Timothy Thompson
President

Timothy (Tim) Thompson is a 1975 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.  He joined HPP in 2000 and up until 2006 was also employed as the Litigation Director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, Inc. Tim has worked for various legal services programs for more than 25 years, specializing in tenants' rights, government housing programs and class actions. He has been lead counsel or co-counsel on over 30 cases in Federal Court brought on behalf of low income residents. These suits have helped to secure rights to public assistance and federally subsidized housing programs for those most in need of these services. Mr. Thompson's cases have had far reaching impact on the rights and opportunities of the poor and communities of color.

During the 1990's, he served as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Hollman v. Cisneros, a class action in which a group of families of color and the NAACP sued various government agencies over racial segregation in government housing programs in Minneapolis.  A landmark settlement was negotiated in 1995 in which HUD provided initial funding of more than $117 million to dramatically expand opportunities for low income families under the public housing and Section 8 programs throughout the metro area.

In addition to litigating, Mr. Thompson has lobbied extensively over the years at both the national and local levels for changes in policy and law, and has advised numerous community organizations on various legal issues. Mr. Thompson has also lectured and prepared materials for continuing legal education seminars covering tenants' right, civil rights, government housing programs, and Federal Court litigation.

At HPP, Tim has appeared as co-counsel in a number of preservation cases in federal and state court, both at the trial and appellate level, both in Minnesota and across the country. He has particular expertise in preservation of 515 Rural Rental Housing, and in the obligation of Minnesota local governments to plan for affordable housing. Tim took over as HPP President in November 2006.

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Ann M. Norton
Senior Staff Attorney

Ann Norton has worked with affordable housing and community development issues for almost 30 years. An attorney since 1977, Ann has practiced law in both the public and private sectors. From 1978-1982, she was General Counsel for the Minneapolis Housing and Redevelopment Authority. She spent the next 8 years in private practice where she specialized in community development and affordable housing issues and represented many Community Development Corporations, nonprofit housing developers and resident cooperatives throughout the state. In 1990, she was appointed to be the first Housing Court Referee in Ramsey County, a position she held for 3 years. She then returned to the private sector as a consultant to a number of foundations and intermediary organizations including the McKnight, St. Paul, Bigelow and Mardag Foundations, the Family Housing Fund and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). In January 1998, Ms. Norton returned to practicing law, formed the Housing Preservation Project and served as its first president.

Ann also works as a mediator and facilitator for organizational disputes. She has written extensively and is a frequent speaker on a number of community development and affordable housing related issues, and is a board member of a number of national and local organizations. Ann stepped down as President in November 2006 but remains with HPP as a Senior Staff Attorney.

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John Cann
Senior Staff Attorney

John (Jack) Cann graduated from Carleton College in 1964 and did three years of graduate work at Stanford University. In 1967, Jack began to work full time on a variety of housing related activities, many of them litigation oriented. This provided him with a unique breadth and depth of experience relevant to housing litigation, including tenants' rights organizing, advocacy, lobbying, and real estate development and finance. He graduated magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in 1986.

Jack brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to the HPP staff. He has worked extensively with Section 236, Section 8, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and Community Development Block Grants. His knowledge of financing tools and compliance requirements gives HPP an advantage in both negotiations and litigation. He has also extensively litigated preservation cases on both the district and appellate level, both in Minnesota and across the country.

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Mona Langston
Policy Advocate

Mona Langston graduated from Mankato State University in 1996 and Howard University School of Law in 1999. Mona is a single mother, raising two children. She has worked as a community, policy and educational advocate for many years, building coalitions in support of living wage legislation and enforcing the rights of minors under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act.

She has lobbied at the State and Federal level for a health care union and has a long history of building cross-cultural coalitions. Additionally, Mona has worked as a field organizer and for the Dean for America Presidential campaign, and most recently as a volunteer consultant for the Mfume for Senate campaign in Baltimore Maryland. She joined HPP as a Policy Advocate in May 2007.

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Mark Ireland
Supervising Attorney, Foreclosure Project

Mark Ireland graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 2000. Since graduating, Mark has represented injured people in a wide variety of issues and cases. In private practice, he represented plaintiffs in complex antitrust and fraud lawsuits. As an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, Mark primarily worked in the Consumer Enforcement Division. Representing the state, he investigated or civilly prosecuted real estate developers, mortgage brokers, used car dealerships, telemarketers, debt collectors and HMOs. He also served on the National Association of Attorneys General Telemarketing Task Force and Cross-Border Fraud Task Force. Mark has spoken both locally and nationally on consumer protection matters.  He has been named a "Rising Star" by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine, an "Up and Coming Lawyer" by Minnesota Lawyer, and was a recipient of the Outstanding Service Award from the Minnesota Justice Foundation. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Hamline University.

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Jane Bowman
Staff Attorney, Foreclosure Project

Jane Bowman is a 2008 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law.  Jane received her undergraduate degree from Macalester College. Throughout law school, Jane worked for the Minnesota Senate as a Legislative Assistant for State Senators Hottinger & Rummel. She also clerked at the Ramsey County Public Defender's Office; there she represented indigent clients in court. Jane is also on the Board of Directors Project 515 and the Minnesota Lavender Bar Foundation.

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Kari Rudd
VISTA Attorney, Foreclosure Project

Kari is a 2009 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, and a 2005 graduate of Hamline University’s College of Liberal Arts.   As an Americorps VISTA she will be working to build the capacity of the Foreclosure Relief Law Project to serve more homeowners throughout Minnesota.  Before coming to HPP, Kari worked as a law clerk at Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis  in the areas of Housing and Consumer Protection.  She also served as a student attorney and a student director in the University of Minnesota Law School’s Consumer Protection Clinic.

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Marit Eriksmoen
Office Manager

Marit Eriksmoen has provided administrative support to the organization since joining HPP in 2007. She graduated from Northland College.  Prior to joining HPP, Marit enjoyed her work at Appraisal Services, Inc. in Fargo, ND, and at the New Day Women's Shelter in Ashland, WI. 

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