The Team at Urban Land Conservancy

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Aaron Miripol

President & CEO

Aaron Miripol has over 20 years experience running community development and affordable housing companies. He has over seen more than $100 million in economic development, including 1,300 permanently affordable homes. Aaron is the President & CEO of the Urban Land Conservancy (ULC), a supporting non-profit organization to the Denver Foundation. Aaron joined ULC in 2007 and leads this unique real estate company in partnering with a wide range of organizations in the Denver metro area on the strategic acquisition and development of land and buildings to preserve and enhance their ability to create sustainable benefits in underserved communities. To date ULC has partnered on 11 real estate transactions totally over $22 million, and ranging from vacant lots to non-profit office space, affordable housing through Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Fund. In the last year over 4,250 people (more than 80% are low income households) were served by the ULC’s acquisitions and 150 jobs are supported by its real estate.

Prior to his work at ULC, Aaron was the Executive Director of Thistle Community Housing, providing oversight on one of the fastest growing non-profit housing providers in Colorado. In his nine years at Thistle, the organization’s affordable housing production increased over nine times, going from 100 plus homes to 1,000 rental and ownership homes valued at over $70 million. Most importantly, Thistle grew from serving 250 people a year to over 3,000 people annually in need of affordable housing.

Before moving to Colorado, Aaron worked in Baltimore running two inner city non-profit community development corporations, Southwest Visions and The Loading Dock. He was a Goldsmith Scholar in International Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has his BA in History & International Studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, and a Masters in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Debra Bustos

Director of Real Estate

Debra Bustos serves as the Director of Real Estate for the Urban Land Conservancy and manages all phases of project development, including financing, land purchase and partnership, project concept and development, as well as community management.

Debra also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Neighborhood Development Collaborative which is a non-profit organization that specifically focuses on addressing foreclosure issues through neighborhood stabilization.

The collaborative consists of five community development organizations and the local housing authority all working together to contribute a unique skill that helps to strengthen and stabilize community neighborhoods.

Prior to joining Urban Land Conservancy, Debra held the position of Community Relations Officer for JPMorgan Chase where she managed philanthropy in Colorado and was responsible for grant making, sponsorships, community initiatives, public relations, and CRA. She also spearheaded efforts to establish the Colorado Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, and served as its co-chair, overseeing efforts that resulted in the creation of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline that has successfully helped 4 out of 5 people who have accessed its services.

Debra has almost 30 years experience in the non-profit arena working with community development organizations to create affordable housing and impact communities through asset preservation. She also has prior experience in mortgage origination and mortgage lending.

Debra holds a Bachelor of Administration Degree from the University of Denver Women’s College and is a Colorado native.

Christi Longsdorf

Communications and Executive Support Manager

Christi joined Urban Land Conservancy in 2010 and is responsible for marketing, public relations and all communications between ULC staff, Board of Directors, partners and the community.  She also enhances administrative support to the President, Board of Directors and Board Committees.

Before joining ULC, Christi most recently served as Program Director for the ACE Mentor Program of Colorado.  She was responsible for organizing volunteers to work with high school students in 14 schools within 4 districts where they mentored in the fields are architecture, construction and engineering.  In the 4 years she was with ACE, she helped the program more than double the number of participating schools and students, giving ACE the opportunity to award more than $300,000 in scholarships.

Christi holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.  She is a member of the Mile High Transit Opportunity Collaborative, Denver Livability Partnership, Community Development Partnership and the Denver Shared Space Project.

Cindy Everett

Senior Associate

Cindy Everett joined Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) in 2008. Her community development studies at Metropolitan State College of Denver and her background in real estate compliment the mission and work of ULC. She provides program support through research, predevelopment and post acquisition activities related to the Transit Oriented Development Fund and other organizational priorities. Cindy assists with the coordination of due diligence and maintains crucial communication with vendors, contractors, city staff, lenders, and development partners. Cindy has led efforts to understand the intricacies of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and how it can be utilized to benefit community development and affordable housing goals. She coordinates activities for the Community Land Trust Coalition of Colorado and participates in the Community Development Partnership.

Cindy brings eleven years of residential real estate sales experience and has been involved in small, residential real estate investment for over 20 years. She works and volunteers within her community in educational settings from elementary school to university, and in local faith-based organizations serving community needs.

Josh Burdick

Associate

Since he joined the Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) in 2009, Josh Burdick has performed policy and development analysis ranging from specific sites and issues to general neighborhoods and national policy discussions. He has worked on diverse issues including the economic benefits of affordable housing, facility needs for non-profits, feasibility of Multi-Tenant Non-Profit Centers (MTNC), rezoning, community processes, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and analytical systems-based tools.

In his current role as part of the development team, Josh analyzes real estate opportunities and acquisitions including existing affordable housing, vacant land, non-profit office spaces, educational facilities, and potential redevelopment opportunities. He has performed supportive real estate work around acquisition and development including pro formas, financing research, loan applications, rent surveys, collaborative work with diverse partners, contracts, due diligence, and closing facilitation.

