Thomas Choate

About Thomas Choate

I provide training, systems, and analysis for organizational development, financial modeling, leasing, hospitality, facilitation, and practical conflict management. My foundations include entrepreneurship, business planning, board governance, and cooperative management.I bridge technological divides with teams and clients, working with groups spanning a spectrum of ages, cultures, geographies, and experience levels. Whether supporting seasoned professionals or those new to a field, we create accessible, supportive environments so participation, input, and learning is felt and realized. I bring depth of experience from real estate and urban design projects, onboarding and managing teams, volunteer coordination, and structuring complex financing, underwriting and layered funding for community development. I love leading trainings and guiding teams and organizations through challenging discussions. I value clear (sometimes hard won) outcomes, thoughtful evaluation, and iterative improvement-seeking feedback.**Additional Background:**- bilingual in several Spanish dialects- study and experience also in Catalan, Portuguese, Moroccan Arabic, Mandarin, and French- as a former carpenter, passive solar builder and planner, and organic farmer-giving me practical insight into sustainable systems and hands-on project delivery, and the long-term lived, felt, and financial impacts of decisions.**Selected Skills:**- Business planning and financial modeling - Financial and budgeting education for adults - Structuring loans, including construction and refinancing - Investor relations and project management - Facilitation and conflict resolution - Governance and organizational strategy - Cooperative management, consulting, and governance - Passive-solar design - Land use, urban, and community planning - Technology training and digital inclusionI am committed to practical solutions within a chaotic distracting “noisy” world, and enjoy working with others to move projects from concept to implementation with care and results.

Experience

1. Cooperative Housing Specialist and Refinance Coordinator

   Cooperative Development Institute

   Jun 2016 — Present

   I serve 9 communities\' board of directors, representing approx. 850 homes. We offer resources and hands-on training covering budget, infrastructure, governance, and compliance. CDI is part of the ROC USA network of affordable housing conversion and technical assistance. I also serve as the program\'s internal budget liaison, and several administrative committees. Our Neroc team serves a total of 51 communities with approximately 4,300 homes, as of 2019, as well as working with communities through their process to acquire and become their own landlords (community owners). The NEROC Program within CDI works with homeowners of manufactured homes to secure land ownership through resident community purchase and to manage their manufactured home community.Resident-owned communities stabilize their own lot rents, improve community utilities and infrastructure, and obtain easier purchase financing. These actions lead to improved individual and community health and welfare, increased community safety, preservation of affordable housing, increased skills and capacity of individuals, and enhanced resale value for their homes.Since 2009, CDI has assisted residents of 48 communities in purchasing and running their communities. CDI provides ongoing technical assistance, amounting to 4,200+ homes.The NEROC Program uses the model pioneered by the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund for Resident Ownership. Since the mid \'80\'s in New Hampshire, residents of over 100 communities of manufactured homes have collectively purchased their parks as cooperative enterprises for their benefit as resident-owners. The ROC-NH program continues to provide technical and financial support and assist new communities in converting to resident ownership.

Education

• Arabic Language Institute of Fes

  Arabic, MSA and Moroccan

  2008 — 2008

• University of Pennsylvania

  Master's Degree, City Planning

  2010 — 2012

• Southwestern University

  BA, Latin American Political Economy , minor in music

  2001 — 2005

Skills

• Urban Design
• Analytical Skills
• Workshop Facilitation
• Public Speaking
• Land Use Planning
• Argus Modeling
• Software
• Permaculture
• Microsoft Excel
• Community Outreach
• Community Development
• Spanish
• Carpentry
• Rhino 3d
• Urban Planning
• Pro Forma Modeling
• Leadership
• Community Engagement
• Spanish-Speaking
• Strategic Planning
• Arcgis
• Analysis
• Sketchup
• Creativity
• Mark Systems Ihms Book-Keeping Software
• Event Planning
• Consensus Building
• Natural Resource Management
• Sustainability
• Facilitation
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Research