Housing leader and former Board member will guide the organization’s orderly, resident-first wind-down
Today, HomeRise’s Board of Directors announced that it has appointed Ancel Romero, CPM, NAHP-E, FHC, as Chief Executive Officer. Romero is a former HomeRise Board member who has spent more than two decades leading affordable housing property management. He will helm the orderly, resident-first wind-down HomeRise announced on October 1.
Romero succeeds Tim Daniels, who has served as Interim CEO since July and is working closely with Romero on the handoff.
“When we announced the resident-centered wind-down, we committed to finding a leader built for this work,” said Don Falk, President of the HomeRise Board of Directors. “Ancel knows affordable housing operations from the ground up, and he knows HomeRise. He can hit the ground running, and that matters for our residents and our staff.”
Romero is founder of The Ancel Romero Management & Consulting Group. Previously, he was President of HumanGood Affordable Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the largest nonprofit affordable housing providers in the United States. In that role, he oversaw 95 affordable housing communities serving more than 7,000 low-income older adults across California, Washington, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
Before that, he led the affordable housing division of American Baptist Homes of the West (ABHOW), a HumanGood legacy organization, where he grew the portfolio from 14 to 35 properties through acquisitions, management contracts, and new development, including HUD 202 PRAC, LIHTC, and mixed-finance projects across California. He began his career in accounting at GK Management, one of California’s largest privately held real estate companies, and rose to Director of Property Management.
He is a Certified Property Manager and a Past President of the Affordable Housing Management Association of Northern California and Hawaii, which named him its 2024 “Pioneer of the Year.”
“Our residents deserve stability at every step of this transition, and our staff deserves honesty and respect,” said Ancel Romero. “My job is to make sure every building moves to a financially strong, mission-aligned operator and every resident stays home. I’m grateful to the Board for its trust and to Tim for a thoughtful handoff.”
“It has been a privilege to work alongside HomeRise’s staff these past months,” said outgoing Interim CEO Tim Daniels. “They have kept showing up for residents through real uncertainty. Ancel brings exactly the experience this moment calls for.”
Board chair Don Falk added, “We are deeply grateful to Tim for steadying HomeRise through a challenging period.”
HomeRise’s wind-down continues in partnership with the City and County of San Francisco. Residents will stay in their homes. Leases, rental assistance, and services will continue.