Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

Keynote

Ms. Preeti Sinha is a globally experienced investment and development banker with a 30-year track record associated with raising and managing institutional public and private development capital. She served as CEO & President of FFD Financing for Development LLC, a specialist development finance firm in Geneva focusing on resource mobilization, donor relations, innovative capital markets, partnerships, strategy & business development and impact investment advisory to finance the UN SDGs. Preeti has also served as an advisor to the UN, International Organizations and Private Sector on mobilizing public and private finance for development.

In her prior experiences, Preeti managed the YES Global Institute, a practicing private sector think-tank for socio-economic development in New Delhi. She has served in senior resource mobilization roles at the African Development Bank including a leading role in managing the ADF-13 Replenishment. She was a pioneering Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum working on bring public and private capital together. She has also led multicultural teams and worked in investment banking at HSBC, Rabobank, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and New York.

Preeti is a Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education alumna in Public Financial Management. She has a Masters in Global Leadership from the World Economic Forum and a Masters in Public and Private Management (MPPM)/MBA from the Yale School of Management (SOM). She graduated from Dartmouth College with Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Computer Science.

Otho Kerr, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Impact Investing at the Federal Reserve Board of New York
Otho Kerr, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Impact Investing at the Federal Reserve Board of New York

Keynote

Otho Kerr is charged with catalyzing capital providers to invest in underserved communities. Otho has helped to shape the impact investing sector as a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer for Encourage Capital and as Chief Investment Officer for Acumen. Otho has worked in finance for over 30 years, beginning with Goldman Sachs. He began his professional career as an attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Otho received a BA from Dartmouth College, where he received the Barrett Cup, given to the outstanding senior and a JD from Harvard Law School. He was the first member of his class to receive the Dartmouth Alumni Award. Otho serves on the National Academy of Medicine’s Advisory Committee on the Culture of Health Program. Otho has served on numerous non-profit and corporate Boards. Otho enjoys running, skiing and travel and is an active member of the TED community.

Adem Bunkeddeko, Coro New York
Adem Bunkeddeko, Coro New York

Moderator, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

Adem is the Executive Director of Coro New York. He is tasked with leading a civic leadership organization that believes meaningful change comes from collaboration: people in business and communities, schools and unions, government and nonprofits, working together to find creative solutions and strengthen our democracy.

Adem brings a unique combination of vision, energy, experience, and local expertise. Prior to Coro, he worked in a variety of managerial roles across the private, public, and social sectors and is a two-time candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, Adem served as senior advisor to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s (LISC) Project 10x—an initiative designed to upend the racial and opportunity gaps in America.

Allison Kelly, CEO of ICA Fund
Allison Kelly, CEO of ICA Fund

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

Allison Kelly is deeply committed to fighting economic inequality through innovation and out-of-the box partnerships at ICA, a venture capital-certified non-profit CDFI, where she has been serving in the role of CEO since June 2019. Under Kelly’s leadership, ICA has more than doubled its net assets, its investments, number of companies served and revenues.

Before joining ICA, Kelly was head of strategy and innovation at CDC Small Business Finance where she led the effort to bring on over $40million in new impact investments to fund non-SBA small business loan products. Prior to CDC, Allison spent seven years in various leadership positions at Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit social enterprise focused on helping small businesses thrive through affordable capital and free business coaching.

Ms. Kelly serves on the Board of Goal 5, a women’s apparel company dedicated to gender equity in sport, and Mal Warwick Donor Digital. Additionally, Kelly serves on the Advisory Board of CNote.

Bruce Katz, Drexel University
Bruce Katz, Drexel University

Panelist, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Previously he served as inaugural Centennial Scholar at Brookings Institution and as vice president and director of Brooking’s Metropolitan Policy Program for 20 years. He is a Visiting Professor in Practice at London School of Economics, and previously served as chief of staff to the secretary of Housing and Urban Development and staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Katz co-led the Obama administration’s housing and urban transition team. He is coauthor of The Metropolitan Revolution and The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, editor or coeditor of several books on urban and metropolitan issues, and a frequent media commentator.

David McGee, Build Wealth Minnesota
David McGee, Build Wealth Minnesota

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap in community finance

David McGee is a Business Administration Graduate, who is considered an emerging leader in his community who has spent over 38 years in the Banking and Financial Services field. He has worked in the affordable housing, residential lending and the Secondary Market Investment industry for much of his career including 5 years auditing failed banks and savings & loan thrifts across the country during the late 80s & 90s. He has spent many years serving and empowering members of his community, serving on boards and working with various community organizations.

David is the founder and current Executive Director of Build Wealth Minnesota (BWMN); which is a 501c3 non-profit designated as a Community Development Financial Institution by the US Department of Treasury. Since 2004 BWMN has worked to help thousands of families become self-sufficient and build assets while attaining sustainable social and economic wealth.

