Swede brings to CFT his significant experience as both a workforce housing developer and a lender, including years spent building housing in Dallas’s Southern Sector and managing a multibillion-dollar construction loan portfolio. He will partner closely with CFT’s executive leadership team, including Nadine Dechausay, CFT’s chief strategy and insights officer, who will continue to advance CFT’s overall housing strategy, including the new HouseDTX collective action network.
“Swede’s combination of capital markets expertise, development leadership, and hands-on project ownership will be an invaluable asset to CFT and our expanding housing strategy,” said Nadine Dechausay, CFT’s chief strategy and insights officer.
As CFT’s Senior Advisor for Housing, Swede will develop CFT’s Housing Impact Fund’s processes and lending standards, cultivate and evaluate aligned investment opportunities, and strengthen the Dallas housing ecosystem through technical assistance and strategic insights. You can learn more about CFT’s housing initiative at: www.CFTexas.org/Housing.
About Swede Hanson
Swede is the entrepreneurial founder of Smart Living Residential, LLC, a Dallas based firm focused on creating high quality, mixed income communities. The company’s flagship development, The Finch, is a 153-unit Class A apartment community that was completed in August 2025 in Dallas’s southern sector. It is noted for intentional design, attainable rents, and a resident centered approach.
With more than 20 years of real estate experience, Swede’s background spans development, lending, leasing, note sales, and capital markets. Prior to founding Smart Living Residential, he served as Senior Vice President in Bank OZK’s Real Estate Specialties Group, where he managed a $4.0 billion national loan portfolio. Earlier in his career, he held roles with Credit Suisse Securities’ CMBS conduit platform and JLL’s Capital Markets Group, supporting loan originations and distressed loan sales nationwide.
Swede holds an MBA in Finance from SMU’s Cox School of Business and a BS in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University.
Community Leaders join CFT’s Housing Committee
In summer 2025, Communities Foundation of Texas launched its first ever Housing Committee, chaired by CFT Board of Trustee member Debra Brennan Tag with CFT Board of Trustees Connie O’Neill, Michael Dardick, Katie Robbins, Richie Butler, and Arcilia Acosta as its first committee members.
Three community leaders have now joined the committee: Gilbert Gerst, Senior Vice President, Manager of Community Development Banking for BOK Financial; former CFT trustee Chris Kleinert, CEO of Hunt Investment Holdings; and Linda McMahon, CEO of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation. Together, these new committee members bring invaluable expertise across housing development, community development finance, and economic growth that will strengthen the Housing Committee’s work and help drive more effective, collaborative solutions for Dallas and North Texas.
About the new Housing Committee Members
Gilbert Gerst is Senior Vice President, Manager of Community Development Banking for BOK Financial (BOKF).
Gilbert joined BOKF in June 2011 after 25+ years with JPMorgan Chase. He has corporate-wide responsibility for the bank’s community development lending and investment activities and is a key partner in the bank’s CRA compliance and examination process. An accountant by trade, Gilbert has spent the majority of his banking career positively impacting low to moderate income individuals and communities.
Gilbert currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation and Board Chair of the State Fair of Texas® and is Chairman Emeritus of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre. His board service includes the Tulsa Economic Development Corporation, AT&T Performing Arts Center, Texas Mezzanine Fund, All Stars Project, the University of North Texas Foundation, and multiple affordable housing and community development organizations.
Gilbert holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of North Texas and a Master’s Degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Chris Kleinert oversees the real estate (Hunt Realty Investments), investment (Hunt Investment Group) and ranching operations (Hoodoo Land Holdings) for Hunt Consolidated, Inc.
Chris currently serves on the Board of Directors of Austin Street Center, the Board of Trustees of Southern Methodist University, the Executive Board of Directors of the Cox School of Business at SMU, the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Medical Foundation and the Dallas Mavericks Advisory Council.
In 2017, Chris and his wife, Ashlee, co-founded The Good Foundation with the mission of serving vulnerable populations in our community in need of a chance.
Chris received an MBA with a concentration in finance from Texas Christian University and a BBA in marketing from Southern Methodist University.
Linda McMahon is the Chief Executive Officer of Dallas Economic Development Corporation (Dallas EDC). She leads Dallas EDC’s plans to promote Dallas as a globally competitive business destination that fosters economic opportunities for all members of the city.
Linda’s career spans over four decades, during which she earned a reputation as a thought leader, a catalyst for positive change, and a devoted advocate for Dallas and North Texas.
Her remarkable professional history includes serving as President and CEO of The Real Estate Council (TREC), the largest commercial real estate organization in Texas, from 2010 to 2024, and working more than 30 years in banking and serving as an inaugural board member of Dallas EDC.
Linda received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her career, she has worked on some of Dallas’ most pressing challenges around housing, transportation, workforce development, and community development.
