The Board of Directors for Christian Church Homes (CCH) is pleased to announce the election of Ari Beliak as the newest CCH Board Member. Ari is the Chief Executive Officer at Merritt Community Capital Corporation, a mission-based non-profit investor in affordable housing. As CEO, he has overseen the development of more than 10,000 affordable homes, raising more than $450 million and bringing the company’s California’s affordable housing investment to over $1.27 billion.
“We are thrilled to have an individual of Ari’s caliber join the CCH Board,” shares CCH President and CEO Gail Gilman. “Ari has a diverse background in affordable and market-rate housing, commercial lending and is renowned for his expertise in building partnerships in housing and community development. We are excited for the level of leadership and experience Ari will bring to our CCH Board in helping drive our future growth and success,” Gail says.
Since its founding in 1961, CCH has been a leader in building and managing affordable housing where seniors live and thrive in the comfort of a caring community. CCH serves about 3,600 residents in six states, supplying much-needed housing for a diverse population reflective of the surrounding community. In the coming year, CCH will break ground on a number of new developments, further expanding its outreach in California and beyond.
“There is a tremendous need and a shared responsibility to make more affordable housing available to our neighbors,” Ari states. “I am excited to join CCH and to support the vision of the new CEO Gail Gilman as she builds on the organization’s success.”
Ari’s rich background includes leading real estate endeavors for Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank, consulting for A.T. Kearney and practicing law for Sidley Austin. He has been a leader in developing initiatives to train the next generation in affordable housing and has served on several non-profit boards including the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds; Sequioa Living; Enterprise’s Leadership Committees for Northern and Southern California; LISC’s Los Angeles Local Advisory Council, and California Housing Consortium’s (CHC) Board of Governors. In 2016, Ari was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times for leading the financing of a $2 billion affordable housing portfolio.
“Ari’s fresh approach and business acumen is the kind of creative, out of the box thinking that is needed and can help propel CCH to the next level of success in our pursuit of housing justice for all,” shares CCH Board President Leslie Taylor. “We look forward to working with Ari in building a dynamic future for our organization.”