Contact Staff
To contact a member of our staff, please see our staff listings below or email info@cfed.org.
CFED staff at the 2010 Assets Learning Conference.
Johanna Barrero
Adnan Bokhari
Jennifer Brooks
Chris Campbell
Elizabeth Coit
LeElaine Comer
Jimmy Crowell
Daniel Forkkio
Robert Friedman
Ethan Geiling
Timmothy Green
Chris Gutierrez
Stephanie Halligan
Jane Hanley
Rick Haughey
Inemesit Imoh
Joanne Irby
Lisa Kawahara
Niya Kight
Susan Krupka
Kristin Lawton
Andrea Levere
Anne Li
Katherine Lucas-Smith
Sean Luechtefeld
Donnise McWeay
Jessica Morales
Michelle Nguyen
Carla Nunn
Kim Pate
Ida Rademacher
Carl Rist
Lisa Rose
Lonnie Snyder
Lauren Stebbins
Leigh Tivol
Lucas Trainer
Inola Walston
Carol Wayman
Kasey Wiedrich
Lauren Williams
Johanna Barrero is a Program Manager with the Savings and Financial Security team at CFED. Ms. Barrero provides technical assistance in program planning and implementation, primarily for the Asset Building for Children (ABC) initiative. Ms. Barrero has over 10 years of experience working for the non-profit sector, particularly in the community economic development field. Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Barrero worked for a research and advocacy organization in Tucson where she conducted research on predatory lending and homeless day labor in the Southwest; managed a program that connected unbanked and underbanked residents to mainstream financial institutions; and provided technical assistance to non profits in the Gulf Coast during feasibility and launching of a workforce development social enterprise. Prior to that, Ms. Barrero managed a training program for Hispanic micro-entrepreneurs in Tucson as well as the lending and financial literacy programs for a community development credit union in Brooklyn, NY during its start up phase.
At the international level, Ms. Barrero has conducted research on microfinance methodologies in Ecuador; worked as research assistant for a research project on Gender Based Violence Prevalence among internally displaced women in Colombia and coordinated the communications program of a non-profit organization that worked with child care providers in Colombia. Ms. Barrero holds a Masters degree in International Affairs with a focus on Economic and Political Development from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Communications from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia.
Adnan Bokhari is CFED’s Chief Financial Officer, charged with guiding all aspects of the organization’s fiscal operations, ensuring adherence to the highest standards of nonprofit financial management. Adnan has over twelve years experience in nonprofit financial reporting, analysis, forecasting, budgeting, cash management, auditing and controls. He is a strategic thinker effective in reorganizing, streamlining, and strengthening financial operations to maximize efficiency with a proven track record of helping management and board achieve their organizational goals. His core competencies include: strategic & business planning, risk management, financial statements & management reporting, regulatory compliance, internal controls, budgeting and business development.
A rising leader in the profession, Adnan was recognized as one of the top CPAs in Washington, DC by SmartCEO Magazine in 2010. He recently served on the CPA Exam scoring panel of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, being one of the 40 panelists selected from across the nation. Adnan was one of 16 accountants from the Greater Washington Society of CPAs who testified in support of the CPA mobility legislation before DC Council members in June 2011. In addition to his participation in professional activities, Adnan is an active member of the community. He is a member of the Finance Committee of Byte Back, a nonprofit organization providing computer literacy and employment readiness skills to underserved communities throughout Washington DC. Adnan earned degrees in Economics and Accounting from Strayer University.
Jennifer Brooks As CFED’s state and local policy director, Ms. Brooks oversees CFED’s state and local policy work, including leading a network of state-based advocates—the Assets & Opportunity Campaign—and providing technical assistance, resources and strategic advice to advocates and policymakers. This work is designed to help low-income people build assets and become entrepreneurs, and to create incentives for equitable economic development.
Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Brooks served as a policy advisor to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) on education and training, welfare, labor and women’s and children’s issues. Ms. Brooks also worked for many years at Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that works nationally and locally to build economic independence for women and girls. In that role, she guided WOW’s federal policy involvement and led a multi-state project to implement positive social state policies and demonstrate the need for change at the federal level.
In addition to handling an array of policy challenges throughout her career, Ms. Brooks has also testified before Congress and spoken widely on strategies to help families reach economic self-sufficiency. She holds a master’s degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
top of pageChris Campbell serves as the creative services manager for CFED's communications department, where he helps develop and design CFED publications and communications tools.
