Elena Gonzales

Chief Operating Officer, Homewise, Inc.

Elena’s Candidate Statement

My name is Elena Gonzales, and I am a current Board member of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and I have been working in the non-profit housing arena for 30+ years in New Mexico. I currently serve as the Chief Operating Officer for Homewise, Inc., CDFI based in Santa Fe and Albuquerque that not only provides affordable opportunities for homeownership, but mixed-use real estate development, and neighborhood focused commercial re-development.

I was born and raised in Albuquerque and have made it my life’s work to help lower income and disadvantaged individuals and families obtain homeownership to help them improve their long-term financial wellbeing and quality of life. Homeownership is a crucial way for families to build generation wealth. The BIPOC communities have been left behind in this area and I will continue to work hard to address this until we see the racial homeownership and wealth gap close in this country.