As a culmination of his policy work, Josh oversaw the completion of “The Economic Impact of LIHTC Development Along Transit Corridors in Metro Denver,” a 2010 study in partnership with the Home Builders Association (HBA) of Metro Denver. An unusual partnership of non-profit and for-profit entities, the study enables housing practitioners and policymakers to understand and communicate the economic impact of affordable housing construction along transit corridors in the Denver Metro area.

Josh previously worked at Lena Park Community Development Corporation (CDC) in Boston and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) global headquarters in Washington, D.C. He also led a student community service group at Grinnell College focused on transitional housing in Des Moines from 2006 to 2009, guiding a rethinking and visioning process to lead the organization in coming years. He is an active member of the ULI Colorado Young Leader Group Executive Committee and Co-Chair of the Discovery Series program committee. Josh holds a bachelor of arts in History from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.

James Roy II

Associate

James Roy II joined the Urban Land Conservancy in December, 2010. James is practically a Denver native, having spent most of his life in Denver’s Cole neighborhood, the Park Hill neighborhood, and Aurora. After a successful internship while attending University of Colorado, Denver majoring in Urban Studies, James was hired as an Associate on the Development Team.

His work has focused mainly around mapping and transit-oriented development (TOD) research. James has created maps for ULC board and committee meetings, internal research, and grant proposals. Recently, he contributed to DRCOG’s successful Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant proposal with supporting maps. James also built ULC’s database that tracks and monitors potential opportunities and investments as well as the GIS map database. He has contributed to ULC’s marketing efforts, designing many of the current brochures, handouts, and asset maps. James’ ongoing mapping work can be seen on our Maps page.

James is a member of the Research and Evaluation Steering Committee of the Mile High Transit Opportunity Collaborative (MHTOC). He has been a vital contributor to the housing piece of the Denver Regional Equity Atlas, a soon to be published project displaying the need for equitable growth and access illustrated through maps and narratives produced by MHTOC.

 

Brad Wilkin

Associate

Brad Wilkin joined Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) in 2010.  He has an assortment of responsibilities, including collecting data for economic impact studies, writing grants, supporting predevelopment and post-acquisition activities related to the Transit Oriented Development Fund, and assisting on a number of contract and grant compliance matters for ULC’s properties and partnerships.

Before joining ULC, Brad had an interesting background.  He owned his own small business in college and worked for a Denver real estate company upon graduating.  Shortly thereafter, he spent 6 months in South Africa and Kenya volunteering with children infected and affected by HIV/AIDs before attending law school in Washington.

Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the University of Kansas and a law degree from Gonzaga University.  Brad is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations.

Patrick J. Danehy

Asset Manager

Since April of 2010, Patrick has managed operations, construction, maintenance and vendor relations for ULC’s properties and development projects.  With over 20 years of experience in development, brokerage, project management, asset management, and construction, Patrick brings expanding expertise in all phases of the real estate development process. He began his career in the construction trades and worked his way up to project manager within a small NY based general construction company. He then transitioned into commercial real estate as a research intern with CB Richard Ellis in Tucson Arizona where he spent a year supporting brokerage services. Patrick joined CBRE officially in 1996 as an Associate of Madison Advisory Group an in-house corporate Services group serving corporate clients real estate needs on a national level. In 1998 he transitioned into Property Management/Project Management within CBRE and in this role worked as a manager dealing with the acquisition and disposition and Project Management services for clients on a local and national basis. During his time at CBRE Patrick managed millions of square feet of Tenant Finish and Build to Suit projects. In 2003 Patrick left CBRE and started Danehy Development Advisors Inc. where he and his staff offered Project Management Services and real estate consulting services to local and national clients across the Americas. In this capacity Patrick and his team managed over $100,000,000 in projects.

Courtney Clapp

Staff Accountant, The Denver Foundation

Courtney joined the Denver Foundation in 2010 where she is primarily responsible for the accounting and financial reporting of the Urban Land Conservancy, a supporting organization of the Denver Foundation. She previously worked for nearly 3 years in public accounting, focusing mainly on the non-profit and hospitality industries, with an emphasis in real estate acquisitions and development.

Courtney holds a Masters and Bachelors degree in Accountancy from the University of Missouri, and remains active in the Colorado Society of CPA’s.

Valentina Guereca

Office Manager

Valentina joined Urban Land Conservancy in 2010 and is responsible for office administration of the Park Avenue Nonprofit Shared Space which includes support to ULC and Denver Preschool Program. She has held positions in administrative service for over 20 years. Prior to joining ULC, Valentina worked in various departments within the City of Denver and Denver Public Works over a period of 10 years, including as executive assistant to the director of the Office of Economic Development.

Valentina brings community perspective through her past work with several non-profit organizations operating in distressed neighborhoods and serving lower income households, including her work with Neighborhood Housing Services of Denver.