David has been training underserved populations in financial literacy education for over 20 years in addition to developing and administering culturally sensitive courses in Credit Awareness, Mortgage Underwriting, Loan Origination, Homeownership education etc. He has been certified locally and nationally in several capacities including housing development, loan origination, homebuyer education, financial literacy, credit counseling and other social leadership roles.

David is housing developer and has been engaged collaborative efforts to design, engineer and develop affordable housing in Minneapolis and works alongside multifamily and mixed use developers in the Housing Opportunities Made Equitable Collaborative (HOMECO).

Gernot Laganda, World Food Program
Gernot Laganda, World Food Program

Panelist, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Gernot Laganda is leading the Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programs at the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP). He supports WFP Country Offices and the governments they serve to understand the effects of climate change on food security, develop strategic initiatives to reduce climate risks in food systems, and make innovative risk financing instruments work for vulnerable communities. Gernot joined WFP from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), where he managed the world’s largest climate change adaptation program for smallholder farmers.

A geoscientist by training, Gernot spent the past 20 years working at the nexus between disaster management and sustainable development - holding posts with NGOs supporting disaster relief and reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and Tajikistan; serving as Humanitarian Program Specialist with the Austrian Development Agency; and managing climate and environmental programs with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in South Africa and the Asia/Pacific region.

Gernot holds a M.Eng. degree in Applied Geosciences, an MA degree in Public Policy, and Postgraduate Diplomas in Disaster Management and International Development Cooperation. He is a Yale 2016 Greenberg World Fellow at Yale University. "

Jim Cunha, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Jim Cunha, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Jim Cunha is the Executive Vice President and Interim COO at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. His entire career has focused on the interrelationship of payments, security, technology and innovation.

Cunha is the interim COO as the Fed looks to replace its recent President who retired early due to health reasons.

Cunha leads the Federal Reserve’s Secure Payment efforts, which seeks to reduce fraud in the U.S. payments system through collaboration with industry participants.

Cunha is also spearheading the Boston Fed’s efforts to study distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to determine potential benefits and risks in financial services for internal and external uses. He is also responsible for the Bank’s technology research related to central bank digital currencies (CBDC), including a joint research effort with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative.

Cunha has worked at the Boston Fed since 1984. Prior to that, he worked at Fleet National Bank. He holds a bachelor’s in accounting and philosophy from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in computer science from Rhode Island College.

"

Laura Schmid, International Labour Organization
Laura Schmid, International Labour Organization

Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce

Laura Schmid is the Skills and Employability Specialist for North Africa and the Horn of Africa for the ILO based in Cairo, Egypt. She supports 11 different countries including the Maghreb with regards to skills development. Prior to this position, she has worked for the German Development Cooperation GIZ as Employment Advisor in Egypt and as Migration and Employment Advisor in Jordan focusing on the Syrian crisis response. Laura holds a BSC. in International Economics and Development from Bayreuth University Germany and a MSC in International Relations from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Mathew Davie, Kiva
Mathew Davie, Kiva

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Matthew Davie is Chief Strategy Officer at Kiva, a global non-profit focused on bringing financial inclusion to the world’s unbanked populations. In this role, he leads new initiatives that bring emerging technologies to vulnerable populations around the world. Additionally, Matthew is a board member at Diem and a senior advisor at the Linux Foundation, the World Economic Forum, and ID2020. Prior to Kiva, he was an executive at multiple technology companies in the data, entertainment, and gaming sectors. Matthew earned a B.S. from the University of California at Davis and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Michelle Rhone-Collins, LIFT
Michelle Rhone-Collins, LIFT

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

Michelle’s career has been defined by standing up for equity and access for disenfranchised individuals and communities. Prior to joining LIFT, Michelle spent nearly 20 years leading youth and community development efforts in New York and Los Angeles. Michelle joined LIFT in 2012 as the Founding LIFT-Los Angeles Executive Director where she seeded many of the program innovations that are now core to LIFT’s nationwide program model, including the focus on an intergenerational approach to breaking the cycle of poverty, the integration of financial coaching into traditional supports, and giving cash directly to members. After serving as LIFT’s Chief Cities Officer overseeing all of LIFT’s regional operations, in 2019, Michelle was promoted to and now serves as LIFT’s Chief Executive Officer.

Michelle LIFTs because she believes in the transformative power of “hope, money and love” – her signature take on LIFT’s special sauce. Her own parents loved her fiercely and instilled in her the notion that she could do and be anything she wanted. She fully understands that this firm belief and investment in her possibility provided a buffer against socioeconomic inequity. It is an honor for her to pass on this transformative power of love, backed by rigor and dedication, to populations historically marginalized and unjustly overburdened by stigma, isolation, and disregard.

Michelle is a sought-after public speaker and thought leader whose has been featured in SSIR, Variety magazine, LA Magazine, NPR’s Marketplace, and the 2018 United State of Women Summit, amongst others. She is a Senior Fellow at both the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at the USC Marshall School of Business, a Promise Venture Fellow, and part of the inaugural class of ProInspire’s Catalyst Collective of BIPOC nonprofit executives across the country,

Michelle resides in Los Angeles and is the proud mother of two beautiful children who are her ultimate source of motivation and inspiration. She loves them fiercely!

