Rebecca Hatfield joined Avesta in 2015 as an assets and acquisitions officer. She was promoted to director of real estate development in 2017 and in 2019 took on her current role as senior vice president of real estate. In this position, she oversees Avesta’s real estate development and property management divisions with more than 100 employees.

Mainebiz: Portland was recently cited by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 10 cities to live in, with a caveat about the availability of affordable housing. How important is affordable housing to keeping a city accessible and vibrant?

Rebecca Hatfield: As demand and popularity increases, accessibility is at risk of diminishing. Portland is home to thousands of jobs and has easy access to all the activities of daily living. Affordable housing must be protected. People need to remember that affordable housing serves critical members of the community — a teacher, a grocery store worker, a police officer. If a daycare teacher can’t afford to live in the city, then you might not have a daycare to serve the community’s residents.