HomeOwner Basics Team

Melissa Landauer
Program Assistant
(503) 282-7744 x101
melissal@portlandhousingcenter.org

Melissa is a Portland-area native that recently moved back to the area after obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Business and Spanish at Southern Oregon University. She spent a year in Guanajuato, Mexico studying and experiencing the culture. She has a passion for traveling and experiencing new things. As a recent first-time home buyer herself, Melissa understands the process and has a passion for helping those through this confusing, yet exciting time. Her major pass times include renovating her home, spending time with her friends and three dogs, and enjoying the outdoors.

Itzel Spehar
HomeBuying Services Coordinator
(503) 282-7744 x103
itzels@portlandhousingcenter.org

 Imelda Ortiz
HomeBuying Specialist
(503) 282-7744 x102
imeldao@portlandhousingcenter.org

Imelda is an enthusiastic learner and observer of the new world of non-profit.   She especially likes teaching Financial Fitness and helping people set goals and overcome barriers.  She feels most rewarded when a client reaches a goal sooner than anticipated due to their strong desire and dedication to owning a home of their own.  At home Imelda is busy with her three children at high school games, band practice, recitals or soccer.  Imelda can also be found spending time with friends, traveling or hiking around Portland.  Although not a Portland native, she has come to love the people and  atmosphere the Northwest has to offer (it sure beats the Texas heat!). 

Ulf Spears
Community Homeownership Coordinator
(503) 282-7744 x110
ulfs@portlandhousingcenter.org

Ulf is a gifted speaker, lecturer, educator, counselor, consultant, advisor, and entrepreneur, addressing issues affecting all areas of leadership along with human and social development. Ulf’s hobbies are reading and walking along with visiting the beach several times a year. Even with an international name, Ulf has had to grow in his desire to become a leader beyond his immediate surrounding and his biggest hurdle has been viewing the world as not just the inner city but as millions of diverse communities throughout the world that think and speak differently than Ulf does. Thus, Ulf has begun his journey from local to an international mindset through his current educational pursuits. The process has been more challenging than expected and in many cases has forced Ulf to learn and relearn basic foundational truths about life, education, and business. Ulf’s motto: Be a lifelong learner!

Michelle Puggarana
Director of Homeownership
(503) 282-7744 x106
michellep@portlandhousingcenter.org

Michelle is an enthusiastic learner and teacher. She especially likes learning about and making connections with other cultures – their beliefs, foods, traditions and languages. Some of her fondest memories are of making cultural blunders while living and working in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland and France. Michelle`s two children are her biggest and most rewarding investment. When not at the Portland Housing Center she can frequently be found reading, cooking, camping, taking pictures or eating. One of her most satisfying moments is when she can see the “light of understanding” go on for someone in her classes.

Lending Team

 Jonna Cyr
Lending Coordinator
NMLS ID# 270797
(503) 282-7744 x111
jonnac@portlandhousingcenter.org

 Jonna Cyr, Lending Coordinator with the Portland Housing Center has over 13 years experience in the mortgage industry. She is a registered mortgage loan originator with the State of Oregon. Her responsibilities include processing mortgages and originating second mortgages for first time homebuyers. In her previous jobs, Ms. Cyr has worked as a loan originator, loan processor, loan underwriter and loan funder.

Fiscal Department

Marcelino Soliz
Fiscal Manager
(503) 282-7744 x105
marcelinos@portlandhousingcenter.org

Patty Marquez
Loan Servicer
(503) 282-7744 x109
pattym@portlandhousingcenter.org

I was a stay-at-home-mom for about 6 years off and on. I am now glad to be a part of PHC and to be a part of the working world again. Although, I am still learning and pretty new to PHC I feel right at home already. My biggest strengths are that I am detail oriented, a fast learner and good at multi-tasking. When I am not at work I like to cook, read magazines, shop, travel, and spend time with my family and friends as much as possible. I also like to go camping and 4-wheeling with my husband and three boys.

Administration Team

Felicia Tripp
Deputy Director
(503) 282-7744 x116
feliciat@portlandhousingcenter.org

Felicia is a people connector, who likes to connect people with resources. One of her greatest strengths she brings to the agency is her relationships with people, businesses and the community at large. She works in partnership with Peg to find new and innovative ways to bring her connections into the agency to make Portland Housing Center the place to go for your home buying needs. When she isn`t working she is busying trying to help people find true love or carpooling her kids to whatever activity of the day. If she wasn`t working for the agency she would be a professional match maker but her husband and children keep telling her to keep her day job.

 Bill Barthel
Accountant
(503) 282-7744 x104
billb@portlandhousingcenter.org

 I graduated from the University of Evansville with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and MBA. Most of my career was in the Newspaper Publishing industry. Then, three years ago I moved to the Portland area.  March 2007 I began work as an accountant with Portland Housing Center. 

Margi Weaver
Office Manager
(503) 282-7744 x100
margiw@portlandhousingcenter.org

Margi is the backbone of the organization.  She is the one we all go to for information.  Margi likes details and trys to organize office information and resources so it is accessible to everyone – but we still like to ask her first.  What is most important to Margi  is family.  She and her husband have two young boys and an extended family that enjoys getting together.  Camping and 4-wheeling are family  get togethers.  In her quiet times, which are few, Margi likes to scrapbook and keep the memories preserved of her family.  An amazing knack of Margi`s is to recruit vendors and repair technicians  to sign up for our services if they don’t own a home!

Peg Malloy
Executive Director
(503) 282-7744 x107
pegm@portlandhousingcenter.org

Peg is a strategic thinker, who likes to think about `what if` and then try new approaches.  One of her approaches led to the founding of the Portland Housing Center in 1991. She is fascinated by ideas and always looking for connections to help find the best way to run the Portland Housing Center so it has the greatest impact.  Peg is a world traveler.  In 2007, she went to Rwanda and met with women leaders to learn more about leadership.  Fifty-six percent of the Rwanda Parliament are women. Time away from work is mostly spent reading, gardening and with friends.  What she most likes to read are the stories of home buyers who never thought they could own a home – and now do!

 Blair Skidmore
Data Management Specialist
(503) 282-7744 x109
blairs@portlandhousingcenter.org

As a native North-westerner Blair loves to spend time outdoors, hiking in the woods, picking blackberries, or kayaking on the Puget Sound.   She also loves chocolate, musicals, non-fiction books, holidays, sewing, travel, and the color blue.  Blair has spent time working with nonprofit organizations both throughout the U.S. and in Kenya and South Africa, and is always interested in learning from people with different backgrounds and perspectives than her own.   She believes that knowledge is a precious asset, and enjoys watching people empower themselves to make better decisions in their lives by seeking out education and information.