Thank you to Black Coffee Atlanta on Jonesboro Rd. for hosting Women of Color in Community Development Atlanta’s Coffee & Conversations in April.

She Rises: Elevating Women in Business 

Thursday, May 16, 2024 

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM 

Location: J.P. Morgan - The Bowen Building, Washington, DC 

She Rises is more than just a workshop; it's a celebration of resilience, ambition, and achievement. By prioritizing strategic planning, social media savvy, branding excellence, and capital acquisition, participants will be empowered to elevate their businesses and ascend to new heights of success. Whether you’re an established entrepreneur or just starting, this workshop will be transformative! 

Led by industry experts and successful entrepreneurs, this workshop aims to uplift and equip Black women entrepreneurs with the tools and knowledge needed to soar in today's competitive business landscape. Come in with your ideas, questions, and challenges. Come out with a plan to transform your business. 

Moderator: Kay Pierson, CEO, Sustainable Communities Development 

Speakers: 

Jennene Biggins, Danso Digital Media Group 

Vicki Davis, Vicki Davis Group 

More speakers to to be announced.

Free for members & $25 for non-members.

Innovating in Baltimore: Spotlight on

Black Women Developers in Baltimore

Date: June 6, 2024 

Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (In-person) 

Venue: Hoen Lithograph Building 

2101 East Biddle Street, Baltimore, MD 21213

Join us for a spotlight on Black women developers in Baltimore as they spearhead economic development initiatives. Explore the top challenges faced by developers as they drive innovation and foster growth in the city. Gain insights from successful developers who have navigated the landscape west of the Inner Harbor, addressing key issues and seizing unique opportunities for affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. 

Panelists: 

Bree Jones, Founder of Parity Homes 

China Boak Terrell, Executive Director of American Communities Trust 

Stephani Estrada-EL, Program Manager of The Affordable Housing Trust Fund - City of Baltimore’s Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) 

Free for members & $25 for non-members.

Investing in Commercial Real Estate

with Pam Dorsey & Nikki Dade

Paragon Investment Partners

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

6:00 pm -7:30 pm

Virtual

Join us on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm for an insightful virtual event where Pam Dorsey and Nikki Dade, founders of Paragon Investment Partners, will share their expertise on investing in real estate.

Pam Dorsey and Nikki Dade are multifamily, real estate investors focused on acquiring B-C Class properties that generate passive income in working-class communities. They founded Paragon Investment Partners with a desire to build a solid, multifamily investment portfolio while introducing value-add opportunities for investors and the community. Paragon Investment Partners has invested in 148 units to date. 

In addition to Paragon Investment Partners, Pam owns and operates an HR consulting firm, PD Solutions Group following a successful 25-year career leading Human Resources programs and teams in prominent companies like NPR and Spacex. Pam owned her first home at the age of 21 and has 10 years of experience leading the renovation, rental, and sale of residential properties in Prince George County Maryland. In addition, she is a licensed, Title Insurance Producer in Maryland and freelances as a notary signing agent, executing mortgage signings.

Nikki is a real estate agent, who is an expert in the local market, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to real estate investing through her keen market analysis and deal valuation. Before co-founding Paragon Investment Partners, she owned and operated Faces of Dimensions, a lucrative hair and make-up studio servicing the Metropolitan area for over 15 years. She is a proud graduate of Howard University and holds an MBA in International Business from the Huizenga School of Business & Entrepreneurship at NovaSoutheastern University.

Free for Members, $25 for non-members

Congratulations to Shannan Herbert, recently appointed CEO of The Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF). With a diverse background in commercial banking, fintech, and community development, Shannan is passionate about promoting equity and economic opportunity in underserved communities. Shannan brings innovative strategies to drive positive change.

Congratulations to Maia Shanklin Roberts for being recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of the outstanding business and nonprofit leaders of color in Greater Washington. As the vice president of real estate development for the Mid-Atlantic region at Preservation of Affordable Housing, Maia's contributions to the community and her journey to the C-suite are truly inspiring.

We celebrate all of the remarkable women of color, including Kathryn Clay, market manager of community development banking at PNC Financial Services, Tamara Wilds Lawson, president and CEO of the Washington Area Women's Foundation, and Melissa Stallings, director of DMV Initiatives for Capital Impact Partners who were also recognized for their outstanding contributions.