Prior to joining CFED, Mr. Campbell worked as art director for Scripps Media Center in Washington, where he designed magazines for Food Network and HGTV. He also designed and produced numerous newspaper projects for the Scripps Howard News Service national wire and its 300-plus clients around the country, as well as being editor of the Scripps-McClatchy Western Wire. Before that, he was a Metro section designer and copy editor for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida.
Originally from Louisville, Ky., Mr. Campbell is a graduate from the University of Kentucky. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism.
top of pageElizabeth Coit is CFED’s Vice President for Development. Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Coit led resource development efforts for the Center for Community Change, Ms. Foundation for Women, Legal Momentum and the Wilderness Society. She is recognized as a Certified Fundraising Executive, and also provides pro-bono fundraising assistance and training to several domestic and international non-governmental organizations. She serves on the board of Friends of Action India and Invest in Knowledge-Malawi, and also coordinates pro-bono fundraising for the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for the Earth. She is a former instructor in fundraising for the Graduate School, USDA. Earlier in her career, Ms. Coit served as a program leader for the International Women's Health Coalition and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, developing health, economic and social justice projects in Africa, India and the Caribbean. Ms. Coit holds a B.A. from Cornell University and a graduate degree from Columbia University.
top of pageLeElaine Comer
LeElaine Comer is CFED's Senior Manager of State & Local Policy. She co-manages a network of state and local policy advocates — the Assets & Opportunity Campaign – and provides technical assistance to partners, policymakers and other stakeholders in the field. She helps manage CFED's biennial Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, overseeing in-depth policy research and documentation of state and local progress related to a range of policies focused on asset building, asset protection and equitable economic development.
Prior to joining CFED, LeElaine worked for MDC, Inc., a non-profit in North Carolina focused on issues of opportunity and equity in the South. While at MDC, she worked on local economic development initiatives in the rural South and co-directed an innovative workforce development sector program that changed the policies of community colleges and employers and helped prepare hundreds of immigrants for higher-wage jobs with career advancement opportunities. LeElaine has studied and worked in Central America and has experience in international economic development and social change efforts.
LeElaine holds a B.A. in Sociology and Social & Economic Justice and Master's in City and Regional Planning with a concentration in community economic development, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
top of pageJimmy Crowell
Jimmy Crowell is the office assistant at CFED. He provides the DC Office with administrative support. He graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Government and minors in International Relations and Spanish.
Daniel Forkkio is the Staff Accountant for CFED.
top of pageRobert Friedman is general counsel, founder and chair of CFED's board.
Robert (Bob) Friedman founded CFED in 1979 and continues as CFED’s Chair of the Board and General Counsel. Bob’s most recent initiative is the launch of CFED’s American Dream Match Funds, an innovative program aimed to unlock new streams of private and public funding that will catalyze the growth and capacity of local matched savings programs across the U.S. In the recent past, Bob was an instrumental leader in the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) program, an initiative to create an inclusive system of children’s saving accounts in the United States. He continues to contribute to numerous efforts to develop the IDA and asset‐building movements, as well as advising on new strategies to bring excluded communities into the economic mainstream as entrepreneurs, savers, investors, and skilled employees.
A recognized leader in economic development innovation, Bob has contributed to the development of the U.S. microenterprise field, flexible business networks, state and federal entrepreneurial policy, and innovative benchmarking tools, like CFED’s Assets and Opportunity Scorecard. He helped to found the Association of Economic Opportunity (AEO).
Based in San Francisco, Mr. Friedman also serves on the Boards of D2D Fund, EARN, the Rosenberg Foundation, the Friedman Family Foundation, the Koshland Committee of the San Francisco Foundation and CFED’s CDFI subsidiary, the National Fund for Enterprise Development (NFED) and is a former board member of Levi Strauss & Co. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School. He is author of The Safety Net as Ladder: Transfer Payments and Economic Development and a contributor to numerous CFED and outside publications.
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Ethan Geiling
Ethan Geiling is a Policy & Research Associate at CFED, where he advances strategies to increase the financial security of low-income families and communities in the United States. Mr. Geiling specializes in programs and policies designed to enhance savings and asset building opportunities, including Children’s Savings Accounts, Individual Development Accounts, and other financial products.
Through CFED’s Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, Mr. Geiling contributes to the development and dissemination of policies that expand economic opportunity at the state and local level. As a member of the Applied Research team, he researches and designs solutions that promote access to safe and affordable financial services for unbanked and underbanked consumers.
