Benson F. “Buzz” Roberts (pictured), president and CEO of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, will retire at the end of the year after a 45-year career in affordable housing and community development.
Roberts — a former Treasury Department official in the Obama administration — has worked for nearly eight years at NAAHL, a nonprofit that brings together banks, investors and community development financial institutions to create affordable housing.
He also served on the Biden-Harris transition’s agency review team for Treasury. Before joining NAAHL, Roberts served from 2011 to 2015 as the director of Treasury’s Office of Small Business, Community Development and Housing Policy. He spent 22 years at the Local Initiatives Support Corp., a nonprofit investor in low-income community development, where he served as a senior vice president for policy and program development.
At Treasury, Roberts helped create the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit, the HOME housing partnerships program and the Capital Magnet Fund. He was also involved in the Treasury’s funding for Federal Housing Administration multifamily risk-sharing loans. —Kate Berry
