Frannie Hemmelgarn brings a combination of financial rigor, entrepreneurial creativity and grounded community perspective to her work as Project Director at Brisa Development Partners (Brisa). With a background in accounting and economics from Claremont McKenna College and early experience as a project manager at Meta Housing Corporation, one of California’s top affordable housing developers, she understands the technical demands of getting high-impact real estate off the ground as well as the human realities that make it meaningful.

Since joining Brisa, Frannie has helped grow Brisa’s consulting practice into one of the most effective and nimble teams in the state, helping clients secure and deploy hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding for affordable housing and health facilities. In addition to pro forma management and development strategy, her work includes supporting early-stage feasibility, advising developers, nonprofits and public agencies on best practices, and leading cross-sector teams through funding, design, and delivery.

In addition to her development work, Frannie is the founder of a nontraditional arts gallery in downtown Los Angeles, housed on the ground floor of a supportive housing project she helped finance years earlier. The space functions as a living case study in how underutilized ground-floor areas can be transformed into places of belonging, creativity, and cultural visibility, particularly in neighborhoods shaped by historic disinvestment.

This blend of practical experience and human-scale insight is what sets Frannie apart. She knows how to braid funding sources, center community voice and move projects forward without losing sight of what makes them meaningful. That combination makes her a driving force behind Brisa’s ability to deliver projects that create lasting impact across California.