Building Homes and Hope Together
Providing decent, affordable housing in the District takes the work of many partners -- corporations, foundations, local government and individuals - including the members of DC Habitat's Board and staff. You can learn a bit more about our office and site staff here.
Learn about our Board Members.
Our Staff
Susanne Slater
President & CEO, Interim
Susanne has over 25 years of increasingly responsible experience in government, academia and the nonprofit sector, including a long and varied association with housing policy from many vantage points. As Associate Dean for Executive Programs at the University of Maryland, College Park, she created an award winning program for employees of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with over 2,000 employees completing a four-course certificate program in low and moderate income housing development. As a founding board member and vice president of a nonprofit development corporation, Susanne oversaw the conversion of a troubled public housing complex into a successful mixed income neighborhood in Ward 7 of the District of Columbia.
Over an 18 year career at the University of Maryland, Susanne taught courses that dealt with every aspect of moderate and low income housing policy, environmental policy as well as management control in nonprofit organizations. She was the recipient of a $1 million research grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation, the largest ever awarded. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Susanne worked for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on his work in the Senate Budget and Senate Finance committees; and previously, at the White House Office of Management and Budget as a financial economist dealing with loan guarantees and government sponsored enterprises, especially Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Prior to becoming Interim President & CEO of DC Habitat, she served on the organization's board as the Treasurer and development liaison with DC Habitat staff. Susanne holds an MBA in public and private finance from Cornell University and a BA from Smith College.
Richard S. Algra
Director of Development
As the Director of Development for Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C., Richard Algra works on growing the fundraising capacity of the organization by exploring all possible fundraising avenues. Richard's recent experience in the arena of fundraising includes his work with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in the capacity of Planned Giving Officer. While in this position Richard was a member of a team of three staff members that assisted in the acquiring of over $10M in matured planned gifts. He also worked hard to make the planned giving department more visible as a resource to all Habitat affiliates in the US as well as promote the newly established endowment fund. Prior to his time with HFHI, Richard was Development Manager for NatureServe in Arlington, VA and Manager of Development Operations with the Points of Light Foundation in Washington, DC.
Rick Bowers
Director of Construction Operations
Rick provides over twenty-five years of leadership, management, and executive expertise in the construction, residential, multi-family, and development industry. As a VP/Director at Fortune 500 firms as well as private regional homebuilders/developers, Rick has in depth insight, knowledge, and diverse experience. His credentials include multi-family, condominium, and Active Adult experience; P&L and operations management, purchasing and contracting management; managing homebuilding divisions that exceeded 400 settlements per year; and managing land development, sales, and marketing. Rick’s portfolio includes most every product type from stacked multi-family elevator condominiums with structured parking, basic town homes, award winning single-family luxury homes, and large Active Adult communities.
Jeff Brallier
Warehouse & Purchasing/Procurement Supervisor
Teresa Hamm
Senior Project Manager
Teresa has been a part of the construction staff since 2006, working on the Northeast Parcel as a site superintendent. In the fall of 2009, she took on the role of project manager, helping to oversee the administrative aspects of Habitat's construction program. As a LEED AP she also manages the green building agenda that Habitat has integrated during the past two years, administering the green building certification programs and presiding over DC Habitat's environmental committee. She hopes to continue her environmental/sustainable building education by one day returning to get her master's degree in architecture and sustainable building. Although she enjoys her in-office responsibilities as project manager, she loves her days on the construction site working with the Americorps, volunteers and homeowners -- whether it's swinging a hammer or working on punch-out lists. Originally from Bethesda MD, Teresa loves being home and working in Washington, D.C.
Peter Kiburi
Director of Finance & Mortgage Servicing
Peter has more than 13 years of progressive international and local experience in customer relationship management and business development for several non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. His focus has been on controllership and management accounting for 501c (3) non-profit organizations. He has extensive experience in grant management, statutory reporting and compliance monitoring for federally and locally funded projects targeting affordable housing, community development and emergency preparedness. Peter has a Masters Degree in Public (Government) Administration from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.
AJ Mannarino
Construction Supervisor
AJ began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity during college at The Ohio State University, where he earned a dual degree in International Development and Spanish. His desire to work with an NGO led him to join Habitat through the AmeriCorps program in Charleston, SC. Upon completion of his term there, he obtained a supervisor position which he held until he moved to Washington, D.C. in October of 2011. He came to Washington in order to work for DC Habitat, eager to join in the organization's efforts to implement new energy-efficient building techniques.
