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NEROC stands for “New England Resident-Owned Communities.” We help people own and run the manufactured-home parks where they live. When a park is up for sale we help residents use a nationally successful model to form a cooperative business, get financing to buy the park, and learn how to run it with democratic resident control.
This program gives residents control of the land beneath their homes, protecting the affordability of their housing over time. We operate in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Since its start in 2009 the NEROC program has helped people in over 50 parks – comprising more than 4,800 homes — convert to resident ownership. We provide ongoing support as trainers and advisers for them and four other cooperatives in the region.
Meet the NEROC Team
Julia Curry is Co-Director of CDI’s NEROC program focusing on Vermont. Before joining CDI, Julia worked for over a decade as a cooperative specialist with multi-family affordable housing cooperatives in Burlington, VT. She came to the realm of cooperatives with a background as an organizer in union, interfaith, and community organizing contexts. She has also served on the board of City Market/Onion River Cooperative since 2011, including two years as board president, leading the board through the co-op’s process of building a second store. Julia earned an M.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University with a focus on social movements. She loves helping people grow and connect by working together.
Contact Julia: jcurry@cdi.coop
Pat Schwebler is Co-Director of CDI’s NEROC Program. Her background is in real estate, finance, nonprofits, and business management. Working as a realtor in an urban setting, she recognized that the local real estate community ignored new immigrants. So she developed an educational first-time homebuyer program and helped over 50 new Americans secure their first home. After relocating to Maine, 27 years ago, she served as co-chair of a nonprofit that provided emergency shelter to victims of domestic violence. Through vision work with staff and the board, she helped create a strategic plan that provided transitional housing for survivors of domestic violence. Before joining CDI she was executive director of a senior center and worked to improve community conditions for the elderly. She helped create Kennebunk’s free medical equipment loan closet and served on Kennebunk’s Committee on Aging. Pat obtained her B.A. in Communications and graduate certificate in grant writing from the University of Southern Maine. She believes that homeownership provides security, builds personal wealth, and creates connections and community; improving the quality of life.
Contact Pat: pschwebler@cdi.coop
Jason Brady is Regional Manager for CT, MA, and RI in CDI’s NEROC Program. He guides residents of manufactured-home communities through the acquisition process, and advises and trains them on how to successfully operate their communities. Before joining CDI, Jason supported environmental and working-family initiatives including community organizing, canvassing, event planning, directing outreach campaigns, and training for issue-advocacy organizations. Jason is also one of the founders of the Nickel City Housing Cooperative in Buffalo, NY. He graduated the University at Buffalo, SUNY with a BA in Environmental Studies.
Contact Jason: jbrady@cdi.coop
Nora Gosselin is a Market Development and Acquisitions Specialist in CDI’s NEROC Program. Nora Gosselin joined CDI in 2019 as a Cooperative Housing Specialist, and moved into the Market Development and Acquisitions role in 2021. Prior to joining CDI, Nora lived in a co-op for four years. During her time there, she worked as the treasurer, housing coordinator, and as an intern with the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO). Nora has a BA in Urban Studies, and wrote a thesis focused on the regulatory and cultural barriers that face housing cooperatives in small cities. Nora has also worked as a waitress, barista, bookstore clerk, volunteer radio DJ, and coordinator/counselor for a music education program. She lives in Providence, RI.
Contact Nora: ngosselin@cdi.coop
Chris Cervantes is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s NEROC Program. Having worked in a variety of fields, he has developed a deep appreciation for the power of collaboration. From instrument restoration to food trucks to custom carpentry, he has direct experience working alongside others; and refining his approach and understanding of cooperation to achieve greater goals. Now he is excited to apply his experience to participate in the development of a cooperative economy.
Contact Chris: ccervantes@cdi.coop
Thomas Choate is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s NEROC Program. Thomas’s background includes time as a research analyst, natural builder, carpenter, and a developer. This has included work with the Reinvestment Fund Development Partners, Dr. Susan Wachter, co-director of Penn Institute for Urban Research and Professor of Real Estate at Wharton, QBL Real Estate, a national consultancy for municipal and cultural development partnerships, and Carolina Common Enterprise. Most recently, he provided business planning, investor relations, project management, and “deep green” land planning as a consultant for community-minded real estate developments, large and small, and similar projects in Asheville, NC. Originally from Austin, Texas, Thomas studied Latin American Politics at Southwestern University and received a masters in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact Thomas: tchoate@cdi.coop
Vanessa Gonzalez is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s NEROC Program. With a wealth of professional experience in community engagement, Vanessa has passionately collaborated with diverse communities, including teen parents, the LGBTQ+ community, individuals living with HIV, and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Driven by a commitment to reproductive justice, public health, and advocacy, Vanessa is thrilled to channel their expertise toward fostering collaborations within communities, particularly in the realm of cooperative housing. Their passion for equitable, community-based solutions encourages them to create sustainable, inclusive living environments.
Contact Vanessa: vgonzalez@cdi.coop
Melissa Mullineaux is a Cooperative Development Specialist for CDI’s NEROC Program in Maine. Melissa received her Associates degree studying behavioral sciences through Granite State College and her BA in social work through the University of Southern Maine. Melissa has worked in Portland, Maine as a social worker for the past 8 years, where she has been working with communities and individuals struggling in homelessness, poverty, mental health issues and substance abuse. She earned her Master degree in Policy Planning and Management with a track in Sustainable Development and Geospatial Technologies and a graduate certificate in Community Planning and Development in May of 2016. While earning her graduate degree, Melissa remained working as a Cumberland County mental health emergency response crisis worker and did various work for the Association of State Wetland Managers in Windham, Maine and the Center for Business and Economic Development in Portland, Maine. Melissa has lived in Maine on and off for most of her life. She has a passion for equity for all and environmental issues.
Contact Melissa: mmullineaux@cdi.coop
Libby O’Flaherty is a Cooperative Development Specialist in CDI’s NEROC program. Prior to joining CDI, Libby worked with the Prison Birth Project and Community Action’s Family Center, providing wrap-around care to high needs families in Franklin and Hampden counties, as well as the first point of contact for evacuees to Franklin County following Hurricane Maria in 2017. Libby has developed a workshop on compensatory options for rural survivors of Intimate Partner Violence which has been presented to the Department of Health, among others. Libby is a graduate of Tufts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and resides in Franklin County, MA.
Contact Libby: loflaherty@cdi.coop
Grace Pfeil is a Cooperative Housing Specialist in CDI’s NEROC Program. Grace comes to CDI with a background in tenant organizing and nonprofit communications and community engagement, as well as experience working on local and state level progressive policy. Through these experiences, she has had the opportunity to witness the power of collective community action, and what we can achieve when we work together. Grace is excited to apply her experience to support resident-owned communities.
Contact Grace: gpfeil@cdi.coop
Emily Portman is a Cooperative Housing Specialist in CDI’s NEROC program. She brings a range of experience to the role, including community planning, stakeholder engagement, campaign development. Prior to joining CDI, Emliy worked in the food world in a number of different capacities, including food service, sustainable sourcing for institutions, and running a small business. Most recently, she helped to found a real estate coop in Burlington, VT, with a focus on small food business support and incubation. She is excited to transition these skills to work on housing security in Vermont.
Contact Emily: eportman@cdi.coop