Southern Bancorp CEO, Darrin Williams, joined industry leaders at the 2024 Asset Funders Network Grantmaker Conference in New Orleans, LA. As a panelist for the “CDFIs: Essential Partners for Racial Equity in Small Business" session, Darrin shared insights on how CDFIs are working to bridge the gap in capital access for minority business owners and entrepreneurs.

Pictured above(left to right): 

Gina Nisbeth, President, 9th & Clinton; Darrin Williams, CEO, Southern Bancorp, Inc.; Bulbul Gupta, President & CEO, Pacific Community Ventures; Willow Lung-Amam, Ph.D., Director, Small Business Anti-Displacement Network, University of Maryland

Congratulations to WCCD member Alyia Gaskins, who is running for Alexandria's mayoral candidate.

Upcoming Events

Empowering Women to Make Informed Health Care Decisions.

Since 1995, Johns Hopkins Medicine’s women’s health program - A Woman's Journey provides new and compelling information about important issues affecting women's health. Through a selection of in-person seminars, webcasts, and podcasts presented exclusively by Hopkins faculty physicians, participants can hear first-hand about advances in medicine from the individuals performing the research, all the while interacting with a diverse group of attendees. 

Upcoming In-Person Program: 

A Woman’s Journey

Friday, May 17, 2024

9 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

In-person: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center

5701 Marinelli Rd

Rockville, MD 20852

2nd Annual UpNext Mixer, presented by Open Access.

Co-founded by WCCD's Gina Nisbeth, join Open Access for Celebration, Conversation, and Cocktails, commemorating 4 years of Increasing Diversity in the Community Development Finance Industry. The evening in DC offers a networking opportunity to engage with the Open Access founders, community, board members, and fellows.

Date: Wednesday, June 5th

Time: 3 pm - 5 pm (Networking Reception from 5 pm - 7 pm)

at The Gathering Spot

1720 I St NW, Washington, DC 20006

Bree Jones (she/her) is the founder of Parity, an equitable development company based in West Baltimore. Parity sparks upfront demand for affordable homeownership opportunities in neighborhoods experiencing hyper-vacancy by creating pathways for existing residents, families, friends, and other social collectives to purchase formerly abandoned homes alongside each other, block by block, as a means of community-building and wealth-building. Bree's work is grounded in the principle of Development Without Displacement: she believes we can revitalize historically redlined neighborhoods while ensuring that long-time residents can actively participate in and benefit from reinvestment efforts.

Bree's work through Parity has garnered widespread recognition as a model for systems change. Her accomplishments have been highlighted by publications such as the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Afro Tech, Fast Company, WYPR, Bustle, and the Brookings Institute. Bree has also delivered a TED talk, showcasing her insights and ideas, as well as given a keynote speech at the Nantucket Project. She holds fellowships with Ashoka, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Fund for New Leadership, and New Profit. Before launching Parity, Bree enjoyed a successful career in finance, alternative investments, and venture capital. Her expertise encompassed deal structuring, capital raises, conducting due diligence, and predictive analytics using big data.

Raquel Vazquez is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Empowered Block, an equity-driven community development consultancy. The Empowered Block assists mission-driven private, non-profit, and public sector clients with transformative projects involving affordable housing development and policy, economic development, community engagement, racial equity in community programs, and other community development initiatives.

With over 15 years of community development experience, Raquel has overseen over $8 billion in community development finance investments. Her work has ranged from affordable housing, economic development, policy and legislative affairs, loan originations and portfolio management, impact investing, and community organizing. She has worked in governmental housing and social services/economic empowerment agencies, private lending institutions, and non-profit and for-profit affordable housing development organizations.

Originally from New York City, Raquel is uniquely equipped to solve a broad range of challenging issues with innovative policies and programs. Raquel is committed to serving communities, especially underrepresented, historically under-invested communities through her contributions to the community development field. Raquel has a longstanding commitment to public service and has been appointed to several boards, including the Montgomery County, MD Community Development Advisory Committee and the Central Harlem, NY Community Planning Board #10.

