Leah Fremouw is a familiar face in the economic development community and has a rich background stemming from multiple sectors. She currently serves as Bridging Virginia’s CEO; Bridging Virginia is a newly established community development loan fund. In this role, she partners with businesses, nonprofits, and localities in a variety of industries and growth stages to support their capital needs and movement to the next level. In 2020, she led the relaunch of the Richmond region’s small business development center (SBDC) and in 2021 helped secure $10 million from the General Assembly to establish and fund the new VA Small Business Resiliency Fund (CDFI Fund). Additionally, Leah founded and leads the newly formed VA CDFI Coalition. Prior to leading Bridging Virginia, Leah spent six years as SVP and Director of Community Innovation at Virginia Community Capital, a community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides loans and advisory services to communities in all regions of the Commonwealth. She led talent management and cultural initiatives for CarLotz, a fast-growing Richmond business, served as an organizational development consultant with the Performance Management Group at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and for three years worked in the Richmond’s public housing communities.

Leah’s commitment to her community brings her out of the office and into initiatives moving the greater region and state forward. She sits on the boards of the nonprofits ChamberRVA and is a member of the Hive Movement Board. In 2021, Leah launched Renegade Capital, a podcast ultimately generating a national audience and broad base of financial support to continue the series. She helped lead TEDxRVA, the innovative speaker series initiated in 2012, along with Impact 100 Richmond, where she supported strategies to raise large grant funds for local nonprofits. Leah earned her Bachelor and Master degrees at VCU, where she was twice recognized as an L. Douglas Wilder Graduate Scholar (2008-2010). In 2019, Leah was a recipient of the VCU Top 10 Under 10 award and was appointed by Governor Ralph Northam to the state-wide Growth and Opportunity Virginia (GO Virginia) Board. She was reappointed to the GO Virginia board in 2021 and will serve four more years.

As President & CEO of Appalachian Community Capital, Donna J. Gambrell is responsible for attracting and directing investments to Community Development Financial Institutions (or CDFIs) and other mission-driven lenders in Appalachia. These lenders, in turn, use the investments to make loans to small business owners, including to minority- and women-owned businesses, in underserved communities throughout the region. Since it began lending in 2015, ACC has deployed over $20 million to help finance renewable energy projects, manufacturing sites, elder care facilities, restaurants, ecotourism, and downtown redevelopment, among other projects.

Ms. Gambrell serves on several CDFI boards. She is also the board chair of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, a 501 (c) (3) organization comprised of over 60 executives that was formed in 2018 to identify solutions to closing the racial wealth gap in the communities served by the members.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University in Maryland and a Master of Science degree from New York University.

Stephen joined the Community Investment Collaborative as its first President in April 2013. During his leadership, CIC has grown from 2 to 15 employees, been certified as a CDFI and become host for the Central Virginia Small Business Development Center. He brings two decades of experience in organization building, management, consulting and education He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for VPM Media Corporation. He previously served on the Piedmont Virginia Community College Board, the PVCC Education Foundation Board of Directors and the Shenandoah Valley Educational Technology Corporation (WVPT) Board of Directors. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Master’s degree in Education from James Madison University.

Laura N. Dupuy works at the Virginia Community Development Corporation (VCDC), a non-profit equity firm investing in affordable housing, historic preservation and community development projects throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. She participates on the VCDC Development team and provides technical assistance and consultation in real estate development financing to projects and developers eligible to receive tax credits from programs such as Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Historic Preservation Tax Credits, and New Market Tax Credits. For the past five years, Dupuy has managed the activities of VCDC’s lending affiliate, Virginia Community Development Fund (VCDF), a certified Community Development Financial Institution.

Laura is the former executive director of the Lynchburg Neighborhood Development Foundation (LNDF), a non-profit housing finance and development organization serving the needs of low-income residents of Central Virginia. During her tenure, she financed more than 300 first-time homebuyers, developed 100 affordable rental units, and renovated a former car dealership into three community health center clinics.

Laura is an attorney, previously with the Virginia Legal Aid Society, and has been engaged in housing and poverty advocacy throughout the state for more than 30 years. She has served on several non-profit boards and statewide organizations and is currently active with a creative writing non-profit, WordWorks, and on the Board of The Listening, Inc., sponsor of Lynchburg’s Freedom School that opened its inaugural session in the summer of 2019. She is a graduate of New York University and George Mason University Law School and is a member of the Virginia State Bar. She has a daughter, Dessi, who is an award-winning athlete.

Matt joined the Virginia Bankers Association in December 2010 and currently serves as Senior Vice President for Government & Member Relations. In that role, he represents the Virginia banking industry at the Virginia state and federal levels, oversees the VBA BankPAC and coordinates grassroots advocacy. He also coordinates VBA’s member relations efforts, including bank outreach and engagement as well as the endorsed provider program.

Prior to joining the VBA, Matt served as Legislative Liaison in the Policy Office of Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell. He also worked as the Policy Director for Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell. He serves on the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens Board of Directors where is a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Horticulture, Education and Engagement Committee. He is active at Trinity Lutheran Church in Henrico, including previously serving on the Church Council.

