Bios
Steve Peck
President & CEO
U.S.VETS
Steve Peck, who served as a Marine officer in Vietnam, leads U.S.VETS, the nation’s largest non-profit provider of comprehensive services for at-risk and homeless veterans and their families. Peck, who recently celebrated his 25th anniversary with the organization, advocates at state and national levels to bring attention to potential solutions for homeless veterans. After his service, Peck became a documentary filmmaker. A series of films on homelessness and veterans’ issues compelled him to change careers. He went on to help the Veterans Administration place homeless veterans into housing, and in 1996 joined U.S.VETS.
Peck graduated from Northwestern University in 1968 and entered the Marine Corps that same year. In Vietnam, he was a first lieutenant in the 1st Marine Division, serving as a forward observer outside Danang and received the Navy Commendation Medal. He earned his master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California in 1997 and later became the president of the California Association of Veteran Service Agencies, a consortium of seven nonprofit veteran service providers working in partnership to address the needs of California’s veterans.
Brian D’Andrea
Senior Vice President
Century Housing
Brian D’Andrea oversees Century Housing’s affordable housing preservation, investment and development activities. In this capacity, D’Andrea serves as president of two Century affiliates—Century Villages at Cabrillo, a 27-acre community home to 1,500, and Century Affordable Development. Overseeing the community’s fundraising efforts, D’Andrea is also actively involved with expanding the collaboration of some 20 nonprofit and government agencies that operate at the Villages.
D’Andrea graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a liberal arts degree. He earned his MBA in real estate and finance from UCLA’s Anderson School and is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California. He is also a graduate of NeighborWorks America’s Achieving Excellence in Community Development, a performance-driven leadership program administered in collaboration with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Tyler Monroe
Senior Vice President
Thomas Safran & Associates
Tyler Monroe, senior vice president of development, joined Thomas Safran & Associates in 2008. He is responsible for the acquisition, design, entitlement, finance, and construction of new construction projects in the TSA pipeline. Monroe is experienced with public/private partnerships; land use; complex financing structures that use low-income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds, and other public funds; design and construction management. He was previously a project manager for a regional general contractor focused on the construction of affordable housing.
Monroe is an alumnus of the University of Southern California with graduate degrees in both business administration (MBA) and real estate development (MRED). He has a bachelor’s degree in both architecture and Italian studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Tess Banko
Community Development Director
U.S.VETS West Los Angeles
Tess Banko, MSW/MPA, a Marine Corps Veteran, serves as the U.S.VETS West Los Angeles community development director. She is part of the team leading the billion-dollar transformation of the West Los Angeles VA North Campus that will result in the largest permanent supportive housing and services community in the nation for homeless and at-risk Veterans and families.
A survivor of post-traumatic stress disorder and military sexual trauma, Banko deeply identifies with fellow Veterans and families on their paths to recovery, wellness and empowerment, and is honored to serve the community of on behalf of her military and veteran sisters, brothers and their families. With a diverse background in nonprofits, organizational leadership and management, public administration, community organizing, human services and behavioral health that includes the impacts of trauma, resilience and post-traumatic growth, Banko has a holistic and unique perspective regarding Veterans, their families and the community.
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