Peter B. Sargent, director of capital development at Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. (MHIC) has been elected president of the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds (NASLEF).

Sargent was elected president at NASLEF’s 19th annual conference, held in San Francisco. He will serve a two-year term, according to a statement.

NASLEF is a professional, nonprofit association formed in 1994 to promote the efficient management of state and local equity funds. The association’s mission is to promote a greater understanding of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and to encourage the professional development of its member organizations. Collectively through 2011, member funds have created or rehabilitated 118,000 units of affordable housing and have raised more than $8.3 billion in equity capital for rental housing developments throughout the United States.

MHIC is a private, nonprofit lender and investor specializing in financing affordable housing and community development. Under its Housing Tax Credit program, MHIC provides equity financing for affordable housing and community development projects that use the federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) or federal historic tax credits, or a combination of both.