Seven Notre Dame students minoring in real estate are interning for mission-driven real estate organizations around the country this summer. This year’s cohort of placements includes both Catholic dioceses and faith-based affordable housing developers. While each internship is distinct, a common thread binds them all together: creative thinking about the future of church property stewardship.
The growth of the program since its launch last year reflects the dynamism of the mission-driven sector of the real estate industry and a strong demand among students for professional opportunities that combine rigor with purpose.
Read on to learn about this year’s cohort and the mission-driven real estate projects they are supporting.
Luna Habash, Queen of Angels Housing (Los Angeles, CA)
“This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with Queen of Angels Housing, where I have been supporting the early planning and feasibility stages of potential affordable housing developments throughout Los Angeles,” wrote Luna Habash (’29). “Much of my work has focused on evaluating prospective sites by researching zoning and entitlement requirements, analyzing surrounding amenities and neighborhood context, documenting site conditions, and identifying potential financing opportunities.”
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance was created in 2023 in partnership with the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to address the region's housing crisis. Led by Executive Director Amy Anderson, the nonprofit works to identify sites for new affordable housing projects, including underused Church-owned properties.
For the 2026-27 school year, Luna will participate in the School of Architecture’s Rome Studies Program, in which third-year architecture students spend the academic year experiencing and studying the architecture and urbanism of the Eternal City. Reflecting on her current experience in Los Angeles, Luna said, “Immersing myself in Los Angeles has given me a deeper understanding of the region's housing affordability challenges and the significant role that public policy plays in shaping development. I have also gained a greater appreciation for how thoughtful design can provide dignity and stability to communities, and for the collaborative process that brings affordable housing projects to life, from policy and finance to planning, design, and ultimately construction and management.”
Graham Toombs, Catholic Charities of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
Graham Toombs (’27) is a rising senior majoring in business analytics and theology with a minor in real estate. “Over the course of the summer, I have had the opportunity to produce a range of research, analytical, and communications material in support of Catholic Charities Housing St. Louis’ goals,” Graham said. “My primary work has been creating an Excess Church Property Repositioning Framework, a professional workbook guiding archdiocesan staff through evaluating underutilized church property.” A key resource in Graham’s creation of this framework has also been CPI’s Redevelopment Tracker, which contains over 200 examples of adaptive reuse projects involving faith-based land and buildings. “This framework is designed to help the archdiocese systematically identify how excess property can be repositioned to meet affordable housing needs,” Graham explained. “Alongside this, I’ve started work on building a demographic and housing needs data tool covering all 11 counties of the archdiocese, hoping to quantify the demand and characteristics that should drive these redevelopment decisions.” Often, faith-based affordable housing developers take full advantage of the new skills and energy that undergraduate interns can bring to their teams for the summer. Graham stated that he also produced two briefings for the board: an analytical summary of Harvard University’s State of the Nation’s Housing 2025 and analysis of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Toombs said that these reports “[gave] the board and staff the context necessary to understand where the need and federal policy are headed.”
“Finally, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in many of CCH-STL’s current developments and projects,” Graham concluded, “including affordable senior living units and transitional housing, as well as development arrangements with a panelized housing component company.”
Aubrey Collignon, Archdiocese of Detroit (Detroit, MI)
“When I applied for the mission-driven internship program, I was looking for a summer experience that not only allowed me to explore hands-on work in real estate, but also exposed me to a new city, the Church’s mission, and the challenges that arise during major workplace change,” said Aubrey Collignon (‘29), who is pursuing a major in finance and minor in real estate. “My time at the Archdiocese of Detroit has gone above and beyond in filling these expectations.”
Aubrey’s first summer project was to compile examples of adaptive reuses of church property. “As the Archdiocese moves through its next steps of restructuring, it is crucial that they have access to examples of potential reuse as numerous church properties become available. Using a combination of Google and the Church Properties Initiative's Redevelopment Tracker, I compiled 25 unique examples of property reuses, curating summary reviews and justifications for why they may be applicable to the Detroit metropolitan area. The project allowed me to fine-tune my research skills, explore the importance of property reuse, exercise my imagination about property potential, and practice presentation skills in front of the team,” she explained.
In addition to several other unique projects this summer, including site visits to active and abandoned sites across Detroit, reconciling data from over 7,000 building condition reports, and sitting in on development proposal meetings, the backdrop of the internship in Detroit was in the context of large-scale restructuring. “One of the many reasons I chose to come to Detroit was the ongoing restructuring effort,” Aubrey said. “I wanted to observe the opportunities it offered for real estate and was fascinated by its impact on the Catholic mission in the city.” By the end of her internship, Aubrey commented, “Watching an organization move through an effort this vast, with its interconnected pieces, was a fascinating learning opportunity.”
