Dr. Marja Hoek-Smit is a World Renowned Housing Expert and AIHS Board Member. She is also the Founder and Long-term Director of the International Housing Finance Program, of the Wharton School Zell / Lurie Real Estate Centre, and an Adjunct Professor in the Wharton Real Estate Department and the Department of City and Regional Planning of the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked closely on the development and teaching of courses for officials from Indian, Indonesian, Thai, South African, Brazilian,Caribbean and Russian housing finance institutions. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Habitat for Humanity Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Housing. Marja is also the Executive Director of the Housing Finance Information Network—HOFINET—a global web portal that consolidates international housing finance information and statistical data for public use.