The challenges of providing housing that people can afford impact each local jurisdiction and thus our entire region. This is exactly why HAND plays a critical role in the support of the region’s affordable housing industry. Through thoughtful engagement and strategic collaboration, HAND’s collective membership has the ability to transform communities across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region.“

—Heather Raspberry

Courtney Battle is the Acting Executive Director for the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND). HAND’s growing network of members includes a wide variety of real estate and community development professionals in the Capital Region (Baltimore, Washington and Richmond) who share the mission of creating more equitable outcomes through the vehicle of affordable housing. Courtney believes that relationships are one of life’s cornerstones, and cultivating a strong network of changemakers who are transforming communities is vital to addressing the inequities that create barriers to opportunity.

Courtney joined the organization in October 2016 as Membership Manager, and was promoted to Membership Director in July 2019. In these capacities, she was responsible for: the recruitment, management and engagement of members; launching and administering the association management system for 1,000+ members and 400+ prospective members; implementing the organization’s marketing & communications initiatives (including the website, social media, e-blasts sent to 10,000+ inboxes, annual marketing materials, blog posts and the annual fundraiser digital program book distributed to 1,000+ attendees); the planning and execution of 40+ training and capacity building events each year; overseeing activities of the committee supporting the emerging leader member segment; and supporting the Executive Director in special projects.

In July 2021, Courtney was promoted to Director of Strategic Partnerships & Membership. In this role she led a wide range of projects designed to scale HAND’s reach across the region and increase the organization’s ability to build its members’ capacity. These included, but are not limited to: relationship building and strengthening; fundraising activities; assessing member needs that can be translated to programming and/or advocacy initiatives; serving as an ambassador for the organization in external events and media interviews; overseeing membership functions; and leading the marketing and communications strategy.

Courtney brings a wealth of experience in journalism and communications to her work. Prior to joining HAND, she served as an Account Manager for a local public affairs firm, and spent several years at CNN’s Washington, DC bureau as a News Assistant and Media Coordinator. 

Service is also deeply embedded in her DNA, and Courtney has engaged with several community organizations which include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Reading Partners, and Community ONE. She has the pleasure of serving as a Board member for Women of Color in Community Development, and was President of the Board from 2020-2021. She also successfully completed the Illuminate Your Leadership Nonprofit Coaching Program and Prosperity Now’s Building High Impact Nonprofits of Color initiative. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Howard University, where she majored in Journalism and minored in Afro-American Studies. She is originally from Southfield, Michigan, and has found a second home in Washington, DC.

I consider it an honor to work for an organization that plays such a critical role in increasing and maintaining affordable housing in the city that has been so good to me personally and professionally. This issue is one that touches all of us, and I am very excited to be involved in creating solutions to this pressing challenge.”

—Courtney Battle

Susan Ortiz joined the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers as the Program Director in April 2023. She brings with her an expertise in communications with a background in public and community relations.

As Program Director, Susan is responsible for the strategic planning and execution of HAND’s training and events calendar. Each year, HAND hosts more than 40 plus virtual and in-person events to help build the capacity of its collective to increase the affordable housing supply and build a more equitable region. Susan has launched HAND’s first-ever internship program, targeted to graduate and undergraduate students, furthering the GenerationHAND initiative’s commitment to preparing the DMV’s next generation of leaders. Susan also assists in HAND’s grant writing processes, drafting and editing applications to raise funds to support the curation of intentional programming and events. 

Growing up, Susan aspired to be a housing and education reporter because she has always believed that access to housing and education are two fundamental human rights that everyone should have fair, easy access to. Nothing – race, class, gender – should be a barrier to someone’s access to a roof over their head or the opportunity to learn and thrive. Having a stable home is the root of building a foundation to grow upon. Being able to work with HAND provides Susan with the opportunity to collaborate with affordable housing professionals on ways to advocate for policies that will turn into actionable solutions for the region’s most vulnerable residents. Susan’s goal is to ensure that HAND programs and trainings are intentional, diverse and impactful. 

