Originally from Decatur, GA, Blythe attended Haverford College in Haverford, PA- majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish. 

Prior to joining NAIHC, Blythe interned at Diamond and Associates in Philadelphia – an affordable housing firm which advises clients applying for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and FHLB loans.

Lavar Curley is the Training and Technical Assistance Program Manager at the National American Indian Housing Council.

He is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Lavar comes from the Greasewood community in the Northeastern parts of Arizona. Lavar attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages and diplomas in Spanish studies from Colegio de Espana in Salamanca, Spain. Has has also completed programs in teaching in El Salvador and Cuba. Lavar earned a Graduate Degree in Central and Eastern European Studies from La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before NAIHC, he held positions with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Interior. He has also held positions in Finance and communications with the Hay Group International and Population Services International.

Ryan Edwards is National American Indian Housing Council’s Finance and Operations Manager.

He is an enrolled member of Enterprise Rancheria in Northern California. Ryan was born and raised in Sacramento, California where he attended Jesuit High School. He first worked for his Tribe as a cultural site monitor in the wake of the Campfire in Paradise, California.

Prior to joining NAIHC, Ryan attended the University of Arizona in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. This is his first position working with Tribes on a national scale.

Phone: 202.871.3698
redwards@naihc.net

Brian Mann serves as the TTA Program Manager for the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) in Washington, DC. Mr. Mann was born and raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Central Wyoming and is an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. He is the former Deputy Executive Director of the Eastern Shoshone Housing Authority (ESHA) with over eight years’ experience working within affordable housing administration, development and advocacy.

During his time at ESHA, Brian was responsible for the application, management and compliance of various funding sources that facilitated ESHA’s development and housing management activities, including the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG), Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG), Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program, BIA Housing Improvement Program (HIP), among other public and private funding sources.

Mr. Mann holds various certifications issued by the NAIHC Leadership Institute, including the General Housing Management Specialist, Housing Financial Management Specialist, Housing Occupancy Management Specialist, and the Housing Development Management Specialist. In 2014, he was awarded NAIHC’s most prestigious certification – the Professional Indian Housing Manager. Brian is a certified Financial Education Trainer, as designated by the First Nations Oweesta Corporation – Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families program, and he is also certified as a NAHASDA & Tax Credit Compliance Professional (NTCCP) as designated by NAIHC and Travois.

Brian has a degree from Brookline College-Albuquerque in Business Administration and also attended the University of New Mexico and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, both located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

202-454-0929
bmann@naihc.net

Linda Lee Retka is National American Indian Housing Council’s Program Director. She has more than 19 years of experience directly related to the management of all aspects of tribal housing programs. Her previous career positions with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe included Grants Compliance Manager and Assistant Director of Housing. While employed with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe she worked closely with the Eastern Woodlands Office of Native American Programs on several complex tribal housing issues, which now serve as models for Native urban housing development.

Since, joining NAIHC in 2010 her work has focused on providing strategic planning, program and policy analysis, technical assistance and training services to Indian Tribes, Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) and ONAP. She has specialized technical expertise in the fields of housing, community development, and is an experienced facilitator, trainer, curriculum developer, and program evaluator.

Through her involvement in multi-tribal housing initiatives, Ms. Retka has been an innovator in providing affordable housing opportunities for tribal community members. She served as an American Indian representative board member of the Minnesota Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative and a member of the Family and Youth Services Bureau’s “Partnering to Enhance Service Delivery and Outcomes for Native Youth” Tribal working group. LindaLee is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, White Earth Nation.