VIRGINIA CDFI SUMMIT 2026:

Collective Power, Bold Action

Breakout Session Speakers

  • Christina Snell is a business advisor and Partnerships & Outreach Lead for Capital Pathways, and founder of 11innovation, a business consulting firm focused on strategy, analytics, and operational excellence. In her role with Capital Pathways, Christina works directly with entrepreneurs as a business advisor while also building partnerships with lenders, CDFIs, and economic development organizations across Virginia to improve capital readiness and expand access to financing for small businesses. With nearly 20 years of experience in revenue operations, business intelligence, digital transformation, and financial readiness, she brings a practical, on-the-ground perspective on how technical assistance, partnerships, and outreach can help more entrepreneurs become finance-ready and position communities for long-term economic growth.

  • Azish is an accomplished executive, lawyer, board member, researcher, and speaker focusing on corporate governance, financial regulation, responsible AI policy, and business ethics and compliance. She is the Managing Director of The American College Maguire Center for Ethics in Financial Services, and the Charles Lamont Post Chair and Associate Professor of Business Ethics.
    After practicing corporate law and serving as counsel and A.V.P. at the NY Fed, she transitioned to executive roles in industry and academia. She writes about responsible AI, ethical culture and leadership strategies in business, and financial regulation and ethics, including environmental, social and governance considerations in investing. She has spoken at the United Nations (UNCITRAL), the OECD, and the U.S. Department of Energy, various companies and conferences, and in 2013 she conducted training on financial regulation to central bankers in Nairobi, Kenya.
    Her leadership extends into the community, having served on 12 trustee and advisory boards—including a ’40 Act Fund board, multiple non-profit boards, and advisory committees—with active participation on nominating and governance committees. She is currently the Co-Chair of the NY City Bar Association Presidential Task Force on AI Subcommittee on AI in Commerce and Finance. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Investment Collaborative, a Charlottesville-based CDFI. 

    She is a double ‘Hoo (UVA Echols; UVA Law) and currently lives in Charlottesville, VA.

  • Aleks Whitchurch is the proud Co-Founder of Doodle Enterprises, a consultancy supporting mission-driven organizations during innovative new product launches, critical scaling or pivots, and transformational cultural change curves. Having honed her strategic analytics skills at Capital One, Aleks is a seasoned Financial Services leader and GTM (Go-To-Market) expert with almost two decades of experience across product, finance, marketing, and technology. Her work has impacted resource-strapped startups, complex Fortune 500 organizations, and program-focused nonprofits seeking growth and revenue generation. Currently, Aleks is passionately supporting community development organizations exploring and adopting leading-edge technologies such as AI.
    A proud resident of Richmond, Virginia, Aleks loves reading (especially Agatha Christie novels), relaxing along the James River or on the Chesapeake Bay, and exploring the world with her family. Aleks holds a degree in Economics from Harvard University.

  • Dave Silverstein is the CEO of Ned, a lending platform powered by live bank data. Lenders use Ned's end-to-end enablement suite to streamline origination and underwriting, automate repayments, and manage portfolio risk across the full credit lifecycle. Ned serves banks, credit unions, and CDFIs across the country and has powered over $100 million in loans.

    Prior to Ned, Dave worked across public and private sectors. He served as Press Secretary to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and spent the following decade building and operating growth-stage digital businesses across the technology sector. Most recently, he served as Chief of Staff to Michael Kassan, Chairman and CEO of MediaLink.

  • Lolita founded FUND Consulting in 2000 and is a recognized leader in the CDFI industry. With a background in public service management and urban planning, she has guided the firm’s growth and strategic direction. Her expertise includes strategic planning, nonprofit business development, and CDFI banking. Lolita has worked in the CDFI industry since the passage of the Riegle Act of 1994 and served on the first BEA help desk. She was also an author of the first Native American Lending Study. She has presented at numerous industry conferences and webinars, taught strategic planning at the graduate level, and published work on Tax Increment Financing and CDFI deployment strategies. She has also been quoted on topics including fundraising ethics and consumer adoption of technology in banking. Lolita holds a BA in Slavic Languages and Literature from Indiana University and an MS in Public Service Management from DePaul University, where she was a Chaddick Graduate Scholar in Metropolitan Planning through the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Planning.

