Our Team

Vlada Kenniff, Ph.D.

President

Vlada Kenniff, Ph.D., is a climate leader and advocate for affordable housing and community development, currently serving as the President of the Public Housing Preservation Trust. With over a decade of experience overseeing and building capital programs, Vlada brings a wealth of expertise, passion, and commitment to fostering positive change and enhancing the quality of life for NYCHA residents. In her capacity as President, Vlada oversees critical initiatives, strategic decision-making, and partnerships essential to the success of the Public Housing Preservation Trust.

Before assuming the role of President, Vlada served as the Senior Vice President for Sustainability in NYCHA’s Asset and Capital Management Division. In this role, she led NYCHA’s comprehensive Sustainability Agenda, steering the nation's largest public housing authority towards a decarbonized future and healthier homes.

Vlada previously worked at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, where she rose to become Managing Director. In this role, she led capital programs and initiatives related to water conservation, demand management, rate studies, green infrastructure, and climate resiliency projects, through her multifaceted expertise in environmental sustainability.

Dr. Kenniff holds a Ph.D. in information studies from LIU Post, an M.S. in city and regional planning from the Pratt Institute, and a B.A. in environmental studies from Pace University.

Jillian McLaughlin

Chief Operating Officer

Jillian McLaughlin has over a decade of experience in public policy, operations, and real estate in the public and private sectors. She previously worked in several leadership positions across the City of New York, including as the Chief of Staff to the NYC Parks Commissioner, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Chair and CEO at NYCHA, and on the real estate team at NYCEDC. She most recently worked in the private sector leading real estate transactions for a life sciences company. Jillian is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Kalamazoo College.

Lisa Lim

General Counsel

Lisa Lim has over thirty years of legal practice in real estate finance and development, economic development, public housing, and affordable housing. Lisa has held numerous positions in state and city agencies, including the New York City Housing Authority, the State of New York Office of the Attorney General, the New York State Housing Finance Agency, and Empire State Development. Most recently, Lisa was a real estate partner at Akerman LLP. Lisa has been honored by the New York Real Estate Journal 2019, the America China Hotel Association, the Chinese and United States Outstanding Chinese Selection Committee and Taishanese in America magazine, and Sokol Media and NYCREW.
Lisa is a graduate of Wellesley College and Fordham Law School.

Evan Walker-Wells

Policy Advisor & Counsel

Evan Walker-Wells is a civil rights lawyer who has defended tenants from eviction, challenged violations of fair housing law, and sued states for undermining core democratic protections. Before joining the Trust, Evan worked as a Liman Law Fellow at the NAACP Office of General Counsel and the Yale Law School Housing Clinic’s Eviction Track as a law student. Evan also founded Scalawag, a journalism nonprofit committed to racial justice in the American South.
Evan grew up in Brooklyn and is a graduate of Yale School of Management and Yale Law School.

Debora Lopes

Senior Policy Advisor

Debora (Deb) Lopes is a sustainability advocate for affordable housing, with years of experience in public housing and renewable energy project management. Before joining the Trust, Deb worked in NYCHA’s Asset & Capital Management Division’s Sustainability Department, spearheading the development of NYCHA’s Sustainability Agenda and managing various other initiatives related to waste and energy programs. Additionally, Deb led efforts in pursuing various federal grants for sustainability programs, most notably, a $25 million grant awarded for electric micro-mobility charging and storage. Prior to her role at NYCHA, Deb worked at Mott MacDonald as a project manager on renewable energy projects, primarily offshore wind projects in NYC.
Deb holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Meet Our Board

Stacey Tyson

Chief Procurement Officer

Stacey comes to us with 15 years public sector procurement experience, and was appointed the Chief Contracting Officer for the New York City School Construction Authority in October 2021. She has also been involved in a number of innovative MWBE initiatives and is an active member of the City's Capital Reform Task Force. Stacey joins the Public Housing Preservation Trust as Chief Procurement Officer and will be overseeing all elements of the Trust's third party contracting opportunities. She is a graduate of Hofstra University, and holds a joint JD/MBA from Fordham University.