CONTACT
email: lgould@vivaconsult.com
EDUCATION
Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Baker Scholar
Yale University, New Haven, CT
BA, Linguistics, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
“Everything should be made as simple
as possible, but not simpler.”
Laurie Gould splits her consulting practice between real estate finance, business and strategic planning for community development organizations, and policy research and teaching on topics related to affordable housing.
Laurie has structured nearly a billion dollars in financing to develop and preserve thousands of affordable units, as well as financing for commercial space and community facilities. She has worked with all types of financing, including Low-Income Housing, Historic and New Markets Tax Credits, bond financing, commercial and FHA-insured debt, and the full range of state and federal grant and soft loan programs. Laurie offers creativity and analytical skill to help developers and owners get the greatest possible value out of available resources. She also brings the communication skills to help decision-makers fully understand the business implications of their financial choices.
Grounded in the operational realities of community development, Laurie works with organizations around the country to develop strategic and business plans that help these groups pursue their goals with clarity and efficiency. Her on-the-ground expertise also informs research on such topics as best practices in affordable homeownership programs and PRI lending to support housing creation and preservation.
Creation and launch of emergency rental assistance program: Worked with quasi-public housing financial institutions and state community development agency to create a program to efficiently distribute rental assistance to support residents of subsidized housing developments during pandemic. After a year of operations, program succeeded in helping nearly 12,000 families, and distributing over $33 million.
Financial structuring and development consulting: Projects include mixed-use new construction (New Bedford, MA), recapitalization and RAD conversion of large, multi-phase HOPE VI site (Boston, MA), and multi-project consulting on whole development portfolios (Lawrence CommunityWorks, Lawrence, MA; HRI, Cambridge, MA); Buildings
Built analytical tools to help community development nonprofits and public agencies explore the financial implications of their strategic choices. Financial models of the organizations and their integrated business lines allowed Board and staff members to analyze the impact on earnings and liquidity of a range of possible business and strategy decisions. Portland Housing Authority, Portland, ME; Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, New Orleans, LA; NeighborWorks Housing Solutions, Quincy, MA; Organizations
Led or collaborated to lead strategic planning efforts for housing and housing finance organizations. Worked with wide range of affordable housing agencies to develop effective, actionable strategic plans. MassHousing, statewide, MA; MassHousing Partnership, statewide, MA; POAH, Regional/National; Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, New Orleans, LA; HRI, Cambridge, MA; Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, Boston, MA; Organizations
Researched and wrote/co-wrote studies of Program Related Investments and Permanent Supportive Housing: Recent research projects and publications include In Practice: Program Related Investments for Sustained Impact, a study of PRIs to support permanent supportive housing creation in Los Angeles (Hilton Foundation, Agoura Hills, CA), Investing for Impact (with Abt Associates), a study of the MacArthur Foundation’s PRIs to support housing preservation (MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL), and studies on housing for homeless and unaccompanied youth (for MassHousing Partnership, statewide, MA); Buildings, Operations
Developed and taught courses in affordable housing finance for a range of audiences. Designed curriculum and taught classes and webinars of varying lengths for the Kuehn Fellowship Program (Boston, MA), the Certified Housing Asset Manager certification program (National), the Mel King Institute (Boston, MA) and NeighborWorks America (National); Buildings, Property & Asset Management
VIVA Consulting, Boston, MA
Principal, 2000-present
Consultant on housing, community development and business planning. Services include real estate finance, policy and best practices research, and business and strategic planning for nonprofit, for-profit and public sector organizations.
The Community Builders, Inc., Boston, MA
Director of Project GEORGE, 1998-2000
Designed and directed operations reengineering effort for 400-person company to accommodate rapid geographic expansion and increasingly complex community development projects. Efforts embraced MIS, knowledge management and protocols for interdisciplinary teams.
Finance Project Manager, 1996-1998
Structured financing of affordable housing development projects for CT, RI and Western MA offices. Developed protocols for human service programming at affordable housing developments. Designed cash flow and income forecasting model for use in strategic business development.
Ocean Park Community Center, Santa Monica, CA
Project Director, 1991-1993
Project Manager, 1990-1991
Ran two shelters for homeless women suffering from chronic mental illness. Supervised staff of 14 plus 60 volunteers. Restructured residential program, dramatically improving program safety and client outcomes. Implemented system of collaboration with medical and mental health agencies.
Board Member of Haley House
Board Member since 2022
Founding Board Member of Friends of Hiscock Park
Board member and Clerk since 2022
Board member and President of House of Hope and House of Hope Housing, Inc.
Board member, 2009 – 2019
President, 2012 – 2015
Board member emeritus, 2019-present
Board of Newton Community Development Foundation
Board member 1998 – 2019
Executive Committee member/Clerk, 2010 – 2019
Advisory Committee member, 2019-present
Singer/songwriter/humorist
www.midlifemomsongs.com