Prior to joining CFED, he held positions at the Center for Financial Services Innovation and Self-Help Federal Credit Union. Mr. Geiling holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.
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Timmothy Green is a systems administrator at CFED.
top of pageChris GutierrezChris Gutierrez is CFED’s Human Resources and Accounting Associate. He is responsible for all aspects of accounts payable at CFED in addition to benefits administration, payroll, employee relations and recruiting. Prior to joining CFED, Mr. Gutierrez worked with Capital One Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union and the National Retail Federation. He has 3 ½ years experience in banking and 2 year progressive experience in Human Resources. Mr. Gutierrez holds an Associate of Arts degree in General Studies from Anne Arundel Community College and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland University College.
top of pageStephanie Halligan is a Program Manager with the Savings and Financial Security team at CFED. Ms. Halligan provides writing, research and program coordination, focusing primarily on savings initiatives for children and youth and CFED’s efforts to advance large-scale opportunities for asset building among American youth and families. Her current work focuses on the Asset Building for Children (ABC) initiative, promoting children savings accounts and financial education systems for youth in low-income families as cost-effective, anti-poverty tools.
Ms. Halligan has experience with various asset-building initiatives, including Individual Development Account (IDA) programs, financial literacy and microenterprise. Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Halligan administered and coordinated the operation and expansion of an IDA program for low-income immigrant clients and public housing residents at the International Institute of Boston. She has also worked internationally with other disadvantaged populations, including work with the Ministry of Labor and Immigration at a refugee reception center in Spain and volunteer work with FINCA-Peru, a village banking microfinance institution.
Ms. Halligan holds a B.A. from Boston University in International Relations with concentrations in economic development and a double minor in Economics and Spanish.
top of pageJane Hanley is the Development Manager at CFED. As part of the Resouce Development Team, Jane works to ensure up-to-date and accurate reporting within CFED’s database portal and operates other key functions within the Resource Development Team. Prior to joining CFED in 2008, she was the Development Specialist at Historic New England in Boston, a regional heritage organization. Jane holds a B.A. in American Studies from The George Washington University.
top of pageRick Haughey Rick Haughey is Director of Affordable Housing Initiatives at CFED. In this role, he serves as project director of the Innovations in Manufactured Home Initiative (I’M HOME) which seeks to offer owners of manufactured housing the same types of benefits enjoyed by owners of site-built housing. The initiative coordinates with national, local and regional partners seeking policy and financing changes that will enable market transformation and bring manufactured housing to scale as a viable national affordable housing option. Through these efforts and others, Mr. Haughey seeks to strengthen CFED’s ties to the affordable housing community and raise the profile of manufactured housing.
Prior to CFED, Mr. Haughey worked in the land use profession for over twenty years in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Most recently, he completed a MacArthur Foundation funded fellowship at the National Housing Conference and the Center for Housing Policy. Prior to the fellowship, he served as senior research director and director of multifamily development at the Urban Land Institute (ULI), specializing in workforce housing issues. Prior to ULI, he worked as a market and feasibility analyst for affordable and market-rate housing development proposals, also assisting with low-income housing tax credit applications and with HUD’s Mark to Market program. Mr. Haughey started his career as an urban planner and has worked in that capacity at the town, county and regional level. He holds a B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins.
top of pageInemesit Imoh
Inemesit Imoh is a Policy Associate at CFED. She helps the Policy and Research team conduct research, writing, coordination and advocacy activities to promote the expansion of economic opportunity and development.
Prior to joining CFED, Inemesit worked as an intern in the South Carolina House of Representatives, Amnesty International and the United States House Democratic Caucus. Through her professional, personal and academic experiences, Inemesit decided to start a career in economic development in hopes to build up low income neighborhoods and municipalities.
Ms. Imoh holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Carolina - Columbia, with a concentration on American Government.
Joanne Irby is CFED’s Director for Human Resources and Administration. She leads the human resource function, with an emphasis on strategic human resource management, empowerment, quality, productivity and standards, goal attainment, and the recruitment and ongoing development of a diverse and superior workforce.
Ms. Irby has over 12 years experience in all facets of human resource management, in both the profit and non-profit arenas. Prior to joining CFED she was the Compensation & Benefits Manager for the Association of American Medical Colleges, handling such issues as total rewards strategies, performance management, compliance, and training and development. Other work experiences include The George Washington University, and the Advisory Board Company.
