Tony Hernandez, President & CEO, brings over 30 years of community development experience to his role leading Hispanic Housing Development Corporation. Tony’s experience in the non-profit, government and for-profit community development industry informs his work leading HHDC’s mission to building affordable housing that is a catalyst for economic prosperity and community growth in Latino communities.
Joining HHDC in August 2024, Tony returned to the non-profit sector, where his career began before he held many leadership roles in community development finance. Most recently, he was US Head of Community Investments for CIBC, where he built an investment team known for its leadership and creativity in financing Low Income Housing Tax Credit transactions, Small Business Investment Companies, Community Development Financial Institutions, and mezzanine investments in affordable housing developments and small businesses. Prior to CIBC, Tony led the Asset Management Department for the Illinois Housing Development Authority for six years, where he oversaw a portfolio of affordable housing developments financed with Section 8 rental subsidies, LIHTC and various State programs. Among his accomplishments was leading the recapitalization and stabilization of several struggling developments. He was Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager for LaSalle Bank’s Community Development department for nine years, managing both lending and investment portfolios, which focused on financing affordable housing developments and other community development projects.
Tony began his career working for a non-profit community organization where he led community organizing and advocacy efforts, engaged in industrial corridor planning and developed a fund that provided financing for small businesses in Chicago’s Northwest Side. Like HHDC, that organization was founded in the 1970’s to build economic opportunity and strengthen communities, work that continues today with one of the nation’s largest affordable housing developers.
Tony has served on the boards of several non-profit community development organizations, including Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Garfield Park Community Council and Full Circle Communities. Tony received a Master of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago and bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. He lives in Chicago, where he and his wife raised three boys.
