WHO WE ARE | communityhousing

We have a mission...

Our Mission: To provide and develop service-enriched affordable housing opportunities for lower income households in our communities. (Approved March 24, 2018)

Our Vision: The vision of CHP is to assist low income families in becoming permanently stable by increasing their access to support services and by improving the quality and quantity of affordable housing units within the City of Aurora.

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

Our

STAFF

Executive Director

Signy Mikita

Signy joined CHP in November of 2016. Signy has 12 years of HUD grant administration experience, including community development (CDBG), affordable housing (HOME), and homelessness assistance (ESG) funding for local governments, including Aurora, Westminster and Arapahoe County, CO. She has expertise in housing needs assessments, financial management, federal regulations, and data analysis. Signy brings 15 years of land use planning experience in both development review and long range planning. She earned a BA from Rice University in Political Science/ Behavioral Sciences, an MA from University of Maryland in American Government, and an MUEP from University of Virginia in Urban Public Policy and Development. Signy received the National Development Council’s (NDC) Housing Development Finance Professional Certification in 2018.

Resident Services Coordinator

Judy Lopez

CHP hired Judy Lopez in October 2020 to be our part-time Resident Services Coordinator. Judy is a Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) Level III in Colorado. She earned a BS from Westwood College in Criminal Justice. Judy has a decade of experience working with Aurora and Arapahoe County non-profits, including at Comitis Crisis Center (Mile High Behavioral Health Care) & Ready-To-Work (Bridge House). Her expertise with governmental and non-profit agency resources in Arapahoe County and Aurora is beneficial in coordinating with service providers. She has insight on which local programs are a good match for our residents. Judy is bilingual in Spanish.

Board of

Directors

CHP Board (Left to Right):

Signy Mikita (Exec. Director)

Stephen VanVladricken

Ashley Karros (Vice-President)

Greg Shields (Treasurer/Secr.)

Jane Harrington (President)

Melissa Stirdivant

President

Jane Harrington

Jane has worked in the Colorado affordable housing industry since 1976, holding positions at the City of Arvada Housing Authority, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Summit Combined Housing Authority, and Mercy Housing. Before she retired in 2020, she was the Executive Director of the Colorado Community Land Trust (CCLT), which developed lending infrastructure to ensure that homebuyers could access affordable safe loans. CCLT has 214 units in three neighborhoods in Denver, with more homes in the pipeline in Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea. In 2020, CCLT joined with Habitat for Humanity and Jane continues to consult for them. Jane joined the CHP Board in 2014 and was elected the President in 2019.

Vice-President

Ashley Karros

Ashley was born in Denver, CO and lived there throughout her childhood until pursuing her college education at New York University. While in NYC she obtained her B.S. in Communications while interning at various large corporations like Wilhelmina Models, Wenner Media and Def Jam Records. There she fostered her career path in Marketing/Public Relations and grew an empathy for others facing difficulties like homelessness. In 2010 she returned to Colorado and ended up in the restoration business for 10 years. In 2019, she joined the team at Core Contractors Roofing Systems as the Director of Business Development where she is proud to be part of a company whose culture encourages community involvement. She joined the CHP board in 2017 and loves being part of a group that cares about providing affordable housing and access to services in our community.

Treasurer/Secretary

Greg Shields

Born in Missouri, Greg has lived in Aurora, CO since he was 4 years old. Greg is proud to live and work in the place he grew up. Greg graduated from Colorado State University in 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration. He works at FirstBank as the Vice President of the East Market and oversees three locations in the southeast Aurora area. Greg enjoys music, sports (basketball, football, and golf), movies, and traveling during his free time. He joined the CHP Board in 2015 and was elected Treasurer shortly afterwards. Greg has expanded his role and was elected Secretary in 2019.

Director

Stephen VanVladricken

Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Stephen moved to Colorado 15 years ago. He graduated from the University of Denver in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Sciences and is currently pursuing his Graduate degree in Information Communication Technology. Presently he works for ServiceMaster as an IT Infrastructure Lead, but has worked in the emergency disaster restoration field for over 8 years. Stephen has a strong passion for helping local and national communities in their time of need. Additionally, as a member of the Colorado Universities Innovation Council through Denver University, he has worked directly with local municipalities and larger tech organizations to increase mobility in the greater Denver area. Stephen's hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, and traveling. Stephen joined the Board in 2020 right as CHP switched to meeting virtually during the pandemic.

Director

Melissa Stirdivant

Bio and photo coming soon.