McKenna Ranson, Archdiocese of Denver (Denver, CO)
“As a Property Management Intern with the Archdiocese of Denver, I assist with a variety of tasks, including reviewing the market value of leases for diocesan properties and calculating property taxes,” explained McKenna Ranson (’28), a rising junior economics major pursuing minors in real estate and innovation and entrepreneurship. The Archdiocese of Denver previously hosted a real estate intern in 2025, and was excited to continue that momentum by welcoming another intern to the team this summer. “Everyone’s been really helpful and excited to teach me and help me learn more about real estate,” McKenna said.
McKenna, who has previous experience in residential real estate brokerage, is also a Denver native. She said, “It’s really cool for me to learn about the communities that I’ve grown up around and hear about what’s going on in the background with all the real estate decisions. One of the most valuable parts of the internship has been learning about the wide range of properties owned by the diocese and how they are managed. Through this experience, I am gaining a better understanding of property management, lease analysis, and the day-to-day responsibilities involved in overseeing a large real estate portfolio.”
McKenna reflected, “I don’t think I would have been able to get this experience from another internship… being able to learn about real estate from such a diverse background: commercial, residential, offices, parking, even agricultural land.”
Maeve Ryan, Planning Office for Urban Affairs (Boston, MA)
Maeve Ryan (‘28), a rising junior majoring in finance with minors in real estate, marketing, and economic and business history, worked this summer as a Real Estate Development Intern with the Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA) in Boston, MA. “POUA was started by the Archdiocese of Boston to serve as their non-profit real estate arm, so it was a perfect look at how church-affiliated groups can drive massive social impact,” Maeve said. “As a finance major involved with the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate, I’ve spent a lot of time studying how the built environment can serve as a ‘force for good.’ At POUA, I was able to put those classroom theories into practice.”
For many aspiring real estate finance professionals, the idea of working for a nonprofit developer is not the first internship idea that comes to mind. However, the smaller teams and leaner organizational structures of many nonprofit developers can lead to a far more varied summer experience. Maeve, for example, said that her tasks included “helping underwrite new projects, digging into municipal zoning codes, and seeing how complex capital stacks like tax credits, private debt, and state subsidies come together to make affordable housing financially viable.”
Of all the projects Maeve worked on this summer, she said that the most rewarding was a partnership with a nonprofit called Bridge Over Troubled Waters. She explained, “We were developing transitional and permanent supportive housing for at-risk and homeless youth right in Boston. It was eye-opening to see the sheer amount of care, creative underwriting, and regulatory maneuvering required to build housing tailored for vulnerable kids.” She saw that the many teams working on the development process on this project “perfectly mirrored the interdisciplinary, ethical approach to development we focus on at Notre Dame. It showed me that real estate is not just about moving numbers around on a spreadsheet; it is about learning how to manage multi-variable risks to turn church and urban properties into places that truly protect and uplift communities.”
Tyler Wu, Diocesan Housing Services Corporation and St. Joseph’s Carpenters Society (Camden, NJ)
“During my internship at the Diocesan Housing Services Corporation (DHSC) of Camden, my primary project was the refinancing of Village Apartments of Cherry Hill, an affordable senior housing property, where I helped structure a $7 million adjustable-rate mortgage,” said Tyler Wu (‘28), a rising junior pursuing a major in finance and a minor in real estate. Tyler’s internship experience is unique in that the first half of his summer was spent with the DHSC, while the second half featured work for St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society (SJCS), a neighborhood redevelopment and residential revitalization initiative. “Through this work [at the DHSC], I gained hands-on exposure to affordable housing law and practice,” said Tyler. At SJCS, Tyler concluded, “I am contributing to their home repair and neighborhood redevelopment initiatives.”
Katie Thind, Catholic Homes New York (New York, NY)
"This summer, I am interning with Catholic Homes of New York," said Katie Thind, a rising junior accountancy major with a minor in Real Estate. Catholic Homes New York (CHNY) is the affordable housing development arm of Catholic Charities of New York, boasting a portfolio of around 3,000 units, and specializes in developing, constructing, and acquiring housing for families and seniors across New York City. "As an intern, I primarily support the asset management team with capital budgeting and affordable housing preservation financial modeling," she explained. "Right now, I am testing models to assess whether a property is a viable candidate for a PRAC-to-RAD conversion, which transitions assistance to long-term, project based Section 8 contracts."
Katie continued, "So far, I have really enjoyed learning about the complex life cycle of affordable housing and seeing how development, asset management, and mission all work together to create lasting impact. As an accounting major, I have also found it really interesting to learn more about nonprofit financial reporting and appreciate how the numbers translate to real outcomes."
At CHNY, Katie has found an excellent way to combine her skilled, academic training, with the opportunity to contribute to the common good through business. She concluded, "Ultimately, CHNY's belief that having a home is a sacred human right is reflected in everything they do and this opportunity has definitely inspired me to pursue meaningful, mission-driven work in my future."