Andrew Modley
Senior Construction Supervisor
Andrew has worked for DC Habitat as a construction site superintendent since 2006. He started with the organization as a volunteer right after college and jumped on the opportunity to join our staff the moment an opening was available. Born and raised in the DC metro area, Andrew is committed to serving the local community. He attended McDaniel College in western Maryland where he studied political science. Andrew helps lead new construction efforts for DC Habitat and is especially interested in the green building practices being integrated into our projects
Heather Phibbs
Director of Communications & Client Services
Originally from Richmond, VA, Heather studied journalism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, then worked in public relations and advertising for the following 12 years. After living and working in New York City and Frankfurt, Germany, she relocated to Washington in early 2007. Prior to joining DC Habitat, she was Interactive Creative Director at Porter-Novelli Public Relations firm, where she developed online media campaigns for a variety of corporate, government and non-profit clients. She brings to DC Habitat her wealth of experience in leading marketing campaigns at the local, national and global levels across mutli-media platforms, and in developing strategic partnerships.
Agnes Reyna
Accounting Assistant
Agnes relocated from Philadelphia, PA to Northern Virginia in 2008. She joined the accounting department of Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. this past February. Agnes possesses more than 25 years of accounting experience in a wide range of industries. She studied accounting in New Jersey and Philadelphia accredited Vocational Training Institutes.
Emily T. Rowan
Office Manager
After receiving a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania and a MA in Elementary Education from San Francisco State University, Emily spent the first 10 years of her professional life teaching elementary school in San Francisco. When she moved back to Washington, D.C., her hometown, she embarked upon a new career in finance and administration. She worked for a variety of early stage companies as the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. Emily and her husband also started their own business, providing financial and administrative services to start-up companies. When her children reached the ages of 8 and 10 years old, Emily quit working for pay in order to raise her children. Now that her children have moved on to college, Emily has gone back to work with administrative responsibilities at Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C.
Dennis Smyth
Capacity Building Manager
Dennis Smyth started as a construction volunteer with DC Habitat for Humanity in June 1991. He joined the Board of Directors in 1993, eventually serving as Board President for four years. He remained an active construction volunteer and Board member with Habitat during his career as a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM Business Consulting Services, as well as his independent consulting work for the World Bank, Calvert Social Investment Foundation and ShoreBank International. He has worked on more than 50 Habitat homes in Washington, DC, as well as on Habitat builds in Alaska and Georgia. Dennis served as DC Habitat's Interim Executive Director from November 2008 through April 2009, and then moved to his current position as Land Acquisition and Capacity Building Coordinator. Dennis lives in Washington, DC, with his wife Eileen, who is a physician at Georgetown University Hospital, and their two daughters, Evelyn and Brigid. Dennis received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University at Albany and his M.B.A. from Fordham University.
Annah Walters
Homebuyer Services Manager
Annah Walters was raised on a small farm in rural Minnesota. She went on to attend Macalester College in St. Paul, and it was there, while studying the liberal arts, she volunteered on her first Habitat build. As a board member for her campus chapter, she coordinated fundraising efforts and led multiple Collegiate Challenge trips. After graduation, Annah moved to Southern California to serve as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. In the summer of 2009, she traded in her car for the Metro and relocated to Washington, D.C. to serve as DC Habitat’s Family Services VISTA. At the conclusion of her term of service, she joined our staff as Homebuyer Services Manager.
Jenna Widmann
Volunteer Services Supervisor
Jenna Widmann began working with Habitat as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2009. At the conclusion of her year of service, DC Habitat hired her to fulfill the role of the Volunteer Services Supervisor. Jenna came from Indiana after graduating from Butler University with a double major in French and journalism. Her work in non-profits began during a summer internship in New Orleans with the Broadmoor Development Corporation as a communications associate. Jenna works with all construction and committee volunteers, both on site to help get them oriented with construction tasks and through meetings to share the mission and details of Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C. For Jenna, Habitat is not only a way to give back to a community in need of affordable housing, but also a way to spend time and meet new people who share similar passions.
AmeriCorps Staff & Vista Staff 2011-2012
- Alex Watt
- Ashley Hartzell
- Luke Hupp
- Mike Peterson
- Paula Katrina Drago
- Saundra Catalina
