Homeward Advisory is a small consultancy focused on serving non-profit housing developers. The firm has a combined 20+ years of experience in affordable housing development, policy, and finance, along with construction administration and management. Our values, depth of experience, and small size allow Homeward to provide:
- High-quality service aligned with your mission
- Conformance to your policies and processes
- Flexibility to meet evolving and emerging needs
- Feedback on organizational practices and consultation on improvements
Zachary Ackerman
Principal & Project Manager
Zach Ackerman is a former design and construction leader. He helped build Cottage, the nation's largest Accessory Dwelling Unit builder, scaling operations and a 500+ vendor network across the West Coast.
Before Cottage, Zach served two terms on the Ann Arbor City Council and Planning Commission. During his tenure, Zach led several affordable housing initiatives, including the acquisition of developable land, rezoning of the downtown district, dedication of public land for mixed-income housing, and the introduction of transit-oriented development. Zach collaborated directly with for-profit and non-profit developers to construct 1,670 residential units and 853,158 square feet of commercial space.
Zach holds an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Hannah Gable
Stakeholder Lead
Hannah Gable brings a wealth of experience across management consulting, housing innovation, and stakeholder engagement. She has worked with the Terner Housing Innovation Labs on their venture diligence process, helping to identify and accelerate organizations addressing housing affordability and equity. Prior to this, Hannah worked for Deloitte Consulting in Washington D.C. and supported U.S. federal agencies on improving their citizen and customer experience. She is a skilled workshop facilitator and enjoys bringing together diverse perspectives, especially around issues of social impact and racial equity.
Hannah holds an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Wake Forest University.
Eduardo Pérez Benavides
Construction Lead
Eduardo is the founder and owner of a prefabricated design and construction company. Prior to starting his own venture, Eduardo was a Preconstruction Manager and Estimator at Build Group, a large-scale General Contractor in the Bay Area that specializes in multi-family residential projects, corporate headquarters, and commercial real estate for national developers. With eight years of experience in the construction industry, Eduardo has worked on multiple projects throughout the Bay Area and in Northern Mexico. In combination, these jobs account for over 1,000 residential units, 2 million square feet of office space, and 1 billion dollars in future revenue. Additionally, he led a 235-unit affordable housing project in Oakland, CA.
Eduardo holds an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a BS in Civil Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey.