Leadership Team
Leadership Team
At the heart of the NCPPA lies a multidisciplinary leadership team—spanning Legal, Financial & Accounting, Marketing, Technology, Human Resources, Governance, and Partnerships—each domain essential to the organization’s operational integrity and strategic vision. This diverse team ensures that NCPPA’s mission is advanced with professionalism, ethical stewardship, and an unwavering commitment to inclusivity and innovation.
Principals:
Crystal Jones
Crystal Jones-Taylor is Board Chair and President/CEO of NCPPA and a nationally respected housing and community development leader with more than four decades of experience in affordable housing, resident leadership, community revitalization, and public-sector administration. A Louisiana native who rose from grassroots tenant organizing and resident advocacy to senior leadership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), she has championed resident empowerment, homeownership, workforce development, and economic opportunity. At NCPPA, she leads national strategies connecting affordable housing, economic mobility, disaster recovery, community resilience, and wealth-building into a coordinated platform for community transformation.
Bishop Jermaine R. Hampton
Bishop Jermaine R. Hampton is a Board Member of NCPPA and an accomplished faith leader, organizational strategist, and community advocate based in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. His ministry and leadership work focus on strengthening families, advancing community development, and building partnerships between faith institutions, civic organizations, and community stakeholders. With experience in church administration, leadership development, mentoring, workforce readiness, housing instability, family support services, and neighborhood revitalization, he helps NCPPA strengthen faith-community partnerships and advance stakeholder engagement, organizational development, and community transformation initiatives.
Brenda McGowan
Brenda McGowan is a Board Member of NCPPA and a nonprofit executive, trainer, and organizational development practitioner based in Marietta, Georgia. As founder and chairperson of BOUND TO EXCEL, Inc., she focuses on adverse childhood experiences, trauma-informed care, youth development, family support, and educational success. Her experience spans program development, leadership training, nonprofit governance, strategic planning, curriculum development, community education, and capacity building, supporting NCPPA’s work to strengthen organizations, develop training systems, and expand community learning initiatives.
Anthony “A.J.” Joiner
Anthony “A.J.” Joiner is a technology strategist, entrepreneur, and digital innovation leader based in Atlanta, Georgia. His work focuses on artificial intelligence, digital marketing, business intelligence, online learning, technology platforms, entrepreneurship development, and technology-enabled economic development. At NCPPA, he helps integrate AI, digital tools, workforce technology, entrepreneurship, data analytics, and community wealth-building strategies into the organization’s national platform to improve efficiency, expand reach, and strengthen outcomes.
Tom Malmay
Tom Malmay is a Board Member of NCPPA and a nationally recognized disaster recovery and community resilience practitioner based in the Monroe-West Monroe region of Louisiana. He serves as Local Recovery Manager for Ouachita Parish and has decades of experience in disaster preparedness, mitigation, recovery planning, and long-term resilience, including work following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Superstorm Sandy, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and major flood and hazard mitigation initiatives. A former Civil Defense Director for Ouachita Parish and U.S. Coast Guard veteran, he supports NCPPA’s work in FEMA coordination, hazard mitigation, workforce recovery, public-private disaster partnerships, and resilient community rebuilding.
Patricia Swan
Patricia Swan is a Board Member of NCPPA and an accomplished workforce development professional and community leader based in Dallas, Texas. Her career has focused on creating pathways to employment, economic mobility, workforce readiness, manufacturing workforce strategies, career pathway design, employer engagement, talent pipeline development, and community economic development. At NCPPA, she contributes strategic leadership in aligning housing, workforce, and economic development initiatives to create sustainable opportunities for individuals and families and to integrate workforce solutions into community revitalization and wealth-building efforts.
Dr. Benard Wabukala
Dr. Benard Wabukala is a development strategist, researcher, and sustainability advocate from Uganda with expertise in climate resilience, economic development, community sustainability, and emerging development solutions for African and global communities. His work centers on climate adaptation, sustainable development, environmental stewardship, community-based economic development, international trade and investment, agricultural and rural development, research, and innovation. He brings NCPPA an international perspective on resilience, sustainability, and economic transformation, helping connect local community development efforts to broader global opportunities and best practices.
Clarence Taylor
Clarence Taylor is a Board Member of NCPPA and a respected community leader from Paulina, Louisiana, with extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, organizational development, community engagement, governance, strategic planning, stakeholder development, and community partnerships. He has worked to strengthen community institutions, foster collaboration, and advance initiatives that improve the quality of life and expand opportunities for residents and families. At NCPPA, he contributes leadership in governance, community relations, strategic partnerships, and economic empowerment initiatives that support pathways to housing stability, economic mobility, and generational wealth.
Rev. Jefferson Gathu
Rev. Jefferson Gathu is a Board Member of NCPPA and an internationally respected faith leader, trainer, and community development practitioner based in Nairobi, Kenya. His ministry and community work focus on prison ministry, reentry support, family stabilization, leadership development, faith-based organizing, supportive housing strategies, church-based capacity building, and community transformation across Africa and internationally. At NCPPA, he helps strengthen the organization’s faith-inspired development model and expand global partnerships across Africa, North America, and faith-based networks.