JCHE Senior Management Staff
Amy Schectman, President and CEO
Amy Schectman brings to JCHE 30 years of professional experience in the urban planning field, with a focus on affordable housing in both the non-profit and public sectors. Prior to joining JCHE, Amy Schectman served as the Associate Director for Public Housing & Rental Assistance for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). In this capacity, Amy led the state's effort to leverage and attract new funding to preserve and restore public housing units for thousands of low-income families. She also created a sustainability program to install renewable and high efficiency energy systems and launched the first phase of a major water conservation effort expected to save the state $2 million each year, beginning in 2012. Before coming to DHCD, Amy served as Vice President of Real Estate Development at Hebrew SeniorLife where she managed the permitting and design processes that paved the way for the development of NewBridge. As Economic Development officer for the Town of Brookline, Amy helped negotiate the Town's first friendly 40B affordable housing development to create 50 units of mixed-income affordable housing. Amy has also held positions at the Boston Housing Authority, M.I.T. Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and the Massachusetts Division of Capital Planning/Budgeting.
Amy received her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Urban Planning from M.I.T.
Karen Edlund, Chief Financial Officer
Karen Edlund brings over 20 years of experience in the housing tax credit and real estate industries to her position as JCHE's Chief Financial Officer. Karen has significant experience in affordable housing finance, including property and investment fund financing, investment valuation and due diligence. Previously, Karen was CFO for International Housing Solutions, S.a.r.l, a private equity real estate company where she helped establish a $240 million fund investing in affordable housing in South Africa. She was previously the CFO for Leggat McCall Properties and a Senior Vice President of Finance for MMA Financial and the Boston Financial Group in Boston. She serves on the board of the Boston Chapter of Financial Executives International and the Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development.
Karen received her M.S. in Finance at Boston College and her B.A. at Middlebury College.
Jessica Boatright, Chief of Staff
Jessica Boatright draws on her diverse experience in low-income housing, community planning, process management and training for her role as JCHE's Chief of Staff. Before joining the JCHE team, she was Special Assistant to the Associate Director of Public Housing and Rental Assistance for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHD), where she managed a variety of initiatives, including the Commonwealth's $18.4 M federal stimulus funded homelessness program. Jessica worked as a Senior Planner for Concordia, LLC and the Director of Community & Donor Relations for Coro Southern California where she was a member of the leadership training staff.
Jessica has a Masters of City Planning from MIT.
Sheila Ardery, Vice President for Operations
As JCHE's Vice President for Operations, Sheila Ardery is the property manager at the Brighton site, directing day-to-day operations for over 700 units in Ulin House, Leventhal House, and Genesis House. She also oversees the property management staff at Golda Meir House and Coleman House.
Sheila has a Master's degree from Tufts University in Urban and Environmental Policy. She has worked in subsidized housing for nearly 30 years, including at the Boston Housing Authority and MassHousing.
Caren Silverlieb, Vice President for Resident Policy and Program Development
Caren Silverlieb is responsible for the administration, design and coordination of a broad range of supportive services available to residents in each of JCHE's buildings.
Caren has focused her career on the development and implementation of senior housing and services. Prior to joining JCHE's staff, Caren was the owner of SilverLiving Consulting, a successful business that helped organizations create and maintain housing and service programs for seniors. She is a graduate of Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, where she received a Master's Degree in Management of Human Services, with a concentration in Aging.
