Executive Director, Upstate South Carolina

For one of the three largest national Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), an “Executive Director“, to spearhead community development in a long under-served rural area of the Upstate.  A previous Executive Director had not been successful and the local community was understandably skeptical regarding the organization’s long term commitment to the economically distressed region. Preference for a candidate who had been born and raised in the community seemed to all but eliminate candidates who had previous CDFI experience.

The successful candidate was not only from Upstate South Carolina, but reflected the demographics and was reporting remotely to a statewide CDFI in another part of the state. While the successful candidate did not have the ideal lending or affordable housing finance background, her experience in  nonprofit fundraising combined with strong relationships in the banking community proved to be even more valuable. Undervalued in her previous role, she hit the ground running bringing in over one million in funding to the organization in the first 90 days.