I was lucky enough to move back to Michigan in 2011 as part of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program, a network of professionals working to build capacity, foster collaboration, and accelerate progress across organizations engaged in revitalizing Detroit. As part of this program, I am employed by the Community Investment Support Fund (CISF), a non-profit subsidiary of Larson Realty Group. CISF is an emerging Community Development Financial Institution, providing below-market-rate loans as well as technical assistance to non-profit organizations that serve low-income communities.
My job is incredibly rewarding, allowing me to work with institutions that enhance the livability of our community and develop creative capital structures that ensures their sustainability. A major component of my position involves actively fundraising to capitalize the fund that allows CISF to make these investments into community projects. In my day to day work, I also draw from skills developed during my two years with a management consulting firm in Washington, DC, which have become useful in finding solutions for CISF's clients and to develop our organizational capacity.
I spent two years working in economic development in Pittsburgh, a city often described as being a model for Detroit, but always intended to bring lessons learned there back to Michigan as I build my career. I couldn't ask to be in Detroit at a better time or to be exposed to a more inspiring network of individuals working to make a difference in our community.
| Job Title: |
Community Investment Associate |
| Company: |
Community Investment Support Fund (CISF) |
| College: |
Carnegie Mellon University, Master of Science, Public Policy and Management, Pittsburgh, PA
|
| High School: |
Troy Athens High School, Troy, MI
|
| Lives In: |
Detroit |