ABOUT HOMEWISDOM

Homewisdom is a new research and public policy initiative, established by Homewise, to provide data, insights, and policy recommendations to help advance homeownership strategies.

For more than 35 years, Homewise has been a leading voice for affordable homeownership and stronger neighborhoods. Homewise is a New Mexico-based nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission to help individuals and families improve their long-term financial wellbeing and quality of life.

Homewise delivers thought leadership on how we can create positive change in New Mexico and the nation. Our actionable solutions are grounded in decades of experience and current research. Learn more. Download the Homewisdom fact sheet.

Mike Loftin, Chief Executive Officer, Homewise

Mike Loftin has served as the CEO of Homewise, Inc. since 1992. Homewise is an effective nonprofit social enterprise, promoting sustainable homeownership in a way that improves the long-term financial well-being of modest-income families. Loftin led the creation and implementation of Homewise’s comprehensive business model that seamlessly integrates all the steps of the home purchase process. Fiercely focused on the long-term success of every homeowner, Homewise sustains an over-30-day delinquency rate that is less than 2 percent, compared with the Federal Housing Administration's rate of more than 9 percent. Homewise has become New Mexico’s sixth-biggest mortgage lender and covers all of its operating expenses from earned revenue. Loftin drafted and led the campaign to pass Santa Fe’s inclusionary zoning law, which has been used as the model for similar ordinances adopted by other municipalities.

Previous to his work at Homewise, Loftin was a community organizer in Chicago, and his achievements included founding the Resurrection Project, a preeminent Chicago community-development organization serving several Mexican-American neighborhoods; organizing an antidisplacement campaign in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood during his tenure with the affordable housing organization Voice of the People; and leading the Metropolitan Tenants Organization in the passage of Chicago’s Tenant Bill of Rights.

Loftin is a Visiting Fellow of the Urban Institute. Loftin currently serves on the board of Excellent Schools New Mexico, served on the board of the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management Foundation, and was a governor-appointed board member of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. Loftin holds a bachelors in history from Northwestern University.

Kelly O’Donnell, PhD, Chief Research and Policy Officer, Homewise

 Kelly O’Donnell joined Homewise in 2021 and serves as the Chief Research and Policy Officer. Prior to Homewise, O’Donnell was a research faculty member at the University of New Mexico and a private economic and public finance consultant for governments and nonprofits in New Mexico and nationwide. Prior to that, she held a series of senior leadership roles in New Mexico state government including Director of Tax Policy, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Economic Development and Superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department and served as research director for New Mexico Voices for Children. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of New Mexico.