Matt received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership Studies and Political Science from the University of Richmond in 2003. He is a graduate of the VBA’s Executive Leadership Institute and the VBA School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia. He lives in Glen Allen, Virginia with his wife Jennifer and daughters Charlotte and Caroline.

My goal is to democratize the way that money flows into and around our communities and create entrepreneur ecosystems. I believe that equalizing the playing field for the small but mighty businesses make our neighborhoods amazing places to live.

For more than 15 years, I have been on the front lines empowering people to open businesses by educating them on business planning, navigating the process of getting them funded, and lending an ear of support and empathy. I have raised the money to create and launch innovative initiatives that help people out of poverty and fought to keep that money in our local economies. I am inspired how education, support, and access to capital can come together to help people become self-sufficient, while also giving them a sense of place and ownership. My superpower is bringing people together, I show them how to take action through storytelling and painting a vivid picture of how we can all be better together.

My passion for community growth and its economic impact has been recognized when my clients nominated me for Style Weekly’s 2010 Top 40 Under 40 as an emerging leader and when I won the 2015 Dennis Burnett Community Excellence Award from the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce.

I am........ a sparkly wonk, a bad knitter, an idea instigator, book lover, a schemer and dreamer.

Be local. Be loud. Be weird. Be good.

Cheers,

C

Jane began her career in commercial real estate in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and later relocated to Richmond to serve as Managing Director and partner of Advantis Real Estate Services Company. Jane left the private sector in 2005 to join the City of Richmond under the Mayor Douglas Wilder administration. She spent the next fourteen years leading the City’s real estate, economic development, and business attraction activities.

She was selected by Richmond’s Mayor to serve as a fellow for the Daniel Rose Fellowship for Public Leaders, a partnership of the Urban Land Institute and the National League of Cities and was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve on the business development and marketing advisory committee for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Jane taught commercial real estate investment analysis and real estate development courses as a faculty member of the CCIM Institute to commercial real estate practitioners from around the country. She was named as one of the Top 20 Women in Commercial Real Estate by Richmond CREWE in 2009.

Jane joined Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC) Virginia in 2020 as Executive Director, where she leads efforts to raise and deploy capital, create and implement innovative community development programs, and provide policy support to advance broadly shared prosperity across Central Virginia.

Amanda has worked in the credit union industry for more than twelve years and currently serves as President/CEO at Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union. Amanda led the CDFI certification strategy at Peoples Advantage FCU in 2018 and oversees the CDFI initiatives of delivering financial products and services to low-to-moderate income members of the community. Headquartered in Petersburg, Virginia, and serving 21 cities and counties in the Richmond Metro Area, Peoples Advantage has a strategic mission to deliver products and services that help members of modest means meet big financial goals!

Amanda is active in the Virginia Credit Union League’s (VACUL) Emerging Professionals group where she served as chairman from 2018-2019. She previously served on the Virginia Credit Union League's Statewide Advocacy Council where she led credit union engagement in advocacy work.

Amanda currently serves on the Virginia CDFI Coalition Board of Directors advocating for CDFI funding and support in the state of Virginia. She also serves on the Crater Region Workforce development board where she oversees implementation of workforce development initiatives throughout the Crater Region. Amanda has a deep passion for bringing innovation to her small but mighty organization, to better serve members left behind by traditional financial services.

Kelly Harris-Braxton serves as executive director for Virginia First Cities Coalition. Her years of experience in state and local government, her focus on policy and her experience as an attorney, provide a dynamic combination of knowledge, experience and skill. Ms. Harris-Braxton played a major role in the implementation of Virginia First Cities.

Immediately prior to this appointment, Ms. Harris-Braxton served as Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations and Assistant City Attorney for the city of Richmond. In these positions, Ms. Harris-Braxton advised elected and administrative leaders of the city on all issues concerning state and federal legislation. As counsel to city departments and agencies, Ms. Harris-Braxton advised five central departments. During her tenure with the city, Ms. Harris-Braxton also served in other roles including the mayor’s chief of staff and coordinator for Housing and Economic Development for the East District Initiative. Ms. Harris-Braxton also served as Special Assistant for Policy in the Office of the Governor L. Douglas Wilder.

Ms. Harris-Braxton is a graduate of William and Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law. Her undergraduate work culminated in a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1989. She is a registered lobbyist in the Commonwealth. She is active in a variety of community programs, and organizations, including membership in The Links, Inc. and the Virginia State Bar. A Richmond, Virginia native, she is married and has two sons.

MomentUS Capital. (Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance and Ventures Technology)

Jaret brings nearly two decades of experience, and has the responsibility of overseeing the Treasury and Financial Analysis functions, which includes cash and investment management, debt portfolio management, debt capital markets, investor relations, compliance, managing bank relationships, and financial analysis. Jaret also serves as Treasurer of CDC Small Business Finance. Prior to joining Capital Impact, Jaret served in a senior treasury leadership capacity at National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”). Prior to joining Amtrak, Jaret worked in Corporate Banking and Financial Services with PNC Bank, N.A., SunTrust Bank, N.A. and Ford Motor Credit Company.

