Our Team

Emmanuel Kinard, Executive Director

Emmanuel Kinard is a dedicated leader in affordable housing with a career focused on creating and preserving over 3,600 affordable homes. As the Executive Director of The Alden Foundation, he provides strategic, operational, and financial leadership, overseeing every aspect of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects—from acquisition and financing to construction and compliance. In this role, Emmanuel spearheads the development and preservation of affordable housing, including site selection and asset operations to ensure organizational and project success.

Before joining The Alden Foundation, Emmanuel held pivotal roles across various sectors of affordable housing. As Vice President of Preservation Acquisitions and Asset Management at the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, he led the acquisition of preservation properties, evaluated deals, and managed debt and equity financing. His experience includes underwriting $102 million in LIHTC equity investments at Enterprise Housing Credit Investments, supporting the development of 521 units, and originating $15.5 million in permanent debt at IFF, contributing to the creation of 2,672 affordable housing units. His foundational experience at the Illinois Housing Development Authority further refined his skills in structuring and underwriting LIHTC transactions, deepening his expertise in financing and credit recommendations.

Emmanuel holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Real Estate from the Heller College of Business at Roosevelt University and a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Studies from DePaul University.

Board of Directors

Joan Carl, President

Ms. Carl has more than 30 years of experience in real estate development, construction, nursing home management and senior health care at the Alden Group. She is vice president of all the affiliates, running the day-to-day operations of Alden Management Services and directing the financing of all new development activities for the Alden Group. She has been active in several charities and has served as President of the Chicago Metro Chapter of the Illinois Health Care Association.

Steven D. Friedland, Vice President

Mr. Friedland is a partner of Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C., a law firm with a special focus on affordable housing and community development. Mr. Friedland’s practice concentrates on acquisition, disposition, development financing, structuring and leasing of residential, commercial and industrial real property. During his over 30-year career, he has worked with several prominent national and regional real estate firms and corporations. Mr. Friedland has a particular focus on land use development and zoning matters.

He has worked on significant private development projects in the City of Chicago and in suburban municipalities in the Chicago metropolitan area, assisting clients in re-zonings, annexations and the procurement of other public entitlements. He has appeared before local zoning boards, planning commissions and municipal councils at numerous public meetings in communities such as Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Winnetka, Grayslake, Lake Bluff, Shorewood, and Wheeling. He also has expertise in the area of real estate taxation, especially with respect to tax-delinquent property.

Derek C.M. Smart, Treasurer

Mr. Smart is a CPA with over 25 years of experience in public accounting and private industry. In public accounting Mr. Smart worked with for profit and non-profit clients across multiple industries including healthcare and the real estate industry. Prior to joining Alden Management Services, Inc., Mr. Smart was the Controller for Smith Bucklin & Associates, an association management company providing full-service management and consulting services to healthcare, technology and trade organizations. Since joining Alden Management Services, Inc., a company providing consulting and administrative services to the long-term care industry, Mr. Smart has worked as the Director of Financial Reporting and currently serves as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Mary Chelotti-Smith, Secretary

Ms. Chelotti-Smith is General Counsel for Alden Management Services in Chicago, Illinois. She is also a Registered Nurse, who before joining Alden Management Services, worked for the Illinois Department of Public Health in the Division of Long Term Care. She was also an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University, where she taught Health Aspects of Aging.

Esther Davis

Ms. Davis is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Alden Management Services, Inc.  She joined the organization in 2010, bringing more than 30 years of senior care industry leadership, along with facility development, operational project management, and executive management experience.  Among her previous positions, she worked for Lexington Health Care. Ms. Davis is known for her success in driving operational and clinical excellence through process improvement strategies and employee engagement. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation and is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator.

Robert P. Hernandez

Mr. Hernandez is a civil and structural engineer who is presently a candidate for Master of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Mr. Hernandez has seven years of construction and engineering experience and has worked on a range of types of development, from affordable multifamily buildings to large public infrastructure projects. At Harvard University, he is a member of the Real Estate Club, the Energy and Environment Club, the Midwest Student Association and the Latino Student Organization. Mr. Hernandez holds a Master of Science degree in structural engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, both from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Carl A. Jenkins

Carl A. Jenkins is Managing Director of Community Investments for BMO Harris Bank N.A., the U.S. banking subsidiary of BMO Financial Group. He oversees Community Reinvestment Act investments targeting lower middle-market companies and community-based real estate development in all BMO Harris markets. Presently, Carl manages a team and investment portfolio with commitments exceeding $500 million and covering the states of Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, and Wisconsin. Prior to his current position, he served as a commercial real estate lender for BMO Capital Markets and the BMO Harris Community Development Lending team. Prior to joining the bank, Carl worked for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national community development financial institution. He earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and holds an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina.

He serves on the board of directors for several organizations, including; the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, the Cook County Land Bank Authority, the Disability Opportunity Fund, the Small Business Investor Alliance, the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Goodman Theatre. Carl also serves on the advisory committee of several lower middle-market private equity funds.