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

Chief Financial Officer
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.

Independent firms and practitioners who work regularly with Rock Advisory Partners on client engagements within their area of expertise.

Thomas M. Jackson

AFFILIATE ADVISOR

Tom is a senior executive with 42+ years in community, housing, and economic development. He spent 20 years in municipal service working with underserved communities and over 18 years providing technical assistance, training, and management at Grow America (formerly the National Development Council). He specializes in real estate, community facility, and small business development finance, with deep expertise in financial underwriting and designing creative financing to close gaps between development costs and private investment.
Stephanie Dugan

AFFILIATE ADVISOR
Stephanie A. Dugan, Affiliate Advisor at Rock Advisory Partners, advises on affordable housing development, project financing, and deal structuring.
She spent nearly 30 years (1996–2026) at Grow America (formerly National Development Council) in senior leadership roles spanning Affordable Housing Development, Training, and Central & West Technical Assistance.
Based in McKinney, Texas, she has advised PHAs, nonprofits, local governments, and CDCs nationwide, including an 80-unit Madison County Housing Authority redevelopment ($20M via LIHTC, HOME, public housing funds, and private debt) and a 108-unit CDBG-DR-financed workforce housing community in Port Arthur.
A nationally recognized instructor, she has taught Economic Development Finance, Deal Structuring, and LIHTC, with deep expertise layering LIHTC, New Markets Tax Credits, and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits for complex redevelopment.
Telesforo 'TJ' Pinales

AFFILIATE ADVISOR

Telesforo "TJ" J. Pinales, EDFP, HDFP, serves as Affiliate Advisor at Rock Advisory Partners, LLC, advising on program, project, and construction management for complex public and private developments.
TJ brings 28 years of experience as an independent consultant, contractor, and owner's representative. He is President of TeHota Construction Management, LLC, and has held senior roles including Construction Manager supporting the Air Force Civil Engineering Center's overseas and remote installations, Program Manager for the US Army Reserve's 81st Readiness Division, and City of San Antonio Housing Manager, where he restored the city's HUD funding eligibility.
His project experience spans major public infrastructure and institutional developments, including the $332M Ascension Island Airfield Replacement, the $314M Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center Expansion, the $85M AT&T Center renovation, and the $65M Bexar County Justice Center Expansion.
A Texas A&M-trained construction professional (B.S., Construction Science, 1996), TJ holds Housing Development Finance Professional (HDFP) and Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) certifications from the National Development Council, along with BUILDER certification and accreditation as a State Lead Risk Assessor.
Cassandra Skidanov

AFFILIATE ADVISOR
Cassandra Skidanov serves as Affiliate Advisor at Rock Advisory Partners, LLC, bringing over 20 years of experience in business strategy, program design, and leadership development across housing, finance, and community development.
She currently serves as Senior Manager of Housing Outreach & Mission Strategy at Freddie Mac, where she leads national programs expanding affordable housing access and credit in underserved rural and urban markets, manages an 11-member cross-functional team, and advises policy strategy with FHFA, MBA, and other housing stakeholders. Her earlier career spans senior roles at JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Nevada Fair Housing, including work as a DOJ-trained loan forensic investigator and fair housing/fair lending advocate.
Cassandra's expertise includes climate-resilient housing development, DEI-focused mortgage origination, and instructional design for adult learners. She was awarded the 2023 International Innovations Award for Freddie Mac's Develop the Developer program and holds a Congressional Commendation for community redevelopment work. She is a Doctoral Candidate in Organizational Change and Leadership at USC and holds an M.S. from Purdue University.