Staff
Our staff is an interdisciplinary team of professionals with backgrounds in social investing, real estate development, urban planning, policy development, and local-government. This unique blend of backgrounds allows Affirmative Investments to conceive and implement complex projects in response to local needs and successfully coordinate clients, citizens, and agencies to bring innovative housing and development projects to fruition. Our staff all share a common commitment to creating vibrant neighborhoods and secure housing for all people.
David Ennis This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
David brings over twenty years experience in social investing, financial structuring, and real estate development to his role as director of Affirmative Investments. He appreciates the company’s success in addressing inequities by building alliances among communities, investors, non-profits, and government agencies. Ennis has a BA from Brandeis University, a Ph.D. in social theory from Boston University, a Certificate in Business Administration from New York University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Since joining Affirmative in 1988, he has helped Affirmative move from a boutique investment-banking firm to a development partner with community-based groups. He enjoys the creative structuring of New Markets Tax Credit deals, the political challenge of establishing affordable assisted living and the importance of building vibrant mixed-income communities.
Tara Mizrahi This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Vice President Tara Mizrahi has been committed to improving low-income communities and increasing opportunities for low-income families since her undergraduate experience at Boston College. Tara began her professional career working in East Los Angeles and Boston with at-risk youth. This work led to Tara pursue a graduate degree in planning and policy specializing in urban housing and economic development from Tufts University. Before joining Affirmative Investments in 2000, Tara worked with Corcoran Jennison, as well as doing housing and economic development work with several non-profits. With a commitment to making possible the goals of diverse community groups, Tara takes particular pride in the diversity of her recent work and the positive effects that they have had on not only the residents but the communities in which they are located.
David Scheltz This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
David Scheltz is a New Markets Tax Credit Project Manager at Affirmative Investments. Prior to joining Affirmative, David worked at M&T Bank in Baltimore as an underwriter for commercial real estate loans and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investments. He has interned at Baltimore City's Housing Department where he engaged in CDC outreach and at Enterprise Community Investments as a tax credit investment analyst. He began his community development finance career as a program assistant at Healthy Neighborhoods Inc., a Baltimore-based non-profit community lender. David received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in economics and holds a Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard University.
Theresa Schmall This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Before returning to Boston to join Affirmative Investments as an Assistant Project Manager, Theresa spent a year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps working with low-income youth and their families in San Jose, California, where she served as a Youth Education Coordinator. Theresa began working with low-income communities during her undergraduate years at Boston College, where she graduated in May 2010 with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Mathematics. She was drawn to Affirmative because of its focus on economic development projects that leverage community resources to make lasting social impacts.
Zareh Orchanian
As financial comptroller, Zareh oversees Affirmative’s accounting and the monitoring of its financial reporting. He has more than 20 years of experience in working with non-profits and private companies dedicated to socially-motivated investments. Zareh is also a principal at Z & L Associates, a privately-held company providing accounting, bookkeeping, and tax consulting services. Zareh holds a B.A. in Accounting from Bentley College.
Claudia Zelaya-Araujo This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Claudia considers Affirmative Investments her “second home.” As Office Manager, she provides administrative support in the areas of accounting, technology, and human resources. The "'end product' of our work excites me the most,” she says. The company’s mission of serving the elderly and low-income populations is particularly important to Claudia. She has attended UMASS Boston and Bunker Hill Community College.
Jennifer M. Paz This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
As the Administrative Assistant Jennifer feels that working at Affirmative Investments has been a great opportunity to learn more about the business world. Part of the Affirmative team since 2006, Jennifer assists the staff with their daily operations, as well as other various tasks such as updating the website and assisting with grant applications. She has completed a year at Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School and is currently at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Jennifer will continue to study business administration with a major in one or two of the following fields: Accounting and Marketing.