Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Announces Four New Members of its Affordable Housing Advisory Council

ATLANTA, Dec. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) announced today that it has appointed four members to its Affordable Housing Advisory Council (Council). The Council serves an important role in helping FHLBank Atlanta fulfill its community lending and affordable housing mission, and works closely with the FHLBank Atlanta board of directors and management to ensure the community lending and housing finance needs of communities within the Bank's district are met. There are 15 members of FHLBank Atlanta's Council.

New Members:

Melissa Cook is the Economic Development Director of the city of Arab, Alabama. Ms. Cook's economic development experience spans 28 years and includes serving as chair of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, which under her leadership grew from a part-time volunteer organization to an organization with full-time staff that now represents over 125 chambers of commerce across the state. Among her accomplishments and awards, Ms. Cook has been honored as the Alabama State Chamber Professional of the Year and as the Honorary Commander of the 14^th Medical Support Group at Columbus Air Force Base. In her current role with the city of Arab, her responsibilities include coordination and administration of all grants relating to economic development, historic preservation, infrastructure, transportation, and community development. Ms. Cook has numerous professional affiliations such as the Economic Developers Association of Alabama.

Patrice Gilmore is the National Supplier Diversity Lead of DPR Construction in the company's Morrisville, North Carolina office. Ms. Gilmore has over 20 years of experience in diversity and inclusion (D&I) and business development. She has managed D&I efforts in numerous locations throughout the FHLBank Atlanta district, including Washington, D.C., Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, and Orlando. Ms. Gilmore is a Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity. Her key accolades and leadership positions include Triangle Business Journal's 40 Under 40 Leadership Award; the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award from the Women's Transportation Seminar; chair of the board of directors of United Minority Contractors of North Carolina; executive board member of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce; and Vice Chair, Triangle DEI Alliance, Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. Her experience includes directing D&I through full community engagement, including contractor/supplier diversity, talent acquisition/retention, and workforce development initiatives.

Bill Lazar is the Executive Director of St. Johns Housing Partnership (SJHP) in St. Augustine, Florida. He has worked with nonprofit affordable housing programs for 30 years. Mr. Lazar founded SJHP in 1996 and under his leadership the organization has grown to provide various affordable housing services including home repair to more than 100 households each year, financial literacy, purchase and preservation of rental properties, and purchase and retrofit of single-family homes to green-certified standards. The stated mission of SJHP is to promote safe, decent, and affordable housing in north Florida by creating links between the public and private sectors on projects that create low- and moderate-income housing, and rebuilding neglected homes and neighborhoods. SJHP has a nationally recognized HUD counseling services staff specializing in foreclosure prevention. Additionally, Mr. Lazar has been a director of the St. Johns Builders Council since 2003, twice serving as chairman.

Tarvaris McCoy is a principal of The Real McCoy Companies, LLC, where his responsibilities include consulting services in real estate and community development and coordination of community economic development initiatives. Some of his significant projects include the Hopewell Strategic Housing and Community Development Plan, and serving as the Director of Community Revitalization of Hopewell Redevelopment & Housing Authority (HRHA) in Hopewell, Virginia. Currently Mr. McCoy is the Chief Development Officer of HRHA. His development experience includes utilization of federal and state housing programs. Additionally, he is the chief executive officer of Zoe House, LLC, whose stated mission is to provide quality housing and support for adults diagnosed with intellectual disabilities or similar disorders and improve their lives through support in the areas of mental health, physical health, finance, computer literacy, literacy, and self-confidence.

About the Affordable Housing Advisory Council
FHLBank Atlanta's Affordable Housing Advisory Council comprises 15 representatives from a diverse group of community and nonprofit organizations actively involved in providing or promoting low- and moderate-income housing and community lending within FHLBank Atlanta's district. The Council provides advice to FHLBank Atlanta's board of directors regarding ways in which the Bank can enhance the effectiveness of its housing finance and community lending mission.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank's members—its shareholders and customers—are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 11 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Since 1990, the FHLBanks have awarded approximately $6.6 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than 957,000 households.

For more information, visit our website at www.fhlbatl.com.

CONTACT: Peter E. Garuccio
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
pgaruccio@fhlbatl.com
404.888.8143