Rebuilding Together Elects New Members to National Board of Directors
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2022 – Rebuilding Together, the leading national nonprofit organization providing critical home repairs and revitalizing our communities today announced the election of five members to its national board of directors. Natalie J. Brown, Director of Corporate Citizenship at Ally Financial; Courtney Houston-Carter, Vice President of Federal Government Relations at U.S. Bancorp; Mike McGowan, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Hilti; Jenney H. Shen, Senior Vice President of Strategy for Servicing and Correspondent Lending at Freedom Mortgage; Barry Upchurch, CEO and Broker/Owner at Barry Upchurch Realty were elected to the organization’s governing body.
“I am honored to be serving on our national board of directors alongside these talented individuals committed to the health and safety of our neighbors and communities,” said Kevin Rafferty, Chairman of Rebuilding Together’s board of directors and Executive Vice President of Hancock Whitney Bank. “The work of the organization is more important than ever and I look forward to their contributions as we continue to grow the impact of Rebuilding Together.”
Natalie J. Brown joined Ally in 2018 as the Director of Corporate Citizenship in Charlotte, N.C. and is responsible for leading a team that manages Ally’s charitable giving and community affairs initiatives, while also positioning Ally as a corporate social responsibility leader in the community. She leads Ally’s community programming and spearheaded the launch of “Moguls in the Making,” an entrepreneurship pitch competition that helps build the next generation of diverse business leaders from HBCUs.
Courtney Houston-Carter has served as Vice President of Federal Government Relations for U.S. Bancorp since July 2018. Prior to joining the bank, he served as a senior legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Senate Republican leadership. He advised Senator Blunt and Senate Republican leadership on financial services, judiciary and regulatory reform policies. Courtney began his career on Capitol Hill serving as a legal assistant to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Mike McGowan serves as senior vice president and general manager of the East Market Organization for Hilti North America. In this capacity, he is responsible for that organization’s overall business operations by leading sales, marketing, engineering, project management, customer service, retail, human resources and finance teams. Mike joined Hilti in 1988 as a Hilti Store sales associate and was regularly promoted to sales positions of increasing responsibility over his 33-year tenure before taking the top spot for Hilti’s eastern United States business.
Jenney Shen is responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives for Loan Servicing Operations and Correspondent Lending Divisions. She leads the Correspondent Pricing and Counterparty Management teams, as well as the Strategic Initiatives and Project/Change Management teams. Prior to joining Freedom, Jenney worked for Fannie Mae for 14 years in a variety of executive roles. She was the interim Chief Customer leading the Single Family sales team which is responsible for all of Fannie Mae’s 1500+ seller/servicers.
As a practicing Real Estate Broker since 1989, Barry Upchurch specializes in investment properties, land development, and residential properties. After overseeing a multi-billion dollar-asset profit center for a Fortune 500 Company and consulting for Price Waterhouse, Barry set out to create his own company, leveraging his experience as an attorney, Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), and Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) to best suit his clients’ needs and serve his community.