J. Hunter Pickels 

Senior Vice President, Policy and External Affairs 

Hunter Pickels is Senior Vice President of Policy and External Affairs at the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC), where he shapes the organization’s policy agenda and provides strategic direction for communications and public affairs to strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) and expand the supply of affordable rental housing.

Previously, Hunter served as Chief Policy Officer at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development under Governor Larry Hogan, where he oversaw the department’s Housing and Economic Research Office and Office of Legislative Affairs, managed Maryland’s $15 million Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit program, advised the Secretary on legislative and policy matters, and represented the department before Congress, the Maryland General Assembly, and stakeholders.

Before joining the department, Hunter served for six years in the office of Congressman Charles Boustany, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He later managed the New York Victory Program during the 2012 election cycle, part of a national Republican congressional campaign effort, before serving as Executive Director of the South Dakota Republican Party.

Hunter serves on the board of a Mid-Atlantic nonprofit focused on community development, historic preservation, and housing. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and the U.S. Naval War College, and holds a Master of Public Administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.