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Board of Directors

Habitat Greater Boston’s Board of Directors is made up of accomplished professionals with backgrounds in architecture, finance, law, property management, and real estate and development. Click on the names below to read their bios.

Mahmood Malihi, Chairman
Leggat McCall Properties

James Kirby, Vice Chairman
Commercial Construction Consulting, Inc.

James Dever III, Treasurer
Sovereign Bank

Suanne St. Charles, Esq., Clerk
Holland & Knight, LLP

Jeffrey N. Carp, Esq.
State Street Corporation

William DiSchino
Barkan Management Company

Susan W. Leff
Wells Fargo Bank

Michael Liu, AIA
The Architectural Team, Inc.

Howard Wayne, Esq.
Wayne, Richards and Hurwitz, LLP

Lark Jurev Palermo , President & CEO

 

Mahmood Malihi
Chairman, Board of Directors

Leggat McCall Properties

Mr. Malihi joined the Board of Directors in 2007. He is Executive Vice President and Principal at Leggat McCall Properties. Prior to joining Leggat McCall in 1983, Mr. Malihi worked at Macomber Builders. He is also a past President of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. Mr. Malihi earned his BS in Engineering from Tufts University and his Master’s degree from Stanford University. He resides in Boston.

 

James Kirby
Vice Chairman, Board of Directors

Commercial Construction Consulting, Inc.

Mr. Kirby is President of Commercial Construction Consulting, a company he founded to meet the needs of real estate development, construction and engineering. He has been a member of the Board since 2006. Mr. Kirby is a licensed engineer in Massachusetts and a graduate of Northeastern University. He lives with his wife in Wrentham and they have two grown children.

 

Suanne St. Charles, Esq.
Clerk, Board of Directors

Holland & Knight, LLP

Ms. St. Charles joined Habitat’s Board in 2006 and was elected as Clerk in 2007. A partner in the real estate department of Holland & Knight, Ms. St. Charles was previously a partner at McCarter & English. She is a member of the TechBoston Advisory Board for the Boston Public Schools and Mayor Menino’s “Evening on the Bridge” Board of Directors. Ms. St. Charles graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario and she earned her J.D. from Boston College Law School. She lives in West Roxbury.

 

James P. Dever, III
Treasurer, Board of Directors

Sovereign Bank

Mr. Dever has been a member of the Board since 2004. He was elected as Treasurer in 2007 and also serves as Chair of the Family Partnership Committee. He is currently Vice President of Sovereign Bank in Needham and he resides in Boston.

 

Jeffrey N. Carp, Esq.
Member, Board of Directors

State Street Corporation

Mr. Carp joined the Habitat Board in 2007. He is Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of State Street Corporation. Prior to joining State Street, Mr. Carp was Executive Vice President and General Counsel to MFS Investment Management and he is a former partner of WilmerHale, LLP. A graduate of Tufts University and George Washington Law School, Mr. Carp resides in Wayland with his wife and two children.

 

William D. DiSchino
Member, Board of Directors

Barkan Management Company

Mr. DiSchino was elected to the Habitat Board of Directors in 2008.  He is President and CEO of Barkan Management Company, a leading manager of residential properties in Massachusetts.  A member of the Community Associations Institute and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, Mr. DiSchino is also past President of the Rental Housing Association.  He is a graduate of Boston College and an IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) Certified Property Manager.  Mr. DiSchino lives with his wife in Medfield and they have four grown children.

 

Susan Winston Leff
Member, Board of Directors

Wells Fargo Bank

Ms. Leff was elected to the Habitat Board of Directors in 2008.  She is Senior Vice President for Wells Fargo’s Middle Market Real Estate Group.  One of the co-founders of New England Women in Real Estate, Ms. Leff has received awards from the Real Estate Finance Association and the B’nai B’rith Realty Unit for her distinguished service to the real estate community.  She is a past President of the Board of the Real Estate Finance Association and past President of the Board of Boston’s Children’s Museum.  A graduate of the University of Chicago with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Princeton University and a Master of Business Administration from Boston University, Ms. Leff lives with her husband in Boston and they have two grown sons.

 

Michael Liu, AIA
Member, Board of Directors

The Architectural Team, Inc.

Mr. Liu was elected Chairman of the Board in 2006. A registered architect, Mr. Liu joined The Architectural Team in 1981, where he is Vice President and Principal in charge of design. Mr. Liu has been a member of the Board of Directors for Bay Cove Human Services and the Boston Society of Architects’ Housing Committee. A graduate of Cornell University, Mr. Liu lives with his wife and two sons in Newton.

 

Howard J. Wayne, Esq.
Member, Board of Directors

Wayne, Richard & Hurwitz, LLP

Mr. Wayne was elected to the Board of Directors in 2007. He is the founding partner of Wayne, Richard & Hurwitz where he specializes in business transactions. Mr. Wayne earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts and his J.D. from Boston College Law School. He is currently a Trustee at Salem State College. Mr. Wayne resides in Brookline with his wife. They have two grown children and four grandchildren.

 

Lark Jurev Palermo
President  & CEO

Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, Inc.

Ms. Palermo was appointed as President and CEO of Habitat Greater Boston in November, 2005.  She has an extensive background in housing, nonprofit management, and real estate development.  Prior to joining Habitat, she was General Counsel at The Community Builders, a nonprofit affordable housing development company.  She is the former Commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and a former partner in the real estate department of WilmerHale, LLP. She is currently a Trustee at The Massachusetts College of Art and Design. A graduate of Boston University and Suffolk University Law School, Ms. Palermo lives in Brookline with her two sons.