Meet the Team
Yasmin Tong, Principal & Founder
As the founder of CTY Housing, Yasmin has been an innovator in the affordable housing field for more than 30 years. Her work in finance and development has resulted in more than $1 billion of affordable housing development nationwide. In addition to Yasmin’s work in affordable housing finance and development, she has also been a technical adviser to nonprofit organizations negotiating community benefits agreements and advocating for policy reform, including the Cornfields Arroyo Seco Community Plan, which set precedents for equitable development in the City of Los Angeles City, as we as the Mello Act Policy for Los Angeles County, which set new inclusionary limits for development in the unincorporated Los Angeles coastal areas. Prior to founding CTY Housing, Yasmin was Vice President at Bank of America Community Development Bank and Senior Account Executive at Fannie Mae’s multifamily division. Early in her career, Yasmin developed some of the first permanent supportive housing in Los Angeles, and secured financing for the City’s first resident-purchase of a deteriorated building.
Yasmin has taught graduate level courses in affordable housing finance and public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and University of Southern California (USC). She is the recipient of the 2015 Southern California Association of Non Profit Housing Unsung Hero Award, and has been a frequent contributor Affordable Housing Finance Magazine, and Apartment Finance Today. Yasmin holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from UCLA’s Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning and a bachelor’s degree in History and Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Eleanor Atkins, Principal
Eleanor joined CTY Housing, Inc. as Principal in 2018. She brings more than 12 years of experience in the affordable housing sector. She has contributed to the development of 1,200+ housing units serving families, households experiencing homelessness, veterans and seniors, with estimated total development costs of over $500MM. Eleanor holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from NYU Wagner School of Public Service, and a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from U.C. Berkeley.
Adrienne Bussell, Principal
Adrienne joined CTY Housing as Principal in 2021. Adrienne brings 14+ years of experience in the affordable housing sector in both areas of development and asset management. She has contributed to the development of approximately 1,000+ affordable housing units serving families, households experiencing homelessness and seniors, with estimated total development costs of over $370MM. Prior to joining CTY Housing, Adrienne worked for a national syndicator and affordable housing developers. Adrienne has a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Ara Kim, Principal
Ara Kim joined CTY Housing as Principal in 2022. Ara brings 9 years+ of experience in the affordable housing sector. They have contributed to the development of 800+ affordable housing units serving households experiencing homelessness, families, veterans, seniors and more. Prior to joining CTY Housing, they worked for several affordable housing developers in the non-profit and for-profit sector. Ara holds a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and a Bachelor's degree in History from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Ara is a native Korean speaker and grew up in Southern California.
Ulises Aleman, Project Manager
Ulises joined CTY Housing in 2021 as an Assistant Project Manager. Since joining CTY Housing, Ulises has helped clients apply for financing from the State of California and prepared financial models for new construction and acquisition rehabilitation projects. Prior to joining CTY Housing, Ulises was part of a union campaign to organize nearly 13,000 Graduate Student Researchers across the University of California system. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Community and Regional Development from UC Davis and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA.
Muthia Faizah, Project Manager
Muthia joined CTY Housing in March of 2021 as an Assistant Project Manager. She prepares financial models and has helped clients apply for more than $50 million in public and private financing. Muthia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community and Regional Development from U.C. Davis. Muthia has a Master’s degree from the UCLA Luskin School Master of Urban Planning, where she concentrated in Design and Development.
Nathan Keibler, Assistant Project Manager
Nathan joined CTY Housing in 2022 as an Assistant Project Manager. Before joining CTY Housing, Nathan worked as a designer in architecture firms and facilitated neighborhood development and community enrichment initiatives at a community-based non-profit. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Rice University and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA, where he focused on affordable housing preservation and production.