ERICH CHATHAM

principal owner and lead consultant

Erich has 15 years of professional housing and community development research and analysis experience. As Lead Consultant and Project Manager, Erich has worked on economic and community development projects with local governments, for-profits, and non-profits throughout the nation. He serves as a national technical assistance provider for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and is a HOME Certified Specialist. Erich has delivered a hands on approach to housing needs assessments and housing strategic planning throughout the country. His expertise in housing policy, homeless solutions, economic development, and community enhancement have been recognized nationally.

Erich serves on numerous non-profit boards of directors including the Palmetto Community Land Trust, Grand Strand Housing and Community Development, the South Carolina Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Lowcountry Continuum of Care where he serves as the Chairman of the Governing Council.

Peter neiger

Lead analyst and lead Environmental review coordinator

Peter has 14 years of professional experience in economic analysis, with nine years specializing in housing policy issues and environmental reviews. He serves as the Environmental Review Coordinator, a role he has excelled with clients throughout the Country. He has overseen the completion of hundreds of ERs for projects of all sizes; from CENST’s for TBRA to Environmental Assessments for multi-location demolition and new unit residential construction. He has also written ER policies and procedures for jurisdictions looking to conduct the reviews internally. As the ER Coordinator for Peter oversees the completion of all ERs from beginning to end. He determines the level of review necessary, consult with SHPO, THPO, and other agencies, and completes any supplemental documentation that may be required. He distributes research tasks to other staff members and oversees their result. Additionally, he has served as the primary analyst for many Consolidated Plans, Analyses of Impediments, and Market Analyses.

Peter currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Cape Fear Community Land Trust and is passionate about helping communities develop affordable sustainable housing.

Vern xiong

IDIS Technician/Data and Visualization Specialist

Vern has worked with Civitas for nine years as a research assistant and data collection expert. He serves as the team’s IDIS specialist, combining his experience and technical proficiency to all ConPlans, AAP, and CAPERs. His experience spans housing studies, Strategic Plans, Annual Action Plans, and CAPERs across the country including dozens of jurisdictions in South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, and many others. In addition to his work with Civitas, he has worked on research and evaluation for non-profits in Minnesota and Colorado, as well as international development projects in Southeast Asia and Central America.

Coming from a refugee family, Vern has a special interest in helping displaced people and secondary migrants adapt, make healthy living choices, and grow with their new communities. Before working at Civitas, Vern managed Lao Family’s Youth and Family program for seven years. He also helped lead many community development programs, including CDBG, in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Kyle Jenkins

Homelessness Solutions and ESG Grant Consultant

Kyle is an associate consultant and our team's lead as an ESG grant specialist. He has over eight years of experience of developing and administering homeless housing programs, homeless services and homeless database management/ reporting. Kyle has director level experience with managing nonprofit organizations, projects and initiatives, while delivering mission-critical results at all levels including program development, budgeting, administration, strategic planning, reporting and evaluation, and developing/ maintaining strategic partnerships and relationships with government agencies and community partners. Kyle brings expertise in HMIS administration, HUD data standards, confidentiality, data quality and improvement programs and system reporting. He is proficient with Wellsky’s (previously Mediware), ServicePoint HMIS software and is also familiar with Charity Tracker’s HMIS software.

GRACE ORR

HOMELESS SOLUTIONS SPECIALIST and PROGRAM MANAGER

Grace has six years of experience in housing and community development. She has worked with local governments and nonprofits managing various sources of federal funding. She has experience with CoC, CDBG, ESG, and HOME funding. She provides technical assistance for program management, policy development, compliance, and reporting. Grace joined Civitas in 2021 as the lead manager administering the Berkeley County, SC Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and supported program management for several other jurisdictions. Prior to joining Civitas, she worked with the Lowcountry Continuum of Care. During her time with the CoC, she assisted with the annual consolidated application, monitored programs, managed the Coordinated Entry System, and directed the Annual Point in Time Count. She has also worked with a nonprofit serving human trafficking victims to implement a Rapid Re-housing program and administer federal grants. Grace earned her Master of Business Administration in Finance from the College of Charleston and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from The Ohio State University.

Maggie Blake

Homelessness Solutions and HUD Grant Specialist

Maggie recently joined Civitas, bringing professional experience in homeless services, grant-writing, non-profit operations, and development. Maggie completed a two-year teaching service program while earning a Mater’s degree in Education from the University of Notre Dame. She transitioned to homeless services, working for the Pope Francis Center in the heart of downtown Detroit. Her work in homeless services gave her well-rounded expertise in non-profit operations and federal grant management. Maggie’s work with Civitas includes CDBG, HOME, and ESG program technical assistance and client interface. She regularly assists clients with the completion of HUD Annual Action Plans, CAPERs, IDIS technical assistance, and stakeholder outreach.

Melanie Tucker

Program Assistant

Melanie joined the Civitas team as a parttime member in 2021 to assist with a variety of assistance programs and construction program application in-take and review. She provided Initial and Final review of applications for Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) for the City of Jacksonville, FL; Berkeley County, SC; and Horry County, SC. She is familiar with a variety of general and specific housing management programs to include Neighborly and Excel. She has vast experience with communicating via phone and email with applicants for both rental assistance and other programs. Prior to her time with Civitas, Melanie managed the business side and functionality of Lifepoint Church with various software programs such as Excel, Quickbooks, Planning Center, and Pushpay to keep all financial records for the church and contributions for all members.

Contact: melanie.tucker@civitassc.com

Kari Dettmer

Affordable Housing and Grant Specialist

Kari has worked in the affordable housing industry for 11 years after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Coastal Carolina University in 2010. She began her career as the Program Manager for Grand Strand Housing and Community Development Corporation. There, she administered a Tri-County Housing Rehabilitation Program utilizing state and federal grant funding. Her background includes use of State Housing Trust Fund, CDBG, HOME, and Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Kari also began managing HOME-funded Rental Housing Units in this role including renovation of existing housing stock and new construction. She was named the Executive Director of that organization in 2016, where she continued advancing her career in Affordable Housing. Kari joined Civitas in 2019, to apply her expert knowledge in Program Administration, Housing Rehabilitation, Rental Housing, HUD Housing grant administration and compliance, and Lead-Based Paint Renovation policies and procedures for working lead safe.

Contact: kari.dettmer@civitassc.com