WASHINGTON - Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to serve on the Community Development Advisory Board:
- Marla Bilonick, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Dave Glasser, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Patrice Kunesh, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Luis Pastor, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Harold Pettigrew, Jr., Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Jennifer Sun, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Michael Swack, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Alan Thian, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
- Darrin L. Williams, Member of the Community Development Advisory Board
Marla Bilonick, Member
Marla Bilonick is the President and CEO of the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and also serves as CEO of NALCAB's subsidiary asset management company Escalera Community Investments. Ms. Bilonick brings over 20 years of expertise in small business development, community-based financial services and international aid with an emphasis on Latin America and the US Latino population. Prior to joining NALCAB, she served as the Executive Director of the Latino Economic Development Center. Ms. Bilonick is a board member of the Opportunity Finance Network, the National Housing Trust and a founding member of the National League of Minority Voters' board. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Arts in international economics and latin american studies from Johns Hopkins University.
Dave Glasser, Member
Dave Glaser is currently the President of MoFi, a position he has held since 2007. MoFi is a Community Development Financial Institution that provides loans to individuals and businesses across the Rocky Mountain West that are just outside the financial mainstream. Mr. Glasser formerly served on the board of the Opportunity Finance Network and is a member of the U.S. Bank Community Advisory Committee, the Columbia Bank Community Advisory Panel, and the Mission Lender Working Group Steering Committee. He holds a Master of Science from the University of Montana and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado. Dave lives with his family in Missoula, Montana.
Patrice Kunesh, Member
Patrice Kunesh, of Standing Rock Lakota descent, is the founder and director of Peȟíŋ Haha Consulting, a social enterprise committed to fostering self-determined Native nations by expanding their access to economic opportunities and fostering social and economic capital. Previously, she established and led the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, a national initiative focused on activating financial, human, and social capital to facilitate economic growth and prosperity in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Ms. Kunesh began her legal career at the Native American Rights Fund, where her work centered on jurisdiction and natural resources, nation building, and Indian child welfare matters. Ms. Kunesh previously served in various federal government roles including as the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as the Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Luis Pastor, Member
Luis Pastor first joined Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) in the year 2000 just weeks after its founding. He started working at the credit union as a volunteer, and soon thereafter the board of directors decided to bring him on as the Credit Union's first President and CEO. Today, LCCU continues to advance its mission of providing ethical financial products and education to empower communities throughout North Carolina and surrounding states. Mr. Pastor, a native of Spain, has a degree in Economics and Business Administration from CUNEF (Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain), a master's in human resources from CEF (Centros de Estudios Financieros, Madrid, Spain) and an MBA from Instituto de Empresa (Madrid, Spain).
Harrold Pettigrew, Jr., Member
Harold Pettigrew, Jr. currently serves as CEO of Wacif, one of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area's leading Community Development Financial Institution's focused on access to capital products and services, and capacity building technical assistance to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs of color. Prior to joining Wacif, Mr. Pettigrew was the Director of Entrepreneurship at Prosperity Now, where he led the organization's national efforts to advance policies and programs that increase business success for low-and moderate-income microbusiness owners throughout the United States. In addition, Harold has served as an advisor to the World Bank, and served as an advisor to National League of Cities advising cities across the country on equitable development strategies. From 2011 to 2013, he served as the Director of Washington, D.C.'s Department of Small and Local Business Development. From 2009 through 2011, Mr. Pettigrew served as the city's leading regulatory official for licensing and regulation as the Administrator for the Business and Professional Licensing Administration at the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Harold has a Master of Urban Planning from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from North Carolina State University, where he has also served as a member of the university's Board of Trustees.
Jennifer Sun, Member
Jennifer Sun is the Co-Executive Director of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), a 47-year-old community development organization in New York City. AAFE advances racial, social, and economic justice for Asian American, immigrant and other systematically disadvantaged communities through affordable housing development, small business lending and technical assistance, homeownership assistance, social services, advocacy, and neighborhood planning.
From 2008 to 2014, Jennifer served as Senior Vice President at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and in 2015 she was appointed Executive Director of Sunset Park at EDC, overseeing the modernization of 6 million square feet of industrial property along the Brooklyn waterfront to support urban manufacturing. From 2004 to 2008, Ms. Sun served as a policy advisor in the New York City Mayor's Office, guiding public investment in affordable housing, commercial development and nonprofit cultural institutions in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx. She holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics and east asian studies from UCLA and a Masters of Science in urban planning from Columbia University.
Michael Swack, Member
Michael Swack is a professor at the University of New Hampshire, where he has appointments at the Carsey School of Public Policy and at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics. He directs the Center for Impact Finance and the Master's Program in Community Development, a program designed for adult practitioners. At Carsey, he is working on building scale in the community development finance sector, innovations in community development finance, microfinance, and sustainable energy financing. He also directs the Financial Innovations Roundtable a collaboration with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Previously, Mr. Swack was the founder and former dean of the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University. He was the first chairman and served for seventeen years as a board member of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority. Mr. Swack also founded the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and was a founding board member of the National Association of Community Development Loan Funds (now the Opportunity Finance Network), a trade association of Community Development Finance Institutions. Mr. Swack received his doctorate degree from Columbia University, his master's degree from Harvard University, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alan Thian, Member
Alan Thian serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Business Bank, a position he has held since the bank began operations in 2008. Mr. Thian previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of First Continental Bank from 2000 to 2003. He also served as the Executive Vice President and Regional Director of United Commercial Bank from 2003 to 2007. Mr. Thian began his banking career at General Bank where he served as a director and also in various officer positions. He was appointed twice to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Community Bank Advisory Committee and previously served as a member on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Community Bank Advisory Committee. Mr. Thian holds an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Darrin L. Williams, Member
Darrin Williams is a banker, securities and consumer protection attorney, former legislator and passionate advocate for financial inclusion. Currently serving as the CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc., Williams oversees the strategic direction and operations of each of Southern Bancorp's three Community Development Financial Institutions: Southern Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company; Southern Bancorp Bank, one of America's largest rural development banks; and Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) development finance and lending organization - collectively known as "Southern." With $1.9 billion in assets, more than 65,000 customers and 52 locations, Southern Bancorp's markets extend throughout the Mid-South. Focused on the net worth building strategies of homeownership, entrepreneurship and saving, Southern Bancorp believes that wealth building isn't just for the wealthy; they seek to be wealth builders for everyone. Mr. Williams received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College, his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and his Master of Laws in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center.
