Brian McPherson is the Vice President of Housing Initiatives of Making Opportunity Count (MOC). He is currently building MOC’s Affordable Housing portfolio to eliminate and elevate families from cycles of impoverished circumstances. He complements a team that has been the cornerstone in North Central Massachusetts for over 60 years, empowering families to achieve economic security by removing barriers and creating lasting opportunities.
Brian has an unparalleled passion for serving the underserved, giving a voice to the unheard and a pathway forward for the passed over. He’s been a recognized leader and advocate for diversity with major corporations and government agencies with over 30 years of experience managing high profile construction projects totaling over $1.5 Billion.
He’s the former Executive Director and longtime board member of YouthBuild Boston where he has worked tirelessly to build affordable housing units throughout Boston’s Roxbury and Dorchester community. He was also a longtime board member of Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, cultivating community building initiatives with families desiring to begin their family legacy through affordable home ownership opportunities.
Brian has also served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the Director of Access & Opportunity for the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), where he was dedicated to the Commonwealth’s design and construction community in creating access to opportunities for minority and women owned businesses and the workforce. In addition, he supervised the certification process for all prime contractors, small prime contractors and subcontractors desiring qualifications to perform work on state funded projects.
At his core, Brian is truly a builder at heart, as a former Senior Project Manager he has completed dozens of construction projects for several major general contractors across a variety of sectors.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in Architectural Engineering.
Brian K. McPherson
We spoke with Brian after he completed Affordable Housing Essentials: How to Design, Develop, & Finance Properties Growing Cities Need in February 2025.
You had heard about this program from people in your professional network who raved about it. Did it live up to your expectations? How was your experience?
Absolutely! Short of completing a full master’s program in Urban Design, this program is a must have for those who are passionate about making a true difference in providing affordable housing opportunities for disenfranchised communities. It’s a condensed master’s program with viable and useful tools that can be implemented immediately no matter where you are in your affordable housing project.
The case study for the program is in Lagos, Nigeria. As a US housing developer, did you find using a non-US development case relevant to your understanding of affordable housing development?
Most definitely! The case study had all of the ingredients needed to make it easily transferable to my current project. From understanding the needs of the clients to a depth that makes them your own. To identifying the right site, working hand in hand with government officials and recruiting every potential community stakeholder as a partner.
We rolled our sleeves up and got intimate with building a balanced financial proforma that cultivated a keen understanding of diversified funding sources. This all laid a solid foundation for understanding how to have a viable construction project that will thrive when completed, with well-rounded services to the community and a thoughtful property management plan.
“The case study embraced every perspective of an affordable housing venture, but most importantly, for four days, we lived and breathed the needs, opportunities and long-term prosperity of our clients, the families who will be living in these homes.”
This program is highly interactive, with each group working together to tackle a complex development case. What was the group work like?
The group was very knowledgeable and well put together. It was refreshing to share with such diverse, high-caliber individuals, each with their own relatable industry strengths and experiences.
Housing costs and supply are at the top of Massachusetts residents’ and policymakers’ minds. What is Making Opportunity Count (MOC) doing to address this for North Central Massachusetts, and how will what you’ve learned in this program impact your projects?
Everything we learned in our case study was tremendously helpful to my day-to-day responsibilities here at Making Opportunity Count. Personally, my background is in construction project management. I’ve had the extreme pleasure of managing the construction process for hundreds of affordable housing units. Participating in the GSD Affordable Housing Program has significantly helped bridge the gaps in my own affordable housing educational process. This experience will allow me to better serve the housing equity needs of our clients living in Fitchburg and North Central Massachusetts.