  • Anna Mackley is the Chief SSBCI Officer and Bond Program Manager for the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority (VSBFA). With more than thirty-nine years of commercial lending experience, she has contributed to nearly every major VSBFA program initiative, including the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the Economic Development Loan Fund program, and the Export Financing Assistance program.

    In her current role, Anna oversees the implementation of Virginia’s SSBCI program and manages the Authority’s successful private activity bond program. She also serves as VSBFA’s liaison to the Virginia General Assembly, guiding key legislative and economic development discussions.

    Before joining VSBFA, Anna built a strong career in commercial lending at a regional Virginia bank and an entrepreneurial firm specializing in financing for physicians. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and the School of Commercial Lending at UVA’s Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business. She has also served in leadership roles with statewide organizations, including the Virginia Economic Developers Association and the Virginia District Export Council.

    Anna is widely recognized for her expertise, leadership, and long-standing commitment to strengthening economic opportunities across the Commonwealth.

  • Dr. Darlene Deberry serves as the Senior Economic Development Manager for NCGrowth, a national center at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, where she works to advance inclusive economic opportunity. Her career includes working with Community Development Financial Institutions such as Self-Help and the NC Rural Center, focusing on expanding access to capital for underserved businesses. As a former Edible Arrangements franchisee, she gained valuable insight into the complexities of small business ownership. Dr. Deberry earned her Doctor of Business Administration from UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business, and has research interests in entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence in small businesses, and succession planning. A skilled conference presenter on topics related to economic development, she is passionate about advancing wealth-building strategies in economically distressed communities.

  • Peter Klemz is the Director of Impact for Locus, a $430 million Virginia-based financial services holding company and nonprofit serving as the parent organization for Locus Bank and Locus Impact Fund both certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Through lending, credit enhancement, and capital ecosystem coordination, Locus drives transformative investment across affordable housing, clean energy, food systems, and community health. As Director of Impact, Peter leads Locus’ impact measurement and management practices, overseeing the development of frameworks, data systems, and reporting strategies that quantify outcomes, inform decision-making, and ensure accountability to investors, partners, and the communities Locus serves.

  • Courtney Mailey is the Program Manager of Virginia’s Main Street America Coordinating Program. In addition to leading the VMS team, Courtney is a passionate small-scale real estate developer, and she has been working in community and economic development for 20+ years. She loves old buildings, fresh ideas and more.

  • Marianne Vermeer has built her career using her business skills and acumen to encourage the growth and development of social enterprises and non-profits across the globe. Her global experience includes significant work in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa. In the US, she has spent much of the past 14 years providing consulting services and executive support to non-profit organizations, especially Community Development Finance Institutions, and organizations in the health care and pharmaceutical research industries. Marianne has also been a C-level executive in both for-profit and non-profit organizations, building capacity and momentum, in sectors including social enterprises, global health, child development, higher education, health care, pharmaceutical research, and impact investing.

    Marianne was born and raised in Iowa and Nebraska. She holds a B.S. from Colorado State University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She currently resides in the Richmond, Virginia area with her family. Marianne enjoys travel, her local YMCA swimming pool, and hosting people from all over the world in their home.

    For more information on Marianne’s experience, visit her LinkedIn Profile or her website: www.vermeerconsulting.com. She can be reached at marianne@vermeerconsulting.com

  • Valeria Lopez is a Business Advisor with Capital Pathways at George Mason University and an economic development leader with more than a decade of experience helping entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits grow through strategic planning, financial readiness, and access to capital.

    Throughout her career, Valeria has designed and led award-winning entrepreneurship and digital transformation initiatives across the United States and Latin America, building partnerships with organizations including Google, Amazon, universities, local governments, and economic development agencies. She has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses, become capital-ready, and unlock new growth opportunities.

    Recognized as a Women of Vision 2026 Honoree, Valeria is passionate about leveraging innovation—including artificial intelligence—to expand access to opportunity and equip business owners with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to achieve long-term success.

  • Elected to represent the 79th District in 2023, Rae is committed to building a Virginia where working families can thrive. In the General Assembly, she serves on the House Courts of Justice, Public Safety, Education, and Labor & Commerce committees and has passed legislation on education, food insecurity, housing, criminal justice reform, maternal health, and workforce development.