Prior to joining HAND, Susan was the Public Relations Manager at the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA), where she managed the agency’s website, social media, advertising, event planning, annual report and other external communications. During her tenure, she was able to build the Agency’s online presence by successfully scaling their LinkedIn page to be an example for other local housing institutions. In this role, Susan had the opportunity to collaborate with several different organizations to include government agencies, for-profit and non-profit developers, local officials and more – all of which has been crucial in her transition to engaging with HAND’s diverse membership. She received the MarCom Awards 2021 Gold Award in the Annual Report – Government category for her design and execution of the Fiscal Year 2020 report. Her experience at DCHFA has provided her with the foundational knowledge in affordable housing that is essential to her work here at HAND. 

Susan earned her bachelor’s degree in media studies from the University of Virginia and earned a master’s degree in journalism from the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies. She previously served as the Vice President of the Georgetown Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and was a member of Housing Up’s Associate Board from April 2021 to July 2022. She received a certificate in Data Visualization from Berkeley’s Advanced Media Institute. Her other passions include health and wellness; she works part-time at a local boxing gym to not only prioritize mental and physical health, but to connect and engage with her community.  Susan is an avid reader who participates in several local book clubs and reviews books in her spare time.

I am excited for the opportunity to help forward HAND’s mission, ensuring residents throughout the DMV region have access to quality affordable housing and essential resident services. Providing safe, stable housing is simply the first step in helping residents thrive, and I am proud to work for an organization that wants to go miles beyond taking just that first step.“

—Susan Ortiz

Taylor Phillips is the Director of Public Policy for the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND). With a background in strategy development, policy analysis, cross-sector stakeholder engagement and a commitment to racial equity, she is dedicated to the advancement of HAND’s mission of ensuring a Capital region where all can thrive. As a highly motivated professional with dual degrees focused on policy and business, she brings an interdisciplinary background that enables her to approach policy challenges with a holistic perspective and leverage data-driven insights to inform decision-making. Taylor’s academic and professional experiences working with organizations across the public, private, and non-profit sectors have honed her ability to analyze complex policy issues, develop strategic partnerships, and drive positive change through cross-sector collaboration.

Taylor brings a wealth of cross-sector experience in strategy and policy development to her role. Prior to joining HAND, she was a Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, helping government clients craft and execute their policy and programmatic agendas by conducting environmental policy research and analysis, developing congressional reports, and facilitating interdisciplinary working groups. As a social impact consultant with Community Wealth Partners, she conducted hundreds of interviews with stakeholders, synthesized and communicated findings, and made data-driven recommendations to assist non-profit clients in achieving their financial and mission goals. At Trust Neighborhoods, she developed a partnership and ecosystem-building strategy to meet stakeholder needs and facilitated the initial cohort convening of community development organizations in the program.

Taylor also carries a strong passion for advocating for equitable policies and communicating complex topics. At Harvard, she researched promising policy solutions across the country that prioritize racial equity in housing and community development and crafted policy recommendations for local officials to consider to fuel equitable access to housing. She also worked to advocate for greater equity from within organizations, co-leading work at Community Wealth Partners to operationalize racial equity into the firm’s way of working. She conducted research on best practices and led firm-wide working sessions to create a shared vision of the culture, and the steps to take as an institution and individuals to get there. In her new role, she looks forward to applying her interdisciplinary background, strategy development and policy analysis experience, and passion for re-designing systems to be more equitable.

Taylor is also deeply dedicated to giving back to the next generation of leaders. She is no stranger to community service, including coaching an award-winning D.C. public school robotics team, and serving as an Alumni Board member and mentor for first-generation college students via Management Leadership for Tomorrow. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Duke University, where she majored in Civil Engineering. She also received a Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Taylor is originally from Lawrenceville, GA and enjoys global cuisine, clothing design, tennis, and dancing in her spare time.