BRAVO Board

Charles Rinker – President
Financial and development consultant with Rinker and Associates, which assists tenants in the purchase, rehabilitation and conversion of their properties to cooperatives or condominiums.  Affordable housing activist in Arlington. President of Arlington Home Ownership Made Easier (AHOME) and Arlington New Directions Coalition (ANDC). President of the BRAVO Board.

Ellen Bartlett – Vice - President
Retired Arlington teacher. Active in Arlington community affairs, particularly leadership of the Arlington Interfaith Council, a group of fifty Arlington congregations united in the cause of social justice and interfaith cooperation, with focus on affordable housing and living wage in Arlington. Co-chair of the Shelter and Housing Committee of the AIC and Board member of Arlington New Directions Coalition and the Views at Clarendon Corporation.

Lisa Chavez - Treasurer
Middle East Region manager of Chemonics International, a global consulting firm focusing on international development. A graduate of Georgetown University, she serves on the Arlington County Planning Commission, and is a certified yoga instructor.

Peter Owen – Secretary
Federal government attorney specializing in constitutional law and legislation. He holds an MMP from Harvard University and a J.D. from William and Mary Law School. He chairs Arlington’s Commission on Transportation and is a member of the Arlington New Directions Coalition.

Ginnie Apperson
Retired. Past Associate Director of Alzheimer's Association. Past President of the Arlington Interfaith Council.  Active on several service agencies boards. Member of BRAVO Steering Committee.

Juan Antonio Hernandez
Juan Antonio is a tenant at Pierce Queen, having been previously displaced twice from Rosslyn properties.  Antonio is also a very active community volunteer. He has helped workers secure rights from employers who have not paid wage or other benefits. Juan Antonio is part of the Pierce Queen Tenant Association.

Thelma McCall
Tenant representative from the Tenant Action Group. Lived through renovations at Quebec Apartments and was active in Quebec Tenants Association. Works for Women’s War Memorial organization in Arlington.

Ivette Estrada
Ivette is a tenant at Barcroft Apartments in South Arlington. Ivette works as a Program Manager at the Community and Capacity Building Office at the Office of Justice Programs maintaining administrative oversight of OJP grants. Ivette is also the Hispanic Special Emphasis Program Manager at the Equal Opportunities Office at OJP. 

Patrice O’Connor
Volunteer newsletter editor for Catholics for Housing, a 501c3 organization that informs the Catholic community and the general public of affordable housing and assists in the rehabilitation of run down residential areas. In 2004 she was recognized as Volunteer of the Year at CFH’s 25th anniversary dinner. Patrice works full-time for Sprint as an internal communications manager.

Tillman Neuner
Retired from World Bank, headed the unit of evaluation of the Bank’s urban projects. A founding member of the Arlington Housing Corporation (now AHC, Inc), a non- profit provider of rental and ownership housing. Co-convener of the Coalition for Housing in Arlington and active in Action in Montgomery, a community organizing group based in over thirty churches in Montgomery County, Maryland, which focuses on affordable housing.

Jay Howenstine
Retired Department of Housing and Urban Development employee. Co-Chair of the Coalition for Housing in Arlington. Long time  activist on affordable housing issues in Arlington and brings experience in international housing issues. Active with BRAVO since its inception.

Pate McCullough
Pate is a tenant at Buckingham Village 3 and is a member of the Save Buckingham Coalition. Pate is a member of BUGATA (Bukingham and Gates Tenant Association) and is a passionate tenant representative as a Commissioner at the Tenant and Landlord Arlington County Commission.

BRAVO Staff

Vivian Calatayud – Vivian’s work concentrates in low and median income tenant outreach and training. As a bilingual tenant organizer Vivian’s door to door outreach is fundamental for Arlington tenants’ mobilization and empowerment. She holds studies in Economics and Architecture from La Paz University in Bolivia. Vivian is a tenant herself who went through the BRAVO leadership trainings and became a tenant organizer. Vivian´s community organizing experience in Arlington is an asset for BRAVO tenants and for BRAVO as an organization.   

Camilo Correa – Camilo’s background includes sales, IT, international acquisitions and translation. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy. Committed to the organization’s effort to preserve the economic and cultural diversity of Arlington, Camilo is a part of the BRAVO team that organizes tenants and conducts workshops and seminars for tenants in financial and housing literacy, tenant rights and leadership..  

Caridad Palerm – Caridad is the Executive Director of BRAVO. She holds a Master´s Degree in Public Administration and has been a lawyer for 10 years. She was employed in various positions in the Puerto Rican government, including Deputy Director of the Administration for the Revitalization of the Communities and Legal Assistant for the Secretary of Housing.

Alicia Taylor - Alicia has worked in the social justice arena for over a decade and has an academic background in human development psychology, humanities education and a Master’s in Applied Philosophy. Serving as BRAVO’s Administrative and Program Manager, she works with tenants to advance their knowledge of VRLTA and their rights, is a Commissioner on Arlington County’s Tenant-Landlord Commission, and regularly prepares correspondence for County staff and others to ensure organizational accountability and the fulfillment of BRAVO’s mission.