Chispa

CHISPA has claimed to have had built and renovated more than 2,400 homes and apartments for low and moderate-income households in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties since its founding in 1980. CHISPA funds its developments through a combination of federal and state low-income housing tax credits, private bank loans, state affordable housing loan programs, and local government contributions. ^{1 2}

The organization has received significant government funding and has consistently undergone annual federal grant audits, which are required for organizations that spend more than $750,000 in federal grants per fiscal year. ^{3 4}

Background

CHISPA was incorporated in 1980 in Salinas and received federal tax-exempt recognition in February 1981. It was established to address affordable housing for farmworkers and other low-wage workers in Monterey County, a region defined by large-scale agricultural production and a high cost of living.  ^{1 5 2 6}

For more than two decades, Alfred Diaz-Infante worked as CHISPA’s president and chief executive officer, steering the organization from a small local nonprofit into the largest private affordable housing developer on the Central Coast. Diaz-Infante, himself the son of immigrant farmworkers who settled in Salinas in 1961, earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University Sacramento, and a master’s degree in business administration from University of California Berkeley. He died in 2021, at the age of 60, after losing control of his vehicle on Davis Road in Salinas. California State Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D) described Diaz-Infante as “one of Monterey County’s finest leaders ever.”  ^{7 8 9}

Following an interim leadership period, CHISPA appointed Geoffrey Morgan as president and the chief executive officer in 2023. ^{10 11}

Activities

Housing Development

CHISPA’s primary activity is the development of affordable rental and for-sale housing. It claimed to have constructed more than 1,400 rental apartments and rental homes and have sold more than 800 single-family homes to low- and moderate-income families as of 2026. ²

It manages its rental portfolio through a wholly owned subsidiary, CHISPA Housing Management, Inc. (CHMI), and constructs its developments through an in-house general contracting company, Central Coast Residential Builders (CCRB). CHISPA funds its developments through a combination of federal and state low-income housing tax credits, private bank loans, state low-interest loan programs, and local government contributions. ^{1 12}

In 2023, CHISPA completed its then-most recently announced development, the 65-unit Alfred Diaz-Infante Apartments in the East Garrison subdivision of Marina, California. The complex received more than 1,800 applications, with 43 units reserved for farmworker families. ¹³

As of 2026, its rental portfolio encompassed more than 20 locations and more than 2,000 individual units across Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties.  ¹

Mutual Self-Help Housing Program

CHISPA operates a “mutual self-help” housing program in which groups of low-income families collectively build their own homes and those of other participating families. Skilled trades, such as electrical and heating, were contracted to licensed professionals. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program provides the mortgages for the program. ¹⁴

Community Services

Through its community services department, CHISPA offers onsite educational and recreational programs to residents of its rental properties via partnerships with more than 40 local organizations. The department also provides food bank distributions twice per month and tutoring for K-12 students. ^{15 16}

As of 2026, its community service partners included the Central Coast YMCA, Sol Treasures, the Alisal Center for the Fine Arts, the Arts Council for Monterey County, the Alliance on Aging, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Seasonal programs included youth soccer, softball, water sports, and summer day camps; the Big Sur Land Trust offered children field trips and camping opportunities through the partnership.  ¹⁵

Scholarships

CHISPA operates a scholarship program for students living in housing it developed or managed, administered through the Community Foundation for Monterey County. Former CHISPA CEO Alfred Diaz-Infante had established a scholarship at Hartnell College in honor of his immigrant farmworker parents. ^{17 18}

Funding

CHISPA has received significant government funding, including both grants and loans. In 2025, it reported receiving $9,625,804 in federal government grants. ¹⁹

In fiscal year 2024, CHISPA’s program services revenue, which included proceeds from home sales, totaled $10,707,391. ²⁰

In October 2024, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) announced that CHISPA would receive $1,320,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Off-Farm Labor Housing Program for rehabilitation of the Soledad Townhomes, a farmworker housing complex.  ²¹

Grantmaking

The organization has routinely received more than $750,000 per year in federal grant funds, triggering mandatory single-audit requirements under federal law. ²²

Leadership

As of 2026, Geoffrey Morgan is president and chief executive officer of CHISPA. Morgan previously worked for nearly a decade as president and CEO of First Community Housing (FCH), a Silicon Valley affordable housing developer, and as the vice president of real estate development for CCH, a national affordable housing developer for elderly Americans. Morgan holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree in real estate development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ^{10 11}

As of 2026, Dana Cleary was director of real estate development. She had previously worked as project manager for a private real estate developer, the director of a housing investment program for the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, and as a Marina City Council member. Cleary holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.  ¹¹

As of 2026, Jose Chavez Medina was board chair. At that time, Chavez Medina was also serving as a Community Engagement Coordinator for the City of Greenfield and as a school board trustee for the Gonzales Unified School District. ¹¹

As of 2026, Sonia Jaramillo was board secretary. She was a former board president of the Gonzales Unified School District and, as of 2026, was serving on the California Head Start Association board and on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) Early Childhood Policy Council.  ¹¹