Chance Mullen
Executive Director of Housing Action Council
Chance Mullen serves as Executive Director of Housing Action Council, leading the organization’s efforts to expand and preserve affordable housing opportunities across Westchester and the Lower Hudson Valley. With over a decade of experience in public service, philanthropy, and nonprofit leadership, Chance brings a strategic, systems-oriented approach to the region’s most pressing housing challenges.
Before joining Housing Action Council, Chance spent nearly 13 years at the Ford Foundation, where he partnered with teams and leaders across five continents to align their work with the foundation’s mission to reduce inequality. His work focused on leadership development, change management, and organizational culture — skills that now inform his leadership at HAC.
In addition to his role at Housing Action Council, Chance is Mayor of the Village of Pelham. Since taking office in 2019, he has led major investments in infrastructure, downtown revitalization, and housing growth — including an 8% expansion of the village’s housing stock, the most significant since the 1920s. His tenure has demonstrated how inclusive, community-driven development can succeed in suburban settings.
Chance also serves as Vice President of the Westchester Municipal Officials Association and chairs its Housing Subcommittee. He is a member of the State Finance Policy Committee for the New York Conference of Mayors, helping shape housing and fiscal policy at the local and state levels.
Steven Stowers
Director of Real Estate Development
Mina Balog
Marketing, Compliance & Qualifications Manager
Silvana Carrion
Compliance Specialist
Savannah Hoffman
Program Manager
Kyle McHugh
Project Associate
Jessica Bacher, Esq.
Staff Consultant to the Housing Action Council
Executive Director of the Land Use Law Center at Pace University School of Law
Ms. Bacher has developed and implemented projectsrelating to local land use practice, distressed property remediation, transit-oriented development,and sustainable communities. She has provided strategic assistance to numerous municipalities on distressed property and affordable housing matters. She assisted the members of the Mayor’s Redevelopment Roundtable address revitalization issues in their cities. She led the Cities of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, New York in the development of distress property remediation implementation plans that focus on a range of strategies including land banking and code enforcement.
She provides technical assistance and is a trainer for the Department of State New York Forward Program/Downtown Revitalization Initiative and a Land Use and Zoning trainer for the Land Use Leadership Alliance Housing Program. She is an editor for the American Bar Association book, Vacant and Problem Properties: A Guide to Legal Strategies and Remedies. She serves as the chair of the Distressed Properties Sub-Committee for the Land Use Planning & Zoning Committee for the American Bar Association’s Section of State and Local Government Law. Ms. Bacher also developed the Westchester County Association Smart Growth Playbook for Meeting Housing Needs and serves on its Real Estate Committee.
Tiffany Zezula, Esq.
Staff Consultant to the Housing Action Council
Deputy Director for the Land Use Law Center at Pace University School of Law Staff Consultant to the Housing Action Council
Ms. Zezula is the primary trainer and national coordinator for the Pace LULC’s award-winning Land Use Leadership Alliance Training program for local officials, environmentalists, religious leaders, planners, and developers. The Training Program has been modeled and transferred to over six states and has been tailored to tactical numerous land use issues, including fair and affordable housing. The program has trained over 3,500 leaders in the Hudson Valley Region alone, including over 400 leaders in the Hudson Valley on the specific topic of fair and affordable housing which is co-sponsored by Housing Action Council.
She provides strategic assistance to municipalities and non-profits in furthering affordable housing. Ms. Zezula also provides strategic assistance to local governments on comprehensive planning, revitalization, affordable housing, streamlining and community engagement initiatives. She has assisted in the stakeholder and community engagement for various Housing Needs Assessments. She has led community engagement efforts in the City of Derby, City of Poughkeepsie, Town of New Castle, Mount Pleasant, Ossining, and Tarrytown. This has included engagement sessions with senior citizens, high school students, business leaders, cultural organizations, and the general public. Ms. Zezula’s engagement efforts have involved multiple engagement techniques, including a neighborhood and pool block parties, interactive poster boards, virtual engagement sessions, neighborhood walking tours, high school classroom participation, and roundtable discussions with stakeholders. The efforts culminate in a final report delivered to the administration regarding the vision for future revitalization. She is the public engagement advisor to the Norwalk, CT Housing Needs Assessment and formulated the public engagement plan for the West Hill West End neighborhood in Albany, NY.
She has worked in select communities in the creation of affordable housing committees advocating for affordable housing policy reform and education of residents to the topic. Ms. Zezula also oversees and coordinates the annual affordable housing summit sponsored by Housing Action Council and Pace bringing industry leaders, municipal officials, syndicates, and lawyers together to discuss trends and solutions to affordable housing.