Raquel F. Favela

Founding CEO

“I’ve spent my career focused on one question: how do we structure capital and systems so more people can build durable wealth over time?”

Raquel Favela is an executive leader with more than 30 years of experience translating vision into executable strategy across housing, economic development, and community finance. Her work spans communities large and small nationwide, partnering with cities, public agencies, and mission-driven financial institutions to align capital, policy, and people around clear, measurable outcomes.

Throughout her career, Raquel has managed complex budgets, led multidisciplinary teams, and directed national portfolios advancing affordable housing, small business growth, and neighborhood revitalization. She is known for operating at the intersection of strategy and execution, structuring partnerships, mobilizing capital, and building the systems, governance, and accountability needed to deliver results at scale.

Raquel’s leadership philosophy is grounded in people. She is deeply committed to developing talent, strengthening organizations, and cultivating high-performance cultures in service of more resilient and equitable communities.

Today, Raquel brings this experience into a new chapter, working with organizations and investors to connect disciplined strategy with lasting social impact.

  • Chief Operations Officer

    Jacqueline Rodarte-Valle is an affordable housing and community development finance leader with more than 30 years of experience across the public and private sectors. She serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of Rock Advisory Partners, LLC, an employee-owned firm specializing in strategy, finance, planning, development, and capacity-building for governments, CDFIs, and mission-driven developers.

    From June 2024 to January 2026, Jacqueline served as Managing Director at Grow America, where she analyzed operational processes, performance measures, and profitability across technical advisory offerings, established practical policies and procedures to improve efficiency, and oversaw contract management and compliance across lending and housing and economic development teams. In 2020, she oversaw the deployment of $11.0 million in small business grants and $8.0 million in small business forgivable loans across North Texas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Jacqueline previously served as Assistant Housing Director for the City of Dallas, directing seven operational units, 40 FTE, and a $21.6 million annual budget, and co-authoring the City’s first Comprehensive Housing Policy. Her earlier roles include senior housing finance and development positions in Los Angeles County and with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, where she supported complex, layered financing and the delivery of affordable housing at scale.

    She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance from California State University, Long Beach, and is a Housing Development Finance Professional.

  • Governance & Nominations

    Corey Leon serves as the employee-elected member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Governance & Nominations Committee. In this dual role, he brings a frontline perspective to board deliberations and anchors the systems that keep the organization accountable, compliant, and high-performing. Corey’s board work centers on clear policies, effective oversight, and disciplined execution—so strategy translates into measurable results for our clients, partners, and team.

    As Committee Chair, Corey leads the annual governance calendar, including board and committee evaluations, charter reviews, and director education. He manages the skills matrix and succession pipeline to ensure the Board has the right mix of experience for current and emerging priorities. He also oversees nominations and onboarding, conflict-of-interest and independence practices, and periodic refresh of bylaws and key policies—keeping governance aligned with best practices and regulatory requirements.

    Elected by employees, Corey acts as a structured conduit between staff and the Board. He facilitates responsible two-way communication—listening sessions, pulse feedback, and timely reporting—so insights from project delivery, operations, and client service inform board decisions. His approach emphasizes transparency, practical risk management, and a culture where teams have the tools and clarity to deliver.

    Corey’s commitment is straightforward: uphold integrity, strengthen performance, and build trust with every stakeholder. Through thoughtful governance and a steady focus on results, he helps ensure the organization is prepared, resilient, and positioned for long-term value.

  • Chief Executive Officer

    “I’ve spent my career focused on one question: how do we structure capital and systems so more people can build durable wealth over time?”

    Raquel Favela is an executive leader with more than 30 years of experience translating vision into executable strategy across housing, economic development, and community finance. Her work spans communities large and small nationwide, partnering with cities, public agencies, and mission-driven financial institutions to align capital, policy, and people around clear, measurable outcomes.

    Throughout her career, Raquel has managed complex budgets, led multidisciplinary teams, and directed national portfolios advancing affordable housing, small business growth, and neighborhood revitalization. She is known for operating at the intersection of strategy and execution, structuring partnerships, mobilizing capital, and building the systems, governance, and accountability needed to deliver results at scale.

    Raquel’s leadership philosophy is grounded in people. She is deeply committed to developing talent, strengthening organizations, and cultivating high-performance cultures in service of more resilient and equitable communities.

    Today, Raquel brings this experience into a new chapter, working with organizations and investors to connect disciplined strategy with lasting social impact.

  • People & Culture

    Maureen Milligan’s approach as Co-CEO for People & Culture is grounded in the conviction that employee ownership and belonging are vital to organizational success. Drawing on her legal background and expertise in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), she builds frameworks that ensure every team member is heard, valued, and empowered.

    Maureen champions transparent dialogue and participatory decision-making as core features of Rock Advisory Partners’ workplace culture. She develops collaborative learning programs, fosters mentorship, and actively creates pathways for professional growth across disciplines. Her strategic leadership ensures that policies and practices reflect the firm’s commitment to integrity, fairness, and sustained impact—cultivating a resilient team ready to deliver on Rock’s mission and model best practices for the industry.

  • Operations & Finance

    Laura Salinas-Martinez leads the enterprise backbone—operations, finance, and risk—so the organization can scale with discipline and deliver consistently for clients and partners. As Co-CEO, she pairs day-to-day operational stewardship with long-range planning, aligning people, processes, and capital to the company’s strategy.

    Laura oversees core functions including financial planning and analysis, budgeting, treasury and cash management, accounting, contracts, and audit readiness. She directs enterprise operations—program management, procurement, vendor management, and business continuity—while strengthening data governance, performance measurement, and internal controls. Working closely with her Co-CEO counterparts, she translates strategic priorities into clear operating plans with milestones, dashboards, and accountability.

    Her focus areas include:

    • Financial discipline: multi-year budgeting, scenario planning, pricing strategies, and capital allocation that balance growth with resilience.

    • Operational excellence: standardized playbooks, SLA/OKR frameworks, and capacity planning to improve speed, quality, and cost.

    • Risk & compliance: policy management, internal controls, and readiness for audits and reviews.

    • People & systems: workforce planning in partnership with HR; technology and data improvements that streamline workflows and support decision-making.

    • Stakeholder confidence: timely, transparent reporting to the Board, investors, and public-sector partners.

    Guided by clarity and consistency, Laura’s mandate is simple: build a high-trust, high-performance operation that turns strategy into reliable results—quarter after quarter, year after year.

  • CFO

    Sergio Valle, CPA, MBT, is a real estate tax and finance professional with nearly 30 years of experience across real estate taxation, tax provision, and internal controls and reporting. He has advised real estate companies and investment platforms on partnership and corporate taxation, REIT-related matters, and state and local tax considerations.

    Before moving into consulting, Sergio served as Tax Director at HealthPeak Properties Inc., a large publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on healthcare facilities. His career also includes roles in public accounting with national firms, including Ernst and Young, PwC, and RSM, supporting real estate and REIT clients with complex compliance and reporting requirements.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sergio helped design and administer small business assistance programs for local cities and counties in the North Dallas region, supporting the deployment of loans and grants to stabilize local businesses.

    Sergio holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Master of Business Taxation from the University of Southern California. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in California and Texas, and he is based in Dallas, Texas.

Mission

To deliver trusted, best-in-class advisory services grounded in integrity, transparency, competence, shared ownership, empowerment and sustainability.