTC transactions including multiple local, state, and federal financing programs tailored to new construction, acquisition/rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse residential and mixed-use projects serving low-income families, seniors, persons with special needs, and mixed-income populations.  Aaron graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Urban Studies with an emphasis in Land Use Planning and Development from San Francisco State University.

Stephen Lee joined RBC in 2010 and currently serves as Regional Director – Northeast Region with RBC Community Investments, with a focus on originations activity in Massachusetts, Upstate NY and Maine. During his time with RBC, Stephen has been involved in the structuring and closing of more than 100 LIHTC transactions generating over $1.2B in equity for 10,000+ units of affordable housing across 30 states. Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Lee spent one year as a residential leasing agent in Chicago, and two years as an Investment Associate with a private real estate group in Florida that invested in retail, residential, and office properties. Mr. Lee earned his Masters of Professional Studies in Real Estate with concentrations in Finance and Investments from Cornell University and received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Doug Malicki was promoted to Director – Equity Sales in 2018.  He assumed responsibility as VP – Equity Sales in 2013 to broaden RBC Community Investments’ focus on investor sales activity and continues to provide advisory services on tax or financial complexities within investment funds.  Prior to this role, Doug served as Investment Director – Tax & Finance, and was responsible for the review of potential investment opportunities for compliance with company, industry, and Internal Revenue Service standards.  Additionally, Doug continues to support the training of syndications staff on financial modeling of active and prospective investments in the affordable housing market.  Mr. Malicki originally joined RBC Community Investments’ team in 2007 to lead our financial review process.  Doug’s experience includes over eleven years in the public accounting and financial services industries.  He held positions with PricewaterhouseCoopers and GBQ Partners where he served as a Director of State and Local Tax consulting services with a specialization in economic development and tax credits.  Mr. Malicki graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors of Business Administration, Accounting from Kent State University.  He is a CPA, member of the Ohio Society of CPA’s, and American Institute of CPA’s.

Christopher Tully currently serves as a Regional Director – Mid-Atlantic Region and has over 17 years of experience in real estate and finance. During his tenure with RBC Capital Markets since 2010, Mr. Tully has been involved in the structuring and placement of over $825 million in LIHTC equity. Mr. Tully is responsible for evaluating, negotiating and closing the acquisition of LIHTC multifamily properties in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Prior to joining RBC Capital Markets, Mr. Tully spent seven years in progressive roles with another tax credit syndication firm.  Mr. Tully received his Masters of Science in Real Estate Finance from the New York University and also has a BS-Finance and Marketing from Boston College.

Dave Urban currently serves as Director – Gulf Coast Region with RBC Community Investments, with a focus on originations activity in the Gulf Coast, Southeast and Illinois.  He originally joined the group in 1998 and has worked on acquisitions and origination activity during his tenure.  Cultivating relationships with both for-profit and not-for-profit developers, Dave has closed on real estate equity transactions in more than 20 states, including Puerto Rico.  Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Urban had over 10 years of experience in accounting and finance. He worked for TravelCenters of America in Cleveland, performing operations and budget analysis on over 85 locations, and assisted in determining the profitability of potential acquisitions.

Since joining RBC, he has worked closely with developers to close on a broad range of projects and providing assistance in securing construction and permanent financing, as well as developing and maintaining several long-term developer relationships. Mr. Urban has also worked closely with several state and local tax credit agencies and assisted in the development and servicing of equity investor relationships. A 1997 MBA graduate of Baldwin-Wallace University, Mr. Urban's background includes experience as a Controller and International Controller.

Jonathan Cheng joined RBC as a Director, Renewable Investment Manager in the New York office reporting to Yonette Chung McLean. Jon will lead origination efforts on RBC Community Investments’ Renewable Energy Tax Credit investment syndications. As part of his origination leadership, he will manage solar and wind industry sponsor relationships, structure and negotiate tax equity investments, and oversee transaction documentation and execution. Jon brings over a decade of experience in executive roles focused on acquisition and development of renewable energy projects and execution of tax equity investments. His background covers all tax equity transaction types – utility scale, commercial and industrial, and community solar projects. Jon received a Master of Business Administration from New York University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Applied Economics from Cornell University. He is FINRA SIE and Series 7 licensed.

Ryan Berry is responsible for new product line development in affordable housing and is currently focused on the execution of Workforce Housing investments. Mr. Berry originally joined RBC in 2005 and has served in various Community Investments roles including Controller and Financial Manager. Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Berry worked as a fund manager of a private equity fund where he was responsible for raising capital and investor relations.  His previous experiences include 7 years in the public accounting and financial services industries where his focus was on manufacturing entities. Mr. Berry graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Kent State University. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Ohio Society of CPAs, and holds Series 63 and 7 FINRA licenses.

Nancy Amstadt joined RBC in 2012 and currently serves as Director, Head of Sales Management, supervising equity sales and legal processes of closing investor funds and closing transactions into RBC’s investor funds.  Ms. Amstadt also co-manages RBC Community Investment’s strategy for state tax credit investments.  Prior to this role, Nancy served as Director, Senior Counsel for RBC, providing legal advice and business support for RBC Community Investments.  Ms. Amstadt has a diverse background in the business and legal aspects of Affordable Housing and Historic Rehabilitation projects having previously been the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for a real estate development company that specialized in large, urban affordable/historic rehabilitation projects.  Prior to this, Ms. Amstadt was a partner in a boutique tax consulting firm that specialized in historic and state tax credit transactions.  Ms. Amstadt holds an L.L.M. in Taxation from Case Western University, a J.D. from North Carolina Central University and a B.A. in Political Science from Michigan State University.

Tylee Kessler joined RBC in 2010 and currently serves as the Director of Investment Underwriting and oversees the initial deal underwriting process as well as managing a staff of Investment Associates and Investment Analysts in the underwriting and closing process. Tylee’s prior experience includes four years as a Senior Development Officer at the Charlotte Housing Authority where she developed primarily mixed income deals and secured a $21 million HOPE VI grant.  Prior to joining CHA, she worked as an equity originator for First Union/Wachovia for eight years focusing on HOPE VI and historic transactions.  Ms. Kessler has an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree from The University of Virginia.

Alexa Chu joined RBC in June 2018 and currently serves as a Project Manager on renewable energy tax credit (RETC) and new markets tax credit (NMTC) investments and reports to Yonette Chung McLean.  Her primary focus is post-closing management of RBC’s direct investments and syndicated RETC transactions and she serves as lead manager on all NMTC transactions. Prior to joining RBC, she worked for Capital One Bank, N.A. with a focus on Alternative Energy and Project Finance, NMTC, Tax Exempt Bond Fund, and corporate development and analysis.  Ms. Chu is a graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science. She holds FINRA SIE and Series 7 licenses.