Jaret is a graduate of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (B.S. Business Administration, Finance Concentration) and Florida Atlantic University (M.B.A., Accounting Concentration).

Throughout her career, Andrea has raised over $350 million for community investments throughout the United States. Andrea currently serves as Senior Vice President of Development & Capitalization at Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the national network of CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) dedicated to driving capital to low-wealth communities across the United States. Andrea’s role at OFN is to find new pathways for capital to flow to CDFIs so they can lend at affordable rates and terms to local borrowers. Prior to OFN, Andrea held positions at Freddie Mac (New Initiatives and Change Management, Investments & Capital Markets), Capital Impact Partners (Investments and Structured Finance), and Delphos International (Financial Analyst).

Andrea holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder designation from the CFA Institute (Charlottesville, VA), a BA from Centre College (Danville, KY), and an MA from The George Washington University (Washington, DC). She is the proud mother of her three beautiful children: Cora, Lucy and George.

Julia Lynch brings nearly two decades of diverse service to communities to the VA CDFI Coalition.

She currently serves as the Investor Relations Manager at Virginia Community Capital, helping to attract mission-aligned partners and social impact investments. As the first Strategic and Social Impact Manager at New Jersey Community Capital, she developed a framework to effectively track and illustrate the success of programs and services across a broad range of indicators in the context of social health outcomes. Together with secondary research into socioeconomic, policy, and community development trends, her work helped inform strategic focus and shape an array of specialized loan funds, programs and services.

Previously, she served as the first female civilian Chief of Staff at Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, helping to define and execute a strategic vision that transformed the agency into a high-performing operation focused on community risk reduction.

Ms. Lynch earned her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and an MPA Certification from Rutgers University. She is a graduate of Leadership Howard County and a member of the inaugural cohort of the Nonprofit Network for Strategic Operations and Finance, a six-month leadership program offered by the Rustandy Center for Social Innovation in the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Dave Prosser is Senior Vice President of Community Development at Freedom First Credit Union (FFCU), where he has worked since 2004. Freedom First serves 22 counties across Southwest and Central Virginia, which includes 1.1M residents mostly representing rural markets. Freedom First has 11 branches, over 57,000 members and over $900 million in assets. Freedom First became s Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2000 to better serve families in need.

Freedom First has long been a force for economic development in its investment area. Providing project development through grant funding, Dave deploys and oversees a comprehensive suite of Impact Banking products. These products include loans, financial services, and developmental services that provide credit-challenged, low- and very-low income consumers with continual access to financial security. Freedom First’s commitment to that effort is apparent in the products and programs designed specifically to meet the transportation, housing, workforce development, and economic revitalization efforts in its community. Freedom First also assists in the banking needs of those in the low- and middle-income market by addressing credit and asset building challenges through its Financial Empowerment Centers.

Dave is also the Executive Director of Freedom First Enterprises, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization under Freedom First’s umbrella that acts as a loan fund, financial provider, capital provider, and economic development driver in the Appalachia region. Through Freedom First Enterprises, Dave has developed a special focus on financial wellness and health equity in the region – specifically how financial stress can negatively impact physical and mental health.

Dave earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and his Masters of Business (MBA) from Averett University.

Karlene had been a long-time client of Community Business Partnership and volunteer herself from as early as 2005 before joining CBP’s Business Finance Center in April 2012. She has provided extensive support in helping the organization advance its mission to be a viable Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Loan Fund.

Karlene manages the day-to-day operations of the center with specific focus on client and portfolio management. She facilitates clients’ requests for business & financial reviews, financing needs, loan packaging, financial and business counseling services. She also instructs training classes including ‘Creating a Strong Credit Profile,’ ‘Options for Funding Your Business,’ and ‘Preparing for Funding’ designed to help clients understand the financing process and financing solutions available today.

Karlene has a background in healthcare, finance, new startup development, strategic planning, and management. Prior to her work at CBP, she owned a medical billing and transcription company, a staffing firm, and janitorial partnership. In her extra time as a business and financing strategist, Karlene supports clients through coaching and other strategic solutions including teaching online ecourses for over 13,000 enrolled students in over 100 countries. She has also been an Adjunct Professor for Prince George’s Community College Workforce Development program for 10+ years. Karlene is also a bestselling author, speaker, and is considered a foremost expert on Alternative Business Financing.

She believes that 'If You Can Dream It, You Can Achieve It.'

Shauna Yeldell is the Chief Lending Officer for the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif), a Community Development Financial Institution. The mission of Wacif is to increase equity and economic opportunities in underserved communities in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

She has more than twenty five years of traditional commercial banking experience with multinational institution and regional institutions. Her experience includes the management of portfolios exceeding $100 Million including commercial and industrial entities, municipalities, real estate develop entities, community development organizations, public private partnerships.

Shauna has maintained an affinity for developing sustainable communities through the economic development of underserved populations. As such, she has served on numerous non-profit boards of directors and advisory committees throughout her career.

Shauna is a Doctorate of Business Administration graduate and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Temple University and Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. She enjoys yoga, golf, biking, performing arts and travelling.