Sylvia A. Alvarez
Sylvia A. Alvarez, HUD-Certified Housing Counselor (NMLS #1850798), is the visionary Founder and Executive Director of the Housing and Education Alliance (HEA), a HUD-approved housing counseling agency that has empowered more than 57,735 Tampa Bay residents since 2002. Under her leadership, HEA has delivered over 525,262 hours of housing education and counseling, facilitated more than $163 million in loans and down payment assistance, supported nearly 14,000 families through the foreclosure crisis, and helped over 12,500 families purchase their first homes—achievements that have earned both state and national recognition.
Sylvia is the co-author of The American Nightmare: Strategies for Preventing, Surviving, and Overcoming Foreclosure, a book endorsed by Freddie Mac and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and widely used by HUD housing counselors across the country. She is also preparing to release her upcoming book, It’s Hard to Kill a Bougainvillea, a deeply personal story inspired by her mother’s extraordinary journey from slavery to the American Dream, reflecting resilience, sacrifice, and the spirit that shaped Sylvia’s own path and commitment to housing advocacy.
During the housing crisis, when funding cuts nearly forced HEA to close, Sylvia’s resilience and determination inspired her team to persevere, with many continuing as volunteers or at drastically reduced salaries. Through her leadership, HEA not only survived but emerged as a nationally recognized nonprofit, later receiving honors such as PBS-WEDU Nonprofit of the Year, UnidosUS Southeast Regional Affiliate of the Year (2024), and the Beverly Faull Affordable Housing Leadership Award (2023).
A nationally respected housing advocate and motivational speaker, Sylvia has appeared on ABC, NBC, Univision, Bloomberg, and Spanish-language media to highlight housing challenges and opportunities. She has served on high-profile advisory boards for JPMorgan Chase, UnidosUS, HOPE NOW, Lakeview Community Capital LLC, the Homeownership Council of America, Hancock Whitney Bank, and Clearinghouse CDFI, and was appointed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Advisory Board (CFPB) under two administrations, contributing to efforts that returned more than $14 billion to consumers harmed by financial institutions. Most recently, she was also certified as an Expert Witness for FHA foreclosure cases.
Sylvia’s leadership and thought contributions have been recognized at the White House, and she is a member of the Thomas Jefferson High School Hall of Fame. Deeply rooted in her personal story as the daughter of immigrants, Sylvia recalls translating for her parents during their home-buying process at the age of nine. That experience ignited her lifelong passion for preserving the American Dream of homeownership for others. Today, in addition to her role at HEA, Sylvia is a licensed realtor, bilingual spokesperson, and trusted national voice in housing advocacy. Above all, she treasures her role as a devoted mother and grandmother.
Philip Tagliarini
Philip has over 30 years of experience in management, sales, operations, underwriting and procedures all related to real estate, mortgage lending and residential housing development. For over 12 years he held managerial positions in the title insurance industry, where he was Regional Manager and responsible for startup operations for locations throughout the state of Florida. While in the title industry he was responsible for setting up and managing the title plants as well as compliance with underwriting procedures within multi-county operations.
For nine years he was President of an FHA approved Florida Licensed Correspondent Lender. His work experience has allowed him to serve his hometown and the Tampa Bay Community by promoting attainable and sustainable homeownership through affordable housing. Through his leadership HEA developed a 28-unit subdivision for LMI households, securing over $100,000 in layered assistance for these buyers which allowed those even under 50% LMI achieve homeownership. He has organized and participated in dozens of foreclosure rescue events throughout the Tampa Bay area including those presented by Congresswoman Kathy Castor and Congressman Gus Bilirakis.
Philip’s area of responsibility includes the development of HEA’s Home Again Program. Home Again is HEA’s rehab and development arm. Over a three-year period HEA had acquired over three dozen foreclosed properties which have been renovated, remodeled, rehabbed and sold to Tampa Bay families. This has helped get blighted properties off the streets and put deserving families into these homes. His work earned HEA the coveted award for having the best rehab program in the country of all of UnidosUS affiliates. Unidos is the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the country working to improve the lives of not only Hispanics, but every citizen looking for a hand up to make a better life for their families.