CONTACT: mspotts AT neighborhoodfundamentals DOT com (note: this email account is still active, but monitored intermittently. Responses may be delayed).

From 2017-2022, Michael A. Spotts was the President of Neighborhood Fundamentals, LLC, an applied housing policy research firm. He is now the Director of Real Estate Development for Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. He has over a decade of experience providing research and technical assistance to on-the-ground practitioners in both the public and private sectors, at every level of government, and in urban, suburban and rural areas.  From 2019-2022, he also served as the Senior Visiting Research Fellow for the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing.

Prior to founding Neighborhood Fundamentals, he worked for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. from 2009-2017 as part of the Public Policy team. During this time, he conducted research and analysis of affordable housing and community development policies. He managed Enterprise’s federal transit-oriented development (TOD) policy activities and Expanding the Supply of Affordable Homes program.

Michael serves as a member of the board of directors for the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of the Arlington (Va.) Partnership for Affordable Housing, the ULI Washington DC Housing Initiative Council, and the Arlington County Community Development Citizen’s Advisory Committee. From 2013 – 2015, he served as vice-chair of the Arlington County Affordable Housing Study working group, which assisted in developing the county’s Affordable Housing Master Plan and Implementation Framework. In 2017, he was named as one of "40 under 40" honorees for the Washington, DC region by the Leadership Center for Excellence.

Prior experience in the community development field includes work with the Housing Assistance Council, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Allegheny County (Pa.) Economic Development, and the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Michael received a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. He graduated summa cum laude from Dickinson College in 2006, and received a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Community and Economic Development from the Pennsylvania State University in 2008.

Hanna Metuda graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor’s in Government and International Politics. Growing up in the Philippines, she was inspired by the hardships she witnessed in her home country due to social issues, such as severe poverty and extreme pollution. With a drive to make a positive impact on society, she began volunteering for Nourish Now, a non-profit organization who serves the vulnerable populations of Rockville, MD. During the summer of the 2020, she distributed over 1,000 boxed goods to families in need and homeless shelters.

Currently, Hanna is working with George Mason University and the City of Manassas in tackling climate change. She is training with ICLEI in gathering the city’s greenhouse gas emissions to help guide the development of a sustainability plan for the city.

Neighborhood Fundamentals accepts applications from interested internship candidates on a rolling basis. Read the job description

Please direct inquiries to: mspotts@neighborhoodfundamentals.com