Ms. Irby received a Bachelor's degree in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University and holds Senior Professional in Human Resources and Compensation Management Specialist designations.
top of pageLisa Kawahara
Lisa Kawahara is the executive assistant for Bob Friedman and office manager for CFED in San Francisco, CA . She also manages a small family foundation whose giving focus is economic development. Prior, she was self-employed working with nonprofit community organizations and foundations.
Ms. Kawahara received an Associate's degree in Business Management and furthered her studies at New College in San Francisco.
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Niya Kight
Niya Kight is CFED’s Resource Development and Business Development Staff Associate. Her role is to provide the Development team with administrative support and to research and evaluate financial products for the Business Development team. She holds a B.A. in Human Development from Boston College.
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Susan Krupka is Special Assistant to the President at CFED.
top of pageKristin Lawton is the Assistant Director of Communications for CFED where she manages the public relations and online communications for the organization, including CFED’s website, www.cfed.org, and other sites under CFED’s purview; and social marketing and social media efforts, including CFED blogs, e-mailings, videos social media networks. She also leads the communication efforts for CFED conferences, events and webinars, as well as providing support around media relations and writing and editing to the organization.
Since joining CFED in 2005, she has led a number of major communication undertakings, including overseeing and managing of the redesign and launch of www.cfed.org at the beginning of 2010, the 2009-2010 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard website, and consulting with partners and working with web developers on state coalition websites. She also launched CFED’s social media strategy and led CFED’s outreach for a major charitable giving competition by a national retailer where CFED was a finalist; led and executed the planning of CFED’s 30th Anniversary Gala; and directed the communications efforts for the 2010 Assets Learning Conference. Additionally, Ms. Lawton has led the media relations efforts for CFED and our partners in national campaigns and initiatives.
Ms. Lawton previously worked as an assistant account executive at Strat@comm, a leading public relations/public affairs firm in Washington, DC where she assisted her clients in all facets of communications including media relations, grassroots communications and special events. Before that, she worked at NBC Newschannel and in the press department for the Joe Lieberman for President Campaign.
Ms. Lawton is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, S.C. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies and Political Science.
top of pageAndrea Levere has led the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) as its president since 2004. CFED is a private nonprofit organization with the mission of building assets and expanding economic opportunity for low‐income people and disadvantaged communities through matched savings, entrepreneurship and affordable housing.
Through Ms. Levere’s vision and leadership, CFED designs and operates major national initiatives that aim to expand matched savings for children and adults, bring self‐employed entrepreneurs into the financial mainstream and turn manufactured housing into an appreciating asset. CFED operates a comprehensive public policy program to build and protect assets at the local, state and federal levels, and produces the nationally recognized Assets & Opportunity Scorecard.
Under Ms. Levere’s guidance, CFED launched two new efforts this year to close the college completion gap by addressing key financial barriers low-income individuals face. The 1:1 Fund is an online marketplace that matches donor dollars to those of students saving for college in a matched savings account. The Partnership for College Completion is an innovative initiative by CFED, UNCF and KIPP that combines incentivized savings accounts, financial and college-readiness education, and scholarship assistance to prepare KIPP students for college success.
CFED has enjoyed significant growth under Ms. Levere’s guidance, expanding to a staff of 50 with offices in Washington, DC, Durham, NC, and San Francisco, CA. Ms. Levere has added resources and focus to CFED’s policy and communications efforts, leading to a number of policy victories in state legislatures and growing attention to the importance of asset building in the national media.
Prior to joining CFED in 1992, Ms. Levere was a director with the National Development Council. At NDC, she was a lead trainer for the Economic Development Finance Certification Program and designed and conducted “Taking Care of Business,” a financial management program for entrepreneurs while also working with cities and states to structure financing for small businesses, affordable housing and urban development projects.
Ms. Levere served as chair of the board of the Ms. Foundation for Women from 2002‐2005, after being on its board since 1998. Currently, she serves as the Chair of ROC USA (Resident Owned Communities USA), a national social venture that converts manufactured home parks into resident owned cooperatives. In 2009 she was appointed to the Bank of America’s National Consumer Advisory Council. Ms. Levere also serves as a founding member of the Morgan Stanley community Development Advisory Committee.