    Rae is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and Howard University School of Law. She is Senior Counsel at BrownGreer, where she manages the administration of multi-million- and billion-dollar settlement programs for people injured by harmful drugs and medical devices and environmental disasters. A 4th generation Richmonder, Rae grew up in Church Hill and currently resides in Northside with her daughter.

  • Phil joined Capital One’s Small Business Bank in early 2019 where he currently leads fraud strategy and analysis; credit strategy, analysis, and operations; and data science, strategy, and risk management. Phil is the Small Business Bank Senior Credit Officer (SCO) and Divisional Data Risk Officer (DDRO). From 2017 to 2019, Phil led Capital One’s first Enterprise External Fraud Risk Management function which included identifying, assessing, and driving mitigation of enterprise external fraud risks across and within all of Capital One’s lines of business.  

    From 2013 to 2017, Phil led Fraud Risk Management for Capital One’s US Card business where he was responsible for protecting customers from fraudulent activity by designing, implementing, and monitoring fraud defenses across the portfolio. Prior to 2017, Phil held various roles at Capital One in Customer Acquisitions and Operations including Product Development for Capital One’s upmarket US Consumer Card business.  

    Prior to joining Capital One, Phil led operations strategy and analysis for FedEx and also worked as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM. Phil received his undergraduate degree in Economics from William and Mary and his MBA from Wharton. Phil is married and has 19-year-old boy-girl twins. Outside of work, Phil enjoys playing music, cooking, and running. 

  • Shauna Yeldell is the Chief Lending & Impact Officer for the Appalachian Community Capital. She has more than twenty-five years of commercial lending experience with traditional and missioned based financial institutions. Her experience includes serving as the Chief Lending Officer of a Community Development Financial Institution in Washington DC. Her career has also included the management of portfolios exceeding $100 Million including commercial and industrial entities, municipalities, real estate development 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 from Temple University’s Fox School of Business as well as degrees from Lincoln University and Mississippi State University. She has two adult sons and one adorable granddaughter. She enjoys yoga, golf, biking, performing arts, and traveling.

  • 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.

  • A DMV Native, Bria is a dynamic professional with a rich background in entrepreneurship, entertainment, and community development. Armed with a Bachelors of Arts in Media Business and Entrepreneurship from Temple University, Bria's leadership journey spans various industries, including music, creative leadership, child development, and community development.

    At 25, Bria founded and successfully operated a network of dance fitness studios in Philadelphia, managing all aspects from business planning to daily operations, witnessing substantial growth to 3,000+ clients across two locations. Amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she adeptly transitioned the business to virtual platforms, expanding to a global reach.

    Bria's contributions extend beyond her entrepreneurial ventures. As Vice President of a historical district business association, she played a key role in fostering local business growth. Her professional trajectory continued at CDFI Friendly America, where she rose from a business coordinator to a senior manager of communications and operations in just three years. In this role, she led a marketing team connecting small businesses to community development financial institutions and managed internal communications, administration, and event planning teams.

    Rooted in entrepreneurship, Bria actively assisted her father's entertainment business, contributing to marketing, management, booking, and performances. This unique perspective has shaped her passion for business and community development. Committed to serving minority and underserved communities, Bria remains dedicated to helping them achieve their small business dreams.

  • Casey J. Bell is community development leader and executive advisor with more than 15 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations strengthen strategy, partnerships and organizational effectiveness to expand economic opportunity. She is supporting the Virginia CDFI Coalition through her advisory practice, Bellwether Advisory. Most recently, Casey served as Chief Program & Strategy Officer at the Latino Economic Development Center, where she led strategy and operations across housing counseling, small business development and financial empowerment programs. Previously, as Chief Impact Officer at Pacific Community Ventures, she partnered with national foundations, employers, nonprofit leaders and community organizations to strengthen economic mobility initiatives in both existing and new CDFI markets while aligning strategy, technology and organizational learning. Throughout her career, Casey has worked at the intersection of community development, economic mobility, climate & energy finance, philanthropy and data-driven decision-making. She has partnered with nonprofit, public and private sector leaders to navigate organizational growth, strengthen cross-sector partnerships and translate ambitious ideas into practical strategies that deliver measurable results. Casey is excited to work with the Virginia CDFI Coalition to help strengthen the Commonwealth's community development finance ecosystem and build a collaborative network to expand access to capital and opportunity.