Raquel Vazquez holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Finance from the Newman Real Estate Institute at Baruch College, and Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Latin American & Caribbean Studies from Binghamton University. She has received many special recognitions from programs including the WACIF Ascend Capital Accelerator, Montgomery County AMBER Fellowship, TEDCO Leading Women Fellowship, Next City Vanguard Fellowship, Council of Urban Professionals Fellowship, and Morgan Stanley / ANHD Community Development Fellowship, among others.

Tabitha Atkins, WCCD Founding Board Member | Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Atkins Group (“TAG”).

Tabitha Atkins has dedicated the majority of her career to the community development finance industry, working in various capacities to ensure that residents, small businesses, nonprofits, and anchor institutions in historically under-resourced areas have access to affordable financial products and services. Her primary focus has been sourcing, underwriting, and providing asset management services using creative financing tools such as federal and state New Markets Tax Credits ("NMTCs") and historic tax credits ("HTCs"), grants, and senior and subordinated debt.

Tabitha has held positions at Cross Street Partners and Urban Action Community Development, City First Bank of DC, the CDFI Fund, and Opportunity Finance Network, and has worked on a range of projects supporting access to quality healthcare, social services, and healthy foods, scaling operations for manufacturing companies, and new construction and historic revitalization of commercial real estate in disadvantaged urban areas.

In 2023, she launched The Atkins Group to leverage her relationships and track record to provide direct NMTC consulting services to community facilities and assist lending institutions with capital deployment strategies. In addition to her commitment to raising capital for highly impactful projects, Tabitha is currently a governing board member for the St. Agnes Hospital Foundation, The Creative Alliance, Baltimore Heritage, and the Partners for the Common Good; she sits on a few NMTC Advisory Boards; and she is on the Partners for the Common Good’s Loan Committee. Tabitha has a Master's of Public Policy and Administration (Jackson State University) and an MBA (Johns Hopkins University). She loves to travel, listen to music, laugh, and spend quality time with her family and friends.

Project Community Capital congrats to WCCD member Dr. Gina Merritt on her recognition as a 2024 Woman of Influence by I95 Business and TEDCO! Her tireless dedication to social impact and economic empowerment has transformed lives and inspired countless others to strive for positive change in underserved communities. Let's celebrate her remarkable achievements and continue to support her impactful work!

Celebrating excellence. Congrats to Latrena Owens, one of the esteemed winners of the 2024 Cafritz Awards! The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation partners with the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership to recognize and reward outstanding performance and exemplary service by DC Government employees. Each year five individual winners receive a $7,500 cash prize and a winning team receives a $15,000 cash prize.

Philanthropy DMV announced the appointment of WCCD member Gloria Nauden as new Interim CEO! Gloria brings a wealth of experience in regional leadership, strategic planning, and business for impact, having spent over thirty years working in various capacities for local and national brands across diverse industries, including media, arts and community economic development.

Gloria’s appointment comes at a time when Philanthropy DMV is poised for significant growth and impact. Her leadership is expected to strengthen the organization’s capacity to support members’ critical initiatives and empower communities across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

We’re hiring!

Are you passionate about community development, impact investing, and advocating for racial equity and social justice? If so, we've got the perfect role for you!

Partners is looking for a Senior Loan Officer. This pivotal role places you at the forefront of our lending and program initiatives, driving our strategic goals to support disadvantaged communities across the US and bolster the community development finance industry.

This is a full-time opportunity that includes some travel for site visits and periodic inspections, all within a dynamic hybrid work structure.

Eager to make a lasting impact? Learn more and apply today

Not looking yet to take the next step in your career? Please forward this post to your networks!

Calling all undergraduate and graduate students! If you aspire to have a career in affordable housing, apply for the Todd A. Lee Scholarship today! The Todd A. Lee Scholarship commemorates this outstanding District of Columbia legend and honors his commitment to both affordable housing and education. The scholarship will benefit undergraduate and graduate students that aspire to be future contributors to the field of affordable housing.

For an scholarship related questions, please email info@dchfa.org.

Application Deadline: May 31, 2024

Apply here: https://www.dchfa.org/todd-lee-scholarship/