She holds a bachelorʹs degree from Brown University and an MBA from Yale University. In 2001, she received the Alumni Recognition Award from the Yale School of Management and in 2008 was named to the inaugural class of its Donaldson Fellows Program, which recognizes alumni who help educate business and society leaders.
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Anne Li is Program Director, Innovation, where she plays a lead role in the team managing innovation@cfed, the organization's strategic initiative to promote and accelerate innovation. Prior to assuming her current role in fall 2008, she served for almost five years as CFED's development director, where she worked with the CFED staff members, executive committee and board to create and implement resource development strategy. Prior to joining CFED, she was resource development director for Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Before that, she served for 10 years as the executive director of the New Jersey Community Loan Fund, a statewide, community development financial institution. Before joining the New Jersey Community Loan Fund, Ms. Li pursued a 14 year career in corporate risk and financial management. Ms. Li holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania.
top of pageKatherine Lucas-Smith
Katherine Lucas-Smith is a Policy Analyst at CFED. She works with the federal policy team to promote effective public policies that expand economic opportunity for all people, particularly with regard to comprehensive wealth and asset building, microenterprise development and financing and community reinvestment. Previously, Katherine was the Special Assistant to the Chief Business Officer at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). She coordinated activities among NCRC's business development initiatives-the DC Minority Business Enterprise Center, the DC Women's Business Center, and the NCRC Community Development Fund-and worked with NCRC's policy and research departments to ensure that these programs' experiences and perspectives informed the organization's advocacy on entrepreneurship and wealth building opportunities. She has written articles, speeches and Congressional testimony on topics including community and economic development, the foreclosure crisis, financial reform and job creation strategies. Katherine has been involved in the community economic development field as a practitioner, a researcher and an advocate, and has experience with economic development policy in the United States and Latin America. She is a native of South Florida and a graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied political science and Spanish and graduated with honors.
Sean Luechtefeld is CFED’s Communications Associate, specializing in online communications including www.cfed.org and The Inclusive Economy blog. He also contributes to CFED’s social media efforts and writes and edits several of CFED’s communications pieces.
In addition to his efforts at CFED, Mr. Luechtefeld teaches courses in argumentation and public speaking at the University of Maryland, College Park. Previously, he held a variety of positions across the communications field, including coaching a nationally-competitive intercollegiate debate team, managing events and online communications for a disability consulting firm in Florida and contributing to the opening of a start-up community history museum in North Carolina.
Mr. Luechtefeld is currently working on his doctorate in Communication at the University of Maryland with a focus in rhetoric and political culture. He holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and a B.S. in Political Science, both from Florida State University, and an M.A. in Communication from Wake Forest University.
Donnise McWeay is an administrative assistant at CFED.
top of pageJessica Morales is an Administrative Assistant at CFED. She helps the Policy and Research team with all administrative needs. Ms. Morales is also a current student at UMUC in pursuit of her Human Resources Management degree.
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Michelle Nguyen
Michelle Nguyen is a Research Associate at CFED, where she provides research, writing and logistical support for the Applied Research team. Prior to working at CFED, Ms. Nguyen worked at NERA Economic Consulting as a researcher in the antitrust and intellectual property practices. She has also held internships for Congressional offices in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ms. Nguyen holds a B.A. in economics and a B.S. in business administration from the Haas School of Business from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Carla Nunn
Carla M. Nunn is CFED’s Staff Accountant. She is responsible for the reconciliation of the general ledger accounts, project income recognition, accounts receivable and audit preparations. Her experience spans nearly 18 years in non-profit finance, administration and meeting planning.
Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Nunn served as the Accounting Manager with Partnership Against Domestic Violence in Decatur, GA where she managed the day to day accounting functions of the organization. Other work experiences include VHA, Texas, CHRIS Kids and Immigration and Refugee Services of America.
Ms. Nunn attended Howard University and received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Maryland University College.
top of pageKim Pate
Kim Pate is CFED's Vice President for External Relations. Ms. Pate oversees innovation@cfed, an effort to accelerate the evolution of the next generation of effective strategies to expand economic opportunity and the Self-Employment Tax Initiative, which demonstrates how local organizations can use the tax code to deliver essential business development and financial services to low-income entrepreneurs. Ms. Pate also coordinates strategic partnerships and communications across CFED priority areas of work - asset building, entrepreneurship, Tribal, state and local economic development and affordable home ownership.
