Leadership Team

Michael Loftin

Chief Executive Officer

(505) 955-7023

Mr. Loftin joined Homewise in 1992 and provides strategic leadership for the company by working with the board of directors and the executive management team to drive the long-term vision, strategy, goals, and financial well-being of Homewise.

With over 35 years’ experience in community and homeownership advocacy, Mike led the creation and implementation of Homewise’s customer-centric, comprehensively integrated homeownership business model. Mike drafted and led the campaign to pass Santa Fe’s inclusionary zoning law, one of the most ambitious in the country and which has served as the model for similar ordinances in other municipalities.

More recently, he spearheaded the creation of Homewise’s catalytic community development strategy to revitalize targeted disinvested neighborhoods in Albuquerque and create new mixed-use, mixed-income communities in Santa Fe.

Mike serves on the board of Excellent Schools New Mexico and previously served on the boards of the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management Foundation and the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. Mike holds a BA in History from Northwestern University.

Johanna Gilligan

President

(505) 469-6195

Johanna Gilligan is President at Homewise, a CDFI and developer in New Mexico. She leads the organization’s Housing & Community Development Department, which encompasses Homewise’s new construction and rehabilitation projects, as well as its community and political advocacy for cleaner, more walkable, and more affordable cities. In addition to Housing & Community Development, Johanna also manages Resource Development, and a green lending program for LMI homeowners, called Energywise.

Before joining Homewise, Johanna lived in New Orleans for many years. After hurricane Katrina, she founded Grow Dat Youth Farm, a space for employment, education and leadership development for young adults. Prior to that, she collaborated with middle-school students on an approach to school food reform that generated national attention for its innovative approach and hard-hitting success, profiled on HBO’s “Weight of the Nation.”

In 2017, she was awarded a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. She was also selected as a Rockefeller Urban Innovation Fellow at Tulane University. Additional awards include the City Park Presidential Award (‘12), the Newcomb Young Alumnae Award (‘14), the Scott Cowen Tulane Service Award (‘16), Gambit’s 40 under 40 (‘17) and City Business Woman of the Year (‘15). Her work has appeared in HBO, NPR, the Washington Post, Architectural Record, CityLab and Grist, and she is a contributor to Huffington Post and Shelterforce.

Rathi Casey

Deputy Chief Executive Officer

(505) 629-2774

Rathi is Deputy CEO at Homewise, where she oversees communications, talent management, business development, mortgage lending, and information technology. In this role, she leads cross-functional teams that advance the organization’s mission to expand successful homeownership and strengthen communities.

Rathi Casey brings a multidisciplinary background in design, innovation, and strategic leadership to every facet of her work. With experience in architecture, graphic design, and technology tools design, she approaches problem-solving through a holistic, people-centered lens. Born in Southern India and raised in Hong Kong, Rathi’s global perspective is shaped by her journey across Paris, New York, Houston, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. Her formative work at the Renzo Piano Building Workshop continues to influence her aesthetic, blending physical and digital spaces with intention and impact.

A passionate community-builder, Rathi received the 2025 Jennifer Riordan Community Service Award for her commitment to service, leadership, and equity. She is also a 2019 40 Under Forty Honoree, a 2020 Albuquerque Economic Development Rising Star, and a 2021 Women of Influence Honoree. Rathi serves on several boards, including Explora, Enterprise Bank & Trust, Excellent Schools NM, and the ULI Global Governing Trustees Board, following her tenure as President of ULI New Mexico.

Daniel Slavin

Chief Financial Officer

(505) 795-7599

Daniel has 20 years of experience in accounting, investments, housing and the health care sector. He has worked at Homewise to develop new and rehabilitated homes in communities that meet the needs of the next generation of homebuyers including affordability, quality, energy and water efficiency, live/work, and access to transportation, and mixed uses.

Most recently, Daniel has also served as Homewise’s Deputy CFO in preparation for his transition to his new role as CFO, where he now leads the organization’s financial strategy through complex financial analysis including raising and structuring capital, income, profitability, liquidity and asset and liability management.

Previously Daniel was the Director of Finance for eight years at Anchorum St. Vincent, the nonprofit co-owner of the Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, where he managed a large investment portfolio. Before that he was a senior accountant at Low Income Housing Institute in Seattle, Washington.

Daniel chooses Homewise because he believes in the mission and the people it serves – helping families realize the American dream of homeownership and self-reliance.

Elena Gonzales

Chief Growth Officer

(505) 234-1824

Elena has over 30 years of experience in the affordable homeownership arena here in New Mexico. She is a native New Mexican and joined Homewise in 2014. At Homewise, she is responsible for the oversight and management of the core operations, including homebuyer preparation, real estate sales and lending. Elena also serves on the Board of Directors for the Opportunity Finance Network.

Elena was previously an Executive Director of a non-profit organization that helped people with disabilities become homeowners. She has earned a BBA from the University of New Mexico.

Elena is a fierce advocate for underserved populations and works hard to ensure that everyone has a fair shot to own their own home.