Pembrook Capital Management Appoints Civil Rights Attorney Maya Wiley as Advisor on Efforts to Address Economic and Racial Inequality in Real Estate

NEW YORK, March 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pembrook Capital Management LLC ("Pembrook") a leading national lender focused on affordable rental housing investments, announced today the appointment of civil rights attorney Maya Wiley as a Senior Advisor on Pembrook's efforts to address racial and economic inequality through its affordable housing lending business. Ms. Wiley is a well-known legal scholar, analyst, and advisor who served in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration and then ran in her own candidacy for Mayor of New York City in 2021. Stuart Boesky, CEO of Pembrook, made the announcement.

"We believe that real estate businesses, especially in the multifamily space, have the capacity to address social justice issues through their work. What it takes is the will to do so deliberately, including by assembling people with the skills, knowledge, and relationships to help improve," Mr. Boesky said. "We are particularly excited to have Maya Wiley join our group of Senior Advisors on economic and racial inequality, because Maya brings an in-depth and multi-faceted understanding of both housing and its intersection with politics and social issues. We continue to formalize and invigorate our focus on improving Pembrook's investment practices and welcome all of our advisors' contributions toward our goals."

Maya Wiley's professional experience is varied and wide-ranging, with a core focus on advocacy and social justice throughout. Before entering politics as Counsel to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio focused on social equity issues, and then as a mayoral candidate in her own right, Ms. Wiley founded the Center for Social Inclusion, a national policy strategy organization focused on dismantling structural racialization in the areas of Environment, Broadband, Food Systems, Urban Resilience, Education, and Communications, heading the organization for more than a decade.  In recent years, in addition to running for mayor she established herself in academia at the New School and took on new roles as a legal news analyst and writer. Earlier in her career, Ms. Wiley worked in several non-profits advocating social change, including the NAACP and Open Society Institute, and served as a federal judicial clerk and prosecutor. 

"I am excited to join seasoned and committed advisors and the Pembrook family to advance social justice and racial equity in the affordable housing business," Ms. Wiley said. "There is more we can accomplish with committed companies willing to find ways to leverage their capital for fairer and more just outcomes."

Tapping into a new well of experience through Senior Advisors supports Pembrook's broader effort to continually assess and improve its social impact while striving for competitive market performance. As part of its continuing focus on impact investing, the firm noted that since inception its investments in affordable and workforce housing has totaled approximately $755 million, as part of a total capitalization of $1.8 billion worth of transactions in affordable/workforce multifamily rental housing, equating to 12,000 units with approximately 31,000 tenants, over 70% of which were located in predominantly minority neighborhoods. Additional investments of approximately $135 million were made in assets focused on, or in areas designated for, job preservation/creation in retail, office and hospitality, as well as infrastructure or energy efficiency assets.

Based on these results and the firm's ability to make such investments on a competitive, non-concessionary basis for the past 14 years, Pembrook is renewing its commitment to the sector with an eye toward increasing its investment impact even further in the future. Accessing the wealth of experience and perspectives brought Ms. Wiley, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Mehreteab is intended to increase the effectiveness of the effort.

David Baker Lewis, a prominent Detroit-based attorney with over four decades of community development experience, co-founded and built one of the nation's leading municipal finance practices at Lewis & Munday. Ghebre Selassie (Gabe) Mehreteab co-founded The NHP Foundation, a leading national not-for-profit owner of multi-family housing for low- and moderate-income families in the United States, and counsels not-for-profit, for profit, public and private enterprises on their efforts to create and execute sustainable affordable housing initiatives that meet the critical needs of communities nationwide. 

Pembrook is a real estate investment manager that provides financing throughout the capital structure. As of December 31, 2021, the firm has originated or participated in investments totaling over $1.5 billion, in transactions with total capitalization of $4.3 billion, since it began investing in 2007.

About Pembrook Capital Management, LLC
Founded in 2006 by Stuart J. Boesky, Pembrook Capital Management invests in a variety of commercial real estate with a core emphasis on impact investing and affordable housing across the country. This firm's strategy involves commercial real estate debt, including first mortgages, mezzanine, bridge loans, note financings, and preferred equity. Please visit http://www.pembrookgroup.com/.

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SOURCE Pembrook Capital Management