Our Team

Donna Maestas-De Vries, MFA Chief Housing Officer

Donna Maestas-De Vries came to the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority in March 2020 as the organization’s Chief Housing Officer. She oversees MFA’s Asset Management and Community Development Departments.

Before coming to MFA, Maestas-De Vries was a director and tribal liaison for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department. Prior to that, she worked at the state’s Department of Finance and Administration as acting director, deputy director and equal employment opportunity officer. She also served for three years as the senior public lending officer for the New Mexico Finance Authority.

Maestas-De Vries worked for more than a decade in commercial real estate in California before coming to New Mexico. She was also the project manager for a large multifamily development project in San Diego. Maestas-De Vries earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego with a major in psychology and minors in physics and mathematics.

Jeff Payne, MFA Chief Lending Officer

Jeff Payne was hired as MFA’s Senior Director of Homeownership in 2017 following a 30-year career with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. In 2021, Payne was promoted to the newly created position of Chief Lending Officer where he oversees MFA’s Homeownership, Secondary Market and Housing Development Departments.

As assistant vice president and branch sales manager at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Payne managed a team of home mortgage consultants throughout Northern New Mexico, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe. A native New Mexican, he has served on the board of directors of the Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity from 2015 to 2018. Payne earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University.

Lizzy Ratnaraj, CPA, Chief Financial Officer

Lizzy Ratnaraj was hired as MFA's Chief Financial Officer in February of 2022 to oversee the organization’s assets and all activities within the finance division, including the finance, servicing, and accounting departments. Ratnaraj also works directly with the executive leadership team to advise on organization-wide policy development and oversee all external audit processes.

Ratnaraj has nearly a decade of experience managing finances, compliance, and collection for large-scale organizations and previously served as CFO at New Mexico Legal Aid and The New Mexico Department of Finance Administration. Ratnaraj also served in the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, where she first started as an Auditor and was progressively promoted to Director of the Audit and Compliance Division.

Ratnaraj holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Madras and a Master of Business Administration degree from New Mexico Highlands University. Ratnaraj has also been licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 2011.