BOARD OF DIRECTORS & STAFF
Board of Directors
Our board drives the mission of South County Housing. They’re a model for our commitment to economically diverse neighborhoods and they are partners in working with the communities we serve.
Douglas Kuerschner, CHAIRPERSON
Business Owner, Realtor
Joseph M. Postigo, VICE CHAIRPERSON
Principal, JMP Construction Services
Maria Skoczylas, BOARD SECRETARY
School Teacher, Retired
J. Allen Hayes, TREASURER
Insurance Agent / Broker
Augie Bertao, DIRECTOR
Principal, Bertao Real Estate Group
Sandra Fishler, DIRECTOR
Barbara Mendoza, DIRECTOR
Retired Manager, State of California, EDD
Andy Payne, DIRECTOR
Real Estate Broker, Manzanita Mortgage
Roger Wong, DIRECTOR
City Manager, City of Greenfield, CA
Dennis Lalor, President / CEO
Dennis Lalor has been with South County Housing since 1986 and has served as Chief Executive Officer since 1997. In his current position, he has overseen the expansion of the corporation’s California service area from south Santa Clara County into San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties serving urban and rural communities in some of the least affordable and difficult to develop areas of the country. He began his career in community development at South County Housing as Housing Rehab Program Manager, and later served as Single-Family Program Director and Housing Development Director. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University. Mr. Lalor sits on the boards and advisory committees of several organizations, including the California Coalition for Rural Housing, National Rural Housing Coalition, Neighborhood Capital Corporation, and the Rural Advisory Committee of LISC.
John Cesare, CFO
John Cesare became Chief Financial Officer in May 2007. He began his career as an international tax lawyer in New York City, after which he was Director of International Tax at Seagate Technology, Scotts Valley, and later Assistant Treasurer at McAfee Inc., Santa Clara. John holds a B.S. Degree in Finance from Pennsylvania State University, combined Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration degrees from Syracuse University, and a Master of Laws degree in taxation from New York University’s School of Law.
Dianne Dudek, Corporate Secretary / Director of Human Resources
Dianne Dudek joined South County Housing in 1990 and serves as Director of Human Resources. She brings more than 17 years of experience in personnel management to the organization, and is responsible for all of South County Housing’s Human Resources activities. Her core belief is that the strongest asset of SCH is its employees, and the culture, development and morale of the staff are what make a successful organization. Ms. Dudek’s background includes experience as a teacher and legal analyst.
Andy Lief, Director of Housing Development
Andy Lief joined South County Housing in 1992 and has also worked for the federal government and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. Mr. Lief has worked in finance and administrative capacities with SCH to go along with 13 years in project management roles. He has successfully obtained 9% tax credits for several projects and also completed deals using HUD 811, HOME, MHSA and MHP funding among other sources. Mr. Lief earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in History from UC Santa Barbara as well as a Master of Public Administration from San Jose State. He currently serves on the City of Gilroy Housing Advisory Commission.
Aida Zaldivar-Perez, Director of Neighborhood Development
Ms. Zaldivar Perez has over 20 years of experience in the affordable housing field with a depth of knowledge in property management and resident services. She joined South County Housing in 1989 working in, and later serving as Director of the Property Management Division until 2003 when she became the Director of Neighborhood Development. In this capacity, Ms. Zaldivar-Perez has spearheaded the development of South County Housing’s resident services activities, including programs in Financial Fitness, Homeownership and Post-Occupancy Counseling, Individual Development Accounts (IDA), and Resident Leadership Development. Prior to joining South County Housing, she worked for the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara in their housing administration.
Nestor Nuñez, Director of Finance
Nestor Nuñez, who joined SCH in 2005, brings more than 30 years of experience in finance and accounting including public accounting and management consulting in the U.S., Malaysia, and the Philippines. He worked in a senior financial management position for BRIDGE Housing Corporation where he was involved in the development, property and asset management, and corporate aspects of the operations. Nestor is a California Certified Public Accountant, and received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mercedes Reyes, General Manager of South County Property Management
Mercedes Reyes oversees the Property Management division, which is responsible for managing over 1400 units in 37 properties. She joined South County Property Management in 2006 as a Property Supervisor and was promoted to the General Manager position in 2010. Mercedes has over 15 years experience in the property management field, as well as over 10 years experience in providing supportive services to people in need. Her blended experience in property management and supportive services has enabled Mercedes to balance the needs of the people with the needs of the business in a very positive way.
John Van Dyke, Director of Construction
Johny Van Dyke started with South County Housing in the spring of 2001 and currently serves as the Director of Construction. Prior to joining SCH, he worked as a project manager for a commercial retailer building stores all over the 50 United States and Puerto Rico. Among his other work experience he served as a senior procurement agent for a defense contractor in Los Angeles for ten years. His formal approach to procurement and vendor partnering has resulted in the development of the capacity necessary to build all of SCH’s projects in house. SCH is a certified Build-it-Green builder of single and multifamily homes.