Deval LLC Leadership

DEVAL – Only The Best

DEVAL attracts and develops top talent so that our clients always have access to the best thinking and deep industry experience.  DEVAL employees bring the best of many worlds to bear for our customers. They come from finance, banking, audit, and consulting, with first-hand knowledge of clients’ distinctive culture and climate.

More than half are industry experts and more than 65 percent have advanced degrees.

They come from business, bringing leading practices and problem-solving skills to resolve thorny management issues. And they come from academia, bringing intellectual integrity and a thirst for new and better ways to conduct business.

Meet our Leadership Team

Deborah Garcia-Gratacos – Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Deborah García-Gratacós is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of DEVAL and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and operating results of the company. Ms. García-Gratacós is a licensed attorney with a professional and educational background in real estate and finance. In this capacity, Ms. García-Gratacós provides executive leadership to hundreds of employees in all DEVAL offices nationwide managing portfolios over $230 billion dollars since its founding. Ms. Garcia-Gratacos leads operations and provides strategic direction having full responsibility for bottom-line factors, including long-range planning and management. A provider of consulting services to both private and public clients, Ms. García-Gratacós has served clients on numerous levels.

In this capacity, Ms. García-Gratacós has served federal agencies such as the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), the United States Department of the Interior (“DOI”), the United States Department of State (“DOS”), the United States General Services Administration (“GSA”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Prior to founding DEVAL, Ms. García-Gratacós worked as a Real Estate Consultant for Arthur Andersen LLP Valuation Group in Vienna, Virginia.

Ms. García-Gratacós has a Master’s of Business specializing in Real Estate from the University of Florida Warrington College Of Business; a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law; a Dual Bachelor’s of Arts in Public Administration and Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida. Ms. García-Gratacós is also a Certified Residential Underwriter with the Mortgage Bankers Association and currently sits on the Truist Bank Community Advisory Board, the Five Star American Mortgage Diversity Council, the Commonwealth of Virginia Housing Minority Business Advisory Council, and the board for the American Bible Society. Ms. García-Gratacós has been recognized as a national leader on housing matters and has been awarded the 2019 Five Star Conference “Women in Housing” Cultural Leader Award. Ms. García-Gratacós, a native of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is fluent in Spanish.

Osvaldo L. Gratacós – President & Chief Investment Officer

Mr. Osvaldo L. Gratacós is President & Chief Investment Officer of DEVAL LLC and is responsible for the general operations, strategy development, and implementation and oversight of DEVAL’s business lines and its hundreds of staffs, including direct managing and investment responsibilities of the firm’s multi-family real estate investment portfolio and other investments. In addition, Mr. Gratacós, with DEVAL’s CEO, directs the overall strategic growth of the firm, its portfolio, and investments.

Mr. Gratacós has extensive expertise in organizational and portfolio oversight having held senior executive positions at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), The World Bank Group, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) where he was appointed as Inspector General by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As part of his duties, Mr. Gratacós frequently testified before the U.S. Congress. Prior to joining Ex-Im Bank, Mr. Gratacós held various positions in Motorola, Inc. and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General (USAID/OIG).

Mr. Gratacós holds a Bachelor degree from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, an M.B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida, and a Master in International Policy & Practice from The George Washington University. Mr. Gratacós is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

Mr. Gratacós, a native of Puerto Rico, is fluent in Spanish.

Edgar Garrido – Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Edgar Garrido is the Chief Financial Officer and is based in DEVAL’s Vienna, VA office (Washington DC Metro Area). An accounting and business professional with over 15 years of experience in all aspects of accounting and financial management.

Mr. Garrido is responsible for the company’s accounting operations, including the production of periodic financial reports, maintenance of an adequate system of accounting records, and a comprehensive set of controls and budgets designed to mitigate risk, enhance the accuracy of the company’s reported financial results, and ensure that reported results comply with generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards.

Mr. Garrido has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Strayer University, an M.B.A. and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Management from The George Washington University. Mr. Garrido, a native of the Dominican Republic, is fluent in Spanish.

Lusby A. Sarmiento – Senior Vice President, Regulatory Compliance

Ms. Lusby A. Sarmiento is a licensed attorney with a sound professional and educational background in management, finance, program development, compliance and law. Ms. Sarmiento serves as the Senior Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and is based in DEVAL’s regional office in the Washington DC Metro Area. During her tenure, Ms. Sarmiento has served a range of clients in the private and public sector, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, US Department of Treasury, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Deloitte and Touché, Bazilio Cobb & Associates, HSBC, and RSM McGladrey, among others.

Ms. Sarmiento holds a Juris Doctor from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Investigation from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. Ms. Sarmiento is licensed to practiced law in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. She is also an Authorized Public Notary (“Notaria Pública”) in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Ms. Sarmiento is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and a Certified Residential Underwriter with the Mortgage Bankers Association. Ms. Sarmiento, a native of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is fluent in Spanish.

Gena Thornton – Senior Vice President – Loan Servicing

Mrs. Gena Thornton is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the financial services industry.

She has significant management experience, having led various departments and divisions in commercial and residential loan servicing. Her skills in due diligence, contract negotiations, and vendor relations were influential in growing servicing portfolios in her past. Previous clients included government-sponsored enterprises, the FDIC, life companies, and third-party institutions.

Mrs. Thornton is responsible for assisting the company’s effort to procure new services opportunities, and with overseeing the performance on assigned contracts and managing relationships with the client and sub-contractors.

Cielo Henao – Chief Information Officer 

Ms. Cielo Henao serves as Chief Information Officer for Deval. Ms. Henao is primarily responsible for overseeing the development, implementation and maintenance of DEVAL’s IT systems as well as being the primary point of contact in providing support to clients’ projects. Ms. Henao possesses a highly diversified technical background and a proven ability to implement technologies designed to evaluate and analyze large amounts of data.

Ms. Henao is a proficient problem-solver who uses a comprehensive business/technical skill-set to develop efficient systematic solutions to capturing and analyzing data. During her tenure, Ms. Henao has served a range of clients including the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Small Business Administration, US Department of Treasury, Ginnie Mae, among others.

Ms. Henao holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science from the University of ICESI in Colombia and possesses a Professional Certification in Financial Risk Management Models from the same university.

Liza Ramos-Santos – Director, Caribbean Region

For the past ten years Mrs. Liza Ramos-Santos has been DEVAL’s Director of the Caribbean regional office based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mrs. Ramos-Santos oversees all DEVAL’s government accounts in the Caribbean, including the federal agency of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and state agency account for the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (“PRDOH”).

As such, she managed HUD’s Closing Agent Services Program and the Buyer Select Closing Agent Program for HUD as well as the Puerto Rico Title Clearance Program for PRDOH.

Prior to working at DEVAL, Mrs. Ramos-Santos was a Junior Associate at a mid-size law firm dedicated to corporate and labor law, and general practice, for two years. Mrs. Ramos-Santos has a Juris Doctor Degree from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law (Cum Laude) and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Pre-Law from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus (Cum Laude). Mrs. Ramos-Santos is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and is also an Authorized Public Notary for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Mrs. Ramos-Santos, a native of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is fluent in English and Spanish.