Ms. Pate is an attorney who has specialized in representing the interests of low-income women, families, Native Americans and disadvantaged communities. Ms. Pate has been a public speaker, trainer, technical assistance provider and writer on issues affecting economic opportunity for fifteen years. Her work at CFED enables her to conceptualize and provide leadership to initiatives for low-income people with the goal of improving their economic futures and promoting lasting change.
Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Pate was the deputy director, National Projects for Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) in Washington, DC, a multiple-strategy women's employment organization that is recognized nationally for its skills training models, technical assistance and advocacy for women workers.
She holds a Law Degree from University of California at Los Angeles School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.
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Ida Rademacher
Vice President for Policy and Research, CFED
Ida Rademacher has over 15 years of experience evaluating programs and policies that build assets and expand economic opportunities for disadvantaged population. She leads CFED's Policy and Research teams in their efforts to advance comprehensive policy and research agendas that expand asset and wealth building opportunities for all Americans. She oversees production of the Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, and recent publications include Upside Down: The $400 Billion Federal Asset-Building Budget and Weathering the Storm: Have IDAs Helped Low-Income Households Avoid Foreclosure? Prior to joining CFED, she worked as Associate Director of the Workforce Strategies Initiative at the Aspen Institute and as a Senior Research Officer with the Center for Applied Behavioral and Evaluation Research at the Academy for Educational Development. She undertook graduate studies in economic anthropology at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and received her Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland. Her undergraduate degree is in anthropology and economics from James Madison University.
Carl Rist is CFED's vice president for Assets & Opportunity Programs and director of Asset Building. Mr. Rist is responsible for CFED's work to develop, test, support and expand innovative community practices and programs that help create greater economic opportunity. For the last six years, he has been the director of CFED's Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) Policy and Practice Initiative, a multi-year, multi-site demonstration of matched savings accounts for children and youth in low-income families. The primary goal of the initiative has been to set the stage for a large-scale, universal, progressive policy for asset building among American children, youth and families. Mr. Rist has been responsible for coordinating the many programmatic elements of the SEED Initiative, including 12 demonstration sites, public policy development and advocacy (primarily at the state level), communication and market development activities. He is the co-author of numerous publications, including From Piggy Banks to Prosperity: A Guide to Implementing Children's Development Accounts, Children's Savings Accounts: A State Policy Sourcebook and numerous articles and papers about children, youth and asset building.
Previously, Mr. Rist was responsible for CFED's efforts to support state-level policy and coalition-building initiatives designed to expand Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and other asset-building programs. He led the development and design of the initial version of CFED's Assets & Opportunity Scorecard (then known as the State Asset Development Report Card), a benchmarking tool that uses more than 70 socioeconomic and policy measures to grade state performance on asset accumulation, distribution and protection. He is also the co-author of the IDA State Policy Guide, a resource for advancing public policies at the state-level in support of IDAs. Mr. Rist's experience at the state level includes working with state task forces in both Delaware and Pennsylvania to develop recommendations for helping citizens, especially those of low-incomes, to build and protect assets. Mr. Rist also has served in an advisory capacity for a number of state-level IDA coalitions, including the North Carolina IDA and Asset-Building Collaborative, the Michigan IDA Partnership, the South Carolina IDA Collaborative and the Mid South IDA Initiative (Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi).
Mr. Rist is the former director of the Economic Development Fellowship Program, which operated from 1998–2003 and was designed to encourage mutual learning and the transfer of new ideas, approaches and strategies between the United States and Europe in the fields of employment and local/regional economic development. Funded by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the EDFP enabled more than 150 development policymakers and program managers from Bulgaria, Germany, Poland and Romania to visit the United States for extended stays to study a focused economic development topic and meet with their counterparts.
Mr. Rist also has experience working on the question of what constitutes a healthy business climate. He is a co-author of Improving Your Business Climate: A Guide to Smarter Public Investments In Economic Development and CFED's widely acclaimed 1994 report, Bidding for Business: Are Cities and States Selling Themselves Short? The latter explores the use and abuse of tax incentives as an economic development strategy. Within the topic of business climate, Mr. Rist has also done research on the link between education spending and economic development and was the principal author of a report released in 1995, How Education Spending Matters to Economic Development.
