Senior Staff

Colleen Hernandez

President and Chief Executive Officer

Colleen Hernandez comes to the Foundation with wide-ranging experience in affordable housing, community development and grass roots community organizing. For 18 years, she served as Executive Director of the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance (KCNA). Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Hernandez was the principal of Hernandez Consulting LLC, a firm specializing in affordable housing and community development. She served six years on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, chairing its Audit Committee for two years. Ms. Hernandez served on the Consumer Advisory Council to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, as well as on the board of the National Equity Fund. She is the 1995 recipient of the Charles Kimball Award from the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

Barb Wendt

Chief Operating Officer

Barb Wendt brings more than 20 years of operations and financial management experience focused in financial services. Throughout her career, Ms. Wendt has held several senior-level management positions in finance, operations, strategic planning and master servicing. She has become adept at identifying and successfully implementing new business models with complex regulatory and compliance issues. Ms. Wendt enjoys developing high-performing, results driven teams and has been recognized for fostering highly engaged work environments. Ms. Wendt holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota.

Bill Acheson

Chief Financial Officer

Bill Acheson is a financial services professional with over 20 years of experience across a spectrum of disciplines including accounting, finance, capital markets, risk management, investment banking and business leadership. Mr. Acheson has held senior level positions with global financial institutions and has worked in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Latin America. Mr. Acheson has a passion for providing unbiased and affordable financial services to individuals typically not targeted by traditional financial planners and providers of financial services. Mr. Acheson holds a BA degree in Accounting from the University of St. Thomas, and held a CPA license during his time at Ernst & Young.

Gene Spencer

Senior Vice President, Financial Services

Gene Spencer joined the Foundation in January 2010. He is responsible for stakeholder relations, business strategy and research initiatives. Mr. Spencer is an experienced marketing, communications, relationship management, strategy development and corporate planning executive and a 30-year veteran of the mortgage financial services industry. He retired after a 28-year career at Fannie Mae, as vice president of investor relations, where he was responsible for investor communications strategy and managing relationships with the global institutional equity investment community. He also worked as the vice president for mortgage-backed securities marketing, where he led the marketing of Fannie Mae's MBS products to Wall Street and institutional fixed income investors worldwide. Mr. Spencer holds an Executive Masters in Leadership from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and BS from the College of William and Mary. Mr. Spencer serves on the Board of Trustees of The Studio Theatre and advises the board of The Community of Hope, both of which are in Washington, DC.

Josh Fuhrman

Vice President of Programs

Josh Fuhrman has been in the credit and housing counseling industry for over 12 years, assisting consumers in financial crisis. Mr. Fuhrman has spent the last 10 years serving as the Director of Counseling for Auriton Solutions, a national nonprofit crisis-counseling agency and one of the original counseling partners for the Homeownership Preservation Foundation. He has an extensive background in business development and has a strong community involvement in housing and financial assistance. Mr. Fuhrman holds a BA in Communications and Philosophy from the University of Minnesota.

Diane Helyne Zyats

Vice President, Communications and Marketing

Diane Helyne Zyats joined HPF in April 2010 and oversees communications, marketing and external relations. She is a communications and public policy executive who most recently served as Vice President for Communications and Branding at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, where she enhanced ELFA's visibility and reputation among the media and policymakers. Earlier, she served as Director of Communications and Marketing in the US and UK for Pillsbury LLP, an international law firm. Ms. Zyats also held a consulting position at the Financial Services Roundtable and positions at Freddie Mac, the Resolution Trust Corporation and the American Bankers Association. Ms. Zyats holds a BA in Political Science/ History from the University of Scranton and an MA in Public Policy/Government from the Johns Hopkins University. Her professional and cultural affiliations include roles with the National Council for Cancer Survivorship, the Shakespeare Theatre Board of Governors, the National Press Foundation, the Exchequer Club and Women in Housing and Finance.

Diane Gubran

Director of Quality Control

Diane Gubran comes to the Foundation with over 20 years of experience in the primary and secondary mortgage markets. During her tenure at Freddie Mac, Ms. Gubran held positions in the areas of loan administration, compliance and institutional audit. While at GMAC-ResCap, she worked in Servicer Management, Information Technology, and Project Management. With her work in audit and management systems, Ms. Gubran understands the importance of setting and meeting high standards for quality programs and the discipline associated with their implementation. Throughout her career, Ms. Gubran has enjoyed productive relationships with regulators, borrowers and industry constituents while successfully understanding and managing customer expectations.

Ghazi Akailvi

Director of Finance

Ghazi Akailvi has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience in financial and information technology management positions. For 15 years, he was the CFO/CIO at a multi-state family social services agency, where he led business development initiatives, outcome measurement, and continuous quality improvement efforts, as well as creating the agency’s finance and information technology infrastructure. Mr. Akailvi later served at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation as the Director of Financial & Regulatory Affairs for the Housing Division. He holds a BA in Economics and BS in Business/MIS from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Metropolitan State University.

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