Board of Directors

Denise Mackie-Smith retired in 2011 as a Senior Program Manager at the Department of Homeland Security after 38 years of distinguished service in the federal government. Since then she has turned her organizational skills and talents to humanitarian and non-profit endeavors as well as women’s professional and business empowerment organizations. She is the owner of Mackie-Smith Consultants, LLC, and remains connected to the Federal Community and Contractors supporting Information Technology Programs. Denise served as Vice-President of Les Gemmes Incorporated, Washington DC Chapter, before co-founding the Les Gemmes Northern Virginia Chapter and serving as the chapter’s president. In those capacities, she led the efforts to adopt New Hope Housing as a chapter beneficiary to help facilitate the transition of homeless men, women and children homeless to independent living. In 2017, Denise was appointed citizen member of the Alexandria Commission of Aging and was elected to Vice-Chair in 2019. She is a passionate advocate for affordable housing and equality for seniors. Denise was recognized for her support for volunteering as an Engagement Leader with RSVP Retired Senior Volunteer Program, receiving the 2017 Heart of Alexandria Award, Northern Virginia Volunteer Service Award, 2017 Fairfax County Volunteer Service Award. Her compassion for her neighbors was recognized when she was presented with the 6161st Daily Points of Lights Award which honors individuals and groups creating meaningful change in communities across America. Denise has a BS in Information Technology & Computer Information Systems from Bloomfield College, New Jersey, and a Master Certificate in Information Technology and Project Management from George Washington University.

Ilona Birenbaum is a leadership and organizational consultant/leadership coach with over 25 years of experience and a diverse organizational development background. She is an adjunct professor and coach with American University’s School of Public Affairs’ Key Executive Leadership Program. Her specialties include leadership coaching, facilitation, change management, leadership assessment and development, action learning, performance management, training, strategic planning, and conflict resolution.

Jim is a Director at Clearsight Advisors. Jim has over 15 years of experience in leadership roles at various investment banking, private equity and operating enterprises throughout his career. Most recently he was a senior member of the investment banking team at Outcome Capital. Jim has been involved in many M&A and capital raising transactions in his career with a variety of key strategic acquirers and private equity investors. Jim originally hails from upstate New York, where he spent the long dark winters cultivating his love of baseball, history, and fond dreams of moving southward. He and his lovely wife are happily married with four children, who keep him looking old but feeling young. Jim has an MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.

Ronnie is a retired Army Colonel with over 30 years of leadership experience with 10 years of executive-level experience. His leadership background includes operational and strategic management within a variety of organizations. He has proven expertise in organizational development; new program development & implementation; large-scale team building, training & coaching and public speaking. He is a graduate of Norfolk State University and the U.S. Army War College. Ronnie and his wife Tarita reside in Dumfries, they have three children and three grandchildren.

Sean is the Senior Vice President of Asset Management at AvalonBay. He is responsible for AvalonBay’s national asset management platform including oversight of AvalonBay’s retail and design groups. From 2009 through 2013, he was Vice President of Redevelopment and Asset Management overseeing redevelopment investment activity on the West Coast. Prior to joining the Redevelopment team, he was Vice President of Development responsible for initiating and developing high-end residential and mixed-use communities in the Los Angeles and Ventura county regions for AvalonBay. Over his tenure at AvalonBay Sean has been responsible for over $1 billion of capital investment. Before joining AvalonBay, Sean spent nearly 8 years with Meta Housing Corporation, a multifamily development company located in Los Angeles, CA. With Meta, he oversaw the development of new market rate and tax credit financed multifamily communities and was responsible for the company’s value-add platform. Sean earned his undergraduate degree in business from California State University, Northridge, and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Sean and his wife, Kathy, have three grown children, and are active in a variety of relief organizations and inner-city educational. He is the chair for the Urban Land Institute’s Technology and Real Estate council.

Ted Phillips is a CPA specializing in tax services. He has over 20 years of experience working with individuals, trusts, estates and small businesses. He earned his undergrad degrees in accounting and finance from Indiana University, and his Masters in Taxation from American University. Ted and his wife, Carrie, reside in the Del Ray section of Alexandria with their sons, Brandon and Benjamin.

Ambreen Rizvi, CCTS (Corporate Certified Trust Specialist) has over 18 years of experience in risk management, operations and program management, and regulatory relations in financial services including Fannie Mae and Capital One. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Relations from Mount Holyoke College, and a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University. Ambreen is fluent in English, French and Urdu. She joined the NHH board on July 1, 2018, and is a proud Rotarian/ President-Elect Nominee of her local Rotary club.