Mr. Rist earned an M.A. in public policy in 1991 from the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University. He also holds an undergraduate degree from Davidson College.
top of pageLisa Rose is CFED’s Director of New Philanthropy and CEO of the 1:1 Fund, a project being incubated by CFED to build a broad online and high net-worth donor base for children’s savings accounts. This new and combined position is reflective of the changing landscape of philanthropy. In this role, Lisa cultivates CFED’s relationships with venture philanthropists, major individual donors, donor advisors and other stakeholders, and creates innovative integrative partnerships for CFED with both new and traditional philanthropists. Lisa is also providing strategy and vision and overseeing marketing and fundraising for the 1:1 Fund.
Lisa offers a strong track record in building relationships and securing gifts from high net worth donors. She was formerly with The San Francisco Foundation and brings over 15 years of experience in senior leadership in the philanthropic sector. At TSFF, Lisa oversaw donor cultivation and stewardship for a portfolio of 450 high net-worth donors and $350 million in donor-advised funds. Lisa is very skilled in partnering with donors to deepen their philanthropic impact and ensure that they realize their philanthropic goals, strategies and intended outcomes.
Before joining The San Francisco Foundation, Lisa served in senior management roles at the San Francisco Education Fund, the San Francisco Food Bank, and the San Francisco Community Music Center. She currently serves on numerous nonprofit boards and advisory committees. Lisa graduated from Mount Holyoke College with degrees in Philosophy and Critical Social Thought. She studied German, Czech and Spanish languages and has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia, including Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.
top of pageLonnie Snyder is CFED’s Director of IT. Lonnie is working to implement innovative technology-based educational tools and communications strategies for CFED. He directs all IT functions at CFED, overseeing systems engineering, Help Desk, website development, purchasing and asset management. Mr. Snyder has revamped CFED’s IT infrastructure and introduced change management, virtualization and robust technology solutions to the organization.
Mr. Snyder oversaw the development and architecture of Savetogether.org, and then led the transition of the online matched savings platform back to CFED. Lonnie is an active part of CFED’s State Policy Partner network and assists state asset building coalitions in using Web 2.0 tools to enhance their online presence. Mr. Snyder has been a successful champion in helping CFED and its partners leverage technology and bring the right resources to the table.
Prior to CFED, Mr. Snyder served as the Senior Network Administrator for HITT Contracting, Inc. in Fairfax, VA. Mr. Snyder has over 15 years of experience and has advanced Microsoft, NetApp and ITIL certifications. He has managed several software development, CRM and Infrastructure projects, and has extensive experience with consulting in other industry verticals.
top of pageLauren Stebbins is External Relations Associate for CFED, where she provides program, writing and logistical support for CFED projects developed through public sector support and strategic partnerships. Prior to CFED, Lauren worked for the Aspen Institute Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation (PSI) as Communications Associate, where she coordinated event outreach, website development, and publications production as well as marketing and logistics for one of the Program’s annual seminars. While at Aspen, she also managed PSI’s William Randolph Hearst Fellowship program, specifically outreach to universities and recruitment and selection of fellows. She has also held internships with the National Fair Housing Alliance and Congressional offices on Capitol Hill. Lauren holds bachelor’s degrees in sociology and political science from Brown University.
top of pageLeigh Tivol
Director, Savings & Financial Security
Leigh Tivol has spent her entire career in the asset-building field, with more than fifteen years of policy and program experience in asset generation and protection, affordable housing, and community development. She has worked in a range of settings, including direct service delivery, statewide policy advocacy, association services and technical assistance to community organizations, state government, and now at CFED, a national think tank and intermediary.
Currently, Ms. Tivol oversees CFED's work in the area of savings and financial security, including matched savings accounts and other strategies that enable low-income children, adults, and families to build assets. From 2006 to 2009, she participated in the implementation of the Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) initiative, a national demonstration of matched savings accounts for children and youth. She also contributes to CFED's work in state-level assets policy.
Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Tivol was an advocate for community development and affordable housing policy in Indiana. She worked in both the public and nonprofit sectors, and focused primarily on Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), homeownership education and counseling, housing trust funds, and predatory mortgage lending. From 1999 to 2002, she directed the Near Eastside IDA Program, which was one of the first IDA programs in the nation and a partner in CFED's national American Dream Demonstration.
Ms. Tivol holds bachelor's degrees in Sociology and French from Brown University, and a Master's in Public Affairs from Indiana University.
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Lucas Trainer
Lucas Trainer joined CFED as Organizational Advancement Officer for Policy and Research in July 2011. In his role, he conducts the full range of activities to prepare, submit and manage grant proposals, and also provides targeted research and writing support for CFED’s policy and research team.
