- DSNews - https://dsnews.com -

NAHREP Honors Armando Falcon, Shanna Smith With Founders’ Award

The ""National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals"":http://nahrep.org/ (NAHREP) presented the 2011 NAHREP Founders' Awards to Armando Falcon and Shanna Smith for their efforts in advancing homeownership, particularly in the Hispanic community.

[IMAGE]

The awards were presented to the pair last week at a luncheon held during the 2011 NAHREP Real Estate & Marketing Conference in Los Angeles.

Falcon served as director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's former regulator, from 1999 to 2005. He is now chairman and CEO of Falcon Capital Advisors.

Falcon's body of work is an inspiration to Latinos across America, according to NAHREP. His career in government as a regulator and as general counsel for the House Banking Committee put him at the center of the financial services and mortgage industries.

Recently, Falcon has been advising NAHREP and other industry organizations on housing policy to help govern-

[COLUMN_BREAK]

ment achieve the appropriate balance between consumer protection and preserving the American Dream of homeownership for Latinos and other Americans.

Smith is CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA). She led NFHA's publication of the study ""Here Comes The Bank, There Goes Our Neighborhood: How Lenders Discriminate In The Treatment of Foreclosed Homes.""

The report looks at the maintenance of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods of varying ethnicities and the overall impact of worsening housing values on local communities. Under Smith's leadership, NFHA has positioned itself at the forefront of the conversation to erase disparities within the housing and mortgage markets.

""These are champions of homeownership â€" who through their courageous deeds of challenging the status quo have made a difference in the national dialogue about housing. These are the type of people who evoke real change,"" commented Ernest J. Reyes, co-founder of NAHREP.

Each year, NAHREP recognizes two individuals that have distinguished themselves by their work in support of sustainable Hispanic homeownership and for improving the quality of life for Hispanics in America. The annual awards go to one person from the corporate sector and one from the nonprofit world.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to increasing the homeownership rate among Latinos by educating and empowering the real estate professionals that serve them. Based in San Diego, NAHREP's membership through its 50 affiliate chapters consists of 18,000 individuals in 48 states.