New HDFC executive director outlines 100‑day work plan focused on single application, dashboards and public engagement

Executive Director Jonathan Klein on his first day with the HDFC Executive Committee presented a draft 100‑day work plan designed to move the new housing finance effort quickly from planning to execution.

Klein told the committee the document is a draft outline meant to “lay the groundwork” for a more detailed plan he will bring back in August. "This is not a fully developed strategic plan,” he said, “it's a draft outline," and described the 100‑day focus as a way to "foster a sense of urgency" while preparing a longer plan through the end of the year.

The outline sets four goals for the first 100 days: coordinate multi‑family housing finance; accelerate processes from application to conversion; measure progress to support continuous improvement; and enhance trust and transparency. Under Goal 1, Klein said the work will prioritize consolidated program guidelines, a unified calendar, the creation of a single application (with a draft for committee review), and a test stage for an application portal. On Goal 2 he emphasized front‑end technical assistance to reduce repeated back‑and‑forth with applicants and creation of tracking to measure whether processes are actually accelerating. Goal 3 calls for an application pipeline dashboard that tracks submissions through review, funding, and conversion; Goal 4 focuses on stakeholder outreach and public reporting of progress.

Committee members offered early support and technical questions. Director Tony Sertich said he was "excited" about the plan and asked whether staffing levels were sufficient; Klein replied that staffing appears adequate and that recruiting is underway. Director Gustavo Velasquez—welcoming Klein's appointment and noting the director's industry credibility—pressed on sequencing and public comment, asking whether the plan accounted for work already done by the 519 Working Group and whether the guidelines would be released for review. Klein confirmed the plan draws on 519’s work and said staff now expect two rounds of public comment, shifting the first draft from July to early August and the second draft to October so stakeholders have meaningful input.

Chair Tomiquia Moss urged an "all‑government approach," suggesting Klein build dashboards from existing state models (she cited HCD and CalHFA as examples) rather than starting from scratch so the committee can meet its sprint timeline. Moss also emphasized documenting how the committee resolves bottlenecks so fixes are repeatable and transparent.

Public commenters asked how the plan will safeguard emerging developers and how technical assistance will be provided. One commenter, Ruby Torralva, called for a pause in the current alignment timeline and alleged local compliance has been "manipulated to hide fiscal insolvency," telling the committee she is briefing a state legislator and publicly demanding the removal of Director Gustavo Velasquez (a charge the committee did not address during the meeting).

Klein said the next substantive product will come to the committee in August: a detailed action plan for the 100‑day period, a responsibility matrix that clarifies leads and subject‑matter experts, and a plan to present a year‑end roadmap. The committee asked staff to continue outreach to the 519 Working Group and to prepare materials showing how the state's existing program dashboards can inform HDFC’s public tracking.

The committee did not take formal action on the 100‑day outline; members requested additional detail and scheduled further review at the August meeting.