Prior to joining CFED, Mr. Trainer was a Fellow with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund in Florida, where he evaluated grant requests for trustees and analyzed previous grantmaking to inform strategic decisions. During his time with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Mr. Trainer provided support for a year-long community assessment to redesign the Fund’s ten-year asset building strategy focusing on three states, and worked to deepen the Fund’s knowledge and engagement with strategies to build wealth in low income communities. He is a graduate of Saint Leo University where he studied computer information systems. top of page
Inola Walston
Inola Walston is the Grant Writer-Manager, responsible for working with program and executive staff to craft grant proposals and reports. Before joining CFED, she served as a Development Officer for the Home Safety Council in Washington, DC. Her experience spans nearly 14 years in the non-profit field where she has applied her writing skills at such venerable organizations as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. In addition, Inola has worked extensively with the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribal Nation of Bridgeport, Connecticut in their bid to receive federal recognition for their tribe. Ms. Walston is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a B.S. in Interior Design.top of page
Carol Wayman. As CFED's director of federal policy, Carol Wayman provides first-rate strategic counsel to motivate efforts to expand economic opportunity through federal legislative and regulatory advocacy. Through her proactive clarity, vision and purpose at CFED, Ms. Wayman has pushed efforts to expand matched savings accounts through enactment of an Individual Development Account tax credit, refundable Saver's Credit, reauthorization of the Assets for Independence Act, and renewed funding for Individual Development Accounts at the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Her efforts led to the reform of asset limits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (previously Food Stamps) to exempt savings in IRAs, 529s, and Coverdells from asset limit tests. She also led efforts to expand resources for Community Development Financial Institutions and community economic development in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
Prior to joining CFED, Ms. Wayman served as the Director of Policy at the National Congress for Community Economic Development for nearly a decade. She advocated on behalf of nonprofit community development corporations and successfully increased federal and state government investment in their activities. Accomplishments included the enactment of the New Market Tax Credit, expansion of investment activities of the Federal Home Loan Banks, and support of more than $4 billion in state housing and economic development policies.
Additionally, Ms. Wayman is the author of numerous publications including Stroke of the Pen: 40 Recommendations for Policymakers; At Your Fingertips: An Annotated Bibliography for CED Practitioners; Practitioner's Guide to Federal Community Economic Development Programs, and two guidebooks on the New Market Tax Credit.
Ms. Wayman also worked on state tax and nonprofit policy and federal homelessness policies and in city community economic development offices in Burlington, Vermont and Las Vegas, New Mexico. She has a B.A. (Political Science) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and a M.P.P. (Tax Policy concentration) from American University.
top of pageKasey Wiedrich is a Senior Program Manager on CFED's Applied Research team and a member of the Innovations in Manufactured Homes (I'M HOME) team. Ms. Wiedrich She manages research projects on asset building and financial security needs and strategies and leads the Research team's efforts on the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard and Local Assets & Opportunity Profiles. She has co-authored several CFED publications, including Weathering the Storm: Have IDAs Helped Low-Income Homebuyers Avoid Foreclosure and The Financial Security of Households with Children.
Prior to joining CFED, Kasey worked for the City of New York as a policy analyst for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and a research assistant at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. While in graduate school, she conducted research on factors associated with uptake and knowledge of the EITC. She also worked with Public/Private Ventures labor market initiatives evaluating workforce development programs in New York City. Before attending graduate school, Kasey managed the IDA program at the Opportunity Fund in San Jose, CA.
Kasey holds a B.A. in sociology/anthropology from Carleton College and an M.P.A from New York University's Wagner School of Public Service.
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Lauren Williams
Lauren Williams is a Program Associate for the I’M HOME and SETI programs at CFED. She works with the I’M HOME team to promote manufactured housing as an affordable opportunity for asset building through homeownership and with SETI to demonstrate how local organizations can use tax policy to support entrepreneurs. For both programs, she will provide research and program support, coordinate with the partner networks, manage program communications and coordinate events and webinars. Prior to joining CFED, Lauren interned with the Danville Regional Foundation where she worked on the foundation’s initiatives in economic and community development and published a white paper based on her study of the entrepreneurial capacity, structure and culture of the Dan River region. She also worked with the UNC School of Government’s Community-Campus Partnership program, where she helped research and design the program’s evaluation framework. Lauren is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied economics and international studies and graduated with honors.
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