Neighborhood Impact Investment FundOne Neighborhood at a Time
Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund
Arnold Williams is the Managing Director and a partner of Abrams Foster, Nole & Williams, P.A., a minority-owned certified public accounting firm founded in 1983. He serves as Board Chairman of the Maryland Health and Higher Education Facilities Association and is a board member of numerous non-profit organizations including the Baltimore Development Corporation, Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Development Authority, Lexington Market, Inc., The Presidents’ Roundtable, MORE-Marylander’s Organized for Responsibility and Equity and the MD State Board of Accountancy.
John Hamilton is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore, Inc. (“MECU”). Founded in 1936, MECU is a state-chartered credit union with $1.2 billion dollars in assets and over 115,000 members. John joined MECU in 2013 as Vice President of Lending after the successful completion of MECU’s acquisition of Advance Bank, his former employer. He joined Advance Bank in 1991 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and he was subsequently promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer. John is currently a board member with Associated Black Charities, UMB Health Sciences Research Park, and the Community Leadership Board of the American Diabetes Association.
F.T. was appointed as the CEO of Springboard Community Services in September of 2015 following a national search that yielded more than 200 candidates. Prior to joining SCS, he served for nearly 15 years as President & CEO of AIDS Interfaith Residential Services, Inc. / Empire Homes of Maryland. F.T.’s chief duties include leading fund and partnership development, cultivating the board of directors, and establishing the agency’s strategic direction and vision. A Florida native, F.T. enjoys cooking, traveling, and attending live music and dance performances.
Marc Broady serves as Vice President of Community Affairs at Weller Development, bringing over a decade of experience in civic and community involvement to the company. At Weller, Marc leads initiatives focused on workforce development, local hiring and apprenticeships, affordable housing, support for women- and minority-owned businesses, and other partnerships. He joined Weller after serving as as lead counsel and policy advisor to Rep. Elijah Cummings. Previously, Marc served in the Baltimore City Public School System and The Office for the Mayor of Baltimore City. He is a board member at My Brother’s Keeper of Baltimore, the Pimlico Community Development Authority, and the Holistic Life Foundation. He is also a Young Professionals Board Member at Center Stage and a mentor for the CollegeBound Foundation.
Augie Chiasera is President of the Greater Baltimore/Chesapeake regions of M&T Bank. Mr. Chiasera joined M&T Bank as an Executive Associate in 1993 and has performed a number of senior line and staff positions throughout the organization. Since relocating to Baltimore with M&T’s acquisition of Allfirst in 2002, Mr. Chiasera has led M&T’s Small Business efforts throughout Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia and managed the Middle Market/Large Corporate Banking divisions for the Baltimore region. Prior to his current assignment, he was responsible for leading a multi-year strategic review of the bank’s lending/deposit business across M&T Bank and managing the Bank’s global sourcing program. Augie is Board Chair for the Baltimore Development Corporation and serves on the boards of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Center Stage, University of Maryland Medical System, Greater Baltimore Committee, and Garrison Forest School
Jalal “Jay” Greene is the former Chief Operating Officer of the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development. Jay’s career spans 40 years and includes finance, nonprofit management, affordable housing, and community development. Prior to joining DHCD, Jay was Chief, Division of Housing for Montgomery County (Maryland). He has also served as Budget Director for the District of Columbia, Chief Financial Officer for the District’s Convention Center, Director of Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development, and Director of Housing and Community Development for the District. Prior to his career in affordable housing, Jay worked in investment banking and was employed by New York City’s largest minority-owned firm at the time.
Mary John Miller served as the U.S. Treasury’s Under Secretary for Domestic Finance from 2012 to 2014 where she oversaw Treasury debt management, fiscal operations, recovery from the financial crisis, and implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation. From 2010 to 2012, she served as Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets. Prior to her public service, Ms. Miller spent 26 years in the investment management industry with the T. Rowe Price Group, where she was the Director of the Fixed Income Division and served on the firm’s Management Committee and Asset Allocation Committee. She currently serves as a director of the Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group, The Jeffrey Company, and T. Rowe Price Charitable. Additionally, she is a trustee of Johns Hopkins University, The Urban Institute, and the Calvert School, and a senior fellow at The Johns Hopkins University 21st Century Cities Initiative.
Linda Sorden has more than 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. She served as senior loan officer, since 2010, with the Enterprise Community Loan Fund, Inc. before retiring in 2022. Enterprise Community Loan Fund is a certified community development financial institution providing community and economic development financing on a national level. Linda worked primarily in the core market of Baltimore, MD, as well as Detroit, MI, New Orleans, LA, California, Georgia, Florida and Ohio. She developed, underwrote and closed more than $200,000,000 in loans during her tenure at Enterprise. Loan products included construction finance, tax credit bridge loans, gap financing, and predevelopment loans.
Prior to joining Enterprise, she was responsible for creating, implementing and managing a variety of lending programs and loan portfolios with a focus on real estate development for community and economic development.
Sonja Wells is Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at City First Bank, a Washington D.C.-based Community Development Financial Institution, where she oversees the bank’s $200 million dollar loan portfolio with concentrations in affordable multi-family housing, education and health facilities, and small to medium sized businesses. She has over three decades of experience in commercial lending and community development finance in the Washington and Baltimore area. Prior to joining City First, Sonja was Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager at M&T Bank and a Business Banker for First Union Bank / Wachovia (now known as Wells Fargo). Sonja is a board member of DC Chamber of Commerce, Jubilee Baltimore, Inc., the African American Real Estate Professionals, the Southeast Community Development Corporation, and Wildflower Public Charter Schools. She also serves on the Loan Committee of the Maryland Casino Business Investment Fund.
Lori Glass currently serves as the Assistant Commissioner for Project Finance at Baltimore City DHCD. She has over 20 years of experience in impact investing and program development. Lori was most recently the Chief Lending Officer at NIIF where she led loan origination and business development. Prior to joining NIIF, she was selected to build a new program at the Primary Care Development Corporation, a CDFI specializing in healthcare lending. There she launched a program funded by New York State created to increase access to primary and behavioral health care in underserved markets. From 2013-2016, she served as CEO for Appalachia Community Capital, a start-up loan fund established to leveraging grant capital, foundation PRIs and bank lending in order to support under-invested communities. From 2003-2011 she worked at the Reinvestment Fund, where she was a member of the management team, led key efforts to launch the healthy foods financing program, and worked as a local market director. Lori serves as board member of the National Housing Trust Community Development Fund where she serves on the Loan Committee.
Colin Tarbert is the President and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), which serves as the economic development agency for Baltimore City responsible for growing the city by retaining and attracting businesses, expanding job opportunities for city residents, and increasing investment in the city. Prior to his BDC appointment, Colin served in various leadership roles for nearly a decade at the Mayor’s Office of Baltimore City during three administrations, including the roles of Deputy Chief of Strategic Alliances and Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development. In addition, Colin is active on numerous civic and non-profit boards, including chair of the Baltimore Hotel Corporation, chair of the Baltimore Public Markets Corporation and a member of the board of East Baltimore Development Inc.
Paul Taylor is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business and a member of the Mayor’s cabinet. Mr. Taylor is a founding member of the Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce and a current member of the Board Directors of the Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce, Baltimore Development Corporation and Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council. He is also a board member of the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority’s loan committee (MSBDFA) and works with the Partnership for Lending in Underserved Markets (PLUM) with the SBA and the Milken Institute. In addition, Mr. Taylor is a founding member of the African American Real Estate Professionals Maryland (now known as the Commercial Real Estate Professionals) and past President of the Ashburton Area Association.