Nate Loewentheil, Commonweal Venturyes
Nate Loewentheil, Commonweal Venturyes

Moderator, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Nate Loewentheil is an investor, social entrepreneur, and nationally recognized public policy expert. Nate is the founder and managing partner of Commonweal Ventures, a VC firm investing in leading companies in the sectors of sustainability, transportation and infrastructure, and the urban environment. Nate is also an adjunct Professor at Yale University, where he teaches a course on Technology and the American City. Previously, Nate served in the Obama White House as a Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council, where he advised President Obama on urban policy, transportation, and emerging technologies. Nate is the founder of numerous successful social enterprises, including Baltimore Homecoming, the Millennial Action Project and the Roosevelt Network. He is a former Forbes 30 under 30 and Aspen Ideas Fellow. He has published major national reports on topics ranging from small business policy to the politics of climate change. He has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and Fast Company, among many other outlets. Nate holds both a BA and JD from Yale. He lives with his wife in New York City.

Reed Hundt, Coalition for Green Capital
Reed Hundt, Coalition for Green Capital

Panelist, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Hundt is the CEO and co-founder of the Coalition for Green Capital, a non-profit engaged in the creation of green banks in the United States and internationally, and Making Every Vote Count, a non-profit advocating to make the national popular vote relevant to selecting the President. He was also on the board of Intel Corporation 2001-20. He was a senior adviser to the law firm, Covington, in Washington, D.C., from 2014 to 2019, and lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and Portola Valley, California. Hundt graduated from Yale College in 1969 and the Yale Law School in 1974.

Susanne Desroches, NYC Office of Climate & Sustainability/NYC Office of Climate Resiliency
Susanne Desroches, NYC Office of Climate & Sustainability/NYC Office of Climate Resiliency

Panelist, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Susanne DesRoches is the Deputy Director for Infrastructure and Energy at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency and Mayor’s Office of Climate & Sustainability. She is responsible for the City’s energy policy and regulatory affairs at the local, state, and federal levels, and directs the City’s efforts to transition to 100% clean electricity by 2040. Susanne leads the City’s long-term energy planning efforts, which center rapid decarbonization while prioritizing a just and affordable energy transition for all New Yorkers.

Susanne also directs the City’s policies and programs designed to adapt regional infrastructure systems to climate change, including electric, gas, and transportation systems. She leads the City’s efforts to ensure climate resiliency is integrated into utility and bulk power system planning, and oversees the development of the NYC Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines. Susanne also leads the NYC Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, which works to identify climate risks and coordinate adaptation strategies, and is a chapter author for the fourth National Climate Assessment.

Susanne was previously the Chief of Resilience and Sustainability for the Engineering Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. She holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. Susanne is on the faculty of Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Professional Studies. "

Rachel Korberg, Families and Workers Fund
Rachel Korberg, Families and Workers Fund

Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce

Rachel Korberg is the Executive Director and a co-founder of the Families and Workers Fund, a coalition of twenty diverse philanthropies working together to build a more equitable economy in the United States. Originally established in April 2020 to respond to the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, today the $52 million fund makes grants and builds strategic partnerships to advance good jobs and deliver equitable, effective public benefits.

Previously, Rachel led grant making portfolios at the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation and also worked in impact investing and global development. She is currently President of the Board of the Stonewall Community Foundation, and her commentary has appeared in, or her work has been profiled by, the Washington Post, Fortune, TechCrunch, PBS, Newsweek, and more. Rachel has a Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Yale University, executive training from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Tufts University. "

Smita Aggarwal, Flourish Ventures
Smita Aggarwal, Flourish Ventures

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Listed in “Top 35 Global Women in Fintech Powerlist”, ‘Top Women in Finance’, “Top 30 Fintech Influencers” and “Women Who Venture”, Smita Aggarwal is a fintech investor and a thought leader with deep expertise in venture capital, financial inclusion, digital banking, micro-insurance and financial regulation. In her role with Flourish Ventures, a global fintech focused fund, she leads investments in innovative fintech start-ups that help advance financial health and inclusion in Asia. She is on the Fintech Advisory Board of New York University and Global Fintech Fest. She is a member of the Board of Directors of IIFL Asset Management Company. She is a guest faculty for “Fintech in Emerging Markets” at the Stern School of Business, New York University.

She has three decades of experience in finance as a banker, lender, regulator and an investor that have enriched her with unparalleled domain expertise, unique perspective and empathy for fintech founders. She has held leadership positions with noteworthy names such as Omidyar Network, Fullerton India Credit, Reserve Bank of India and ICICI Bank with a successful track record of building businesses from scratch, introducing new products, and driving growth through innovation. She is a rank-holder chartered accountant and has attended executive programs at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.

Tamer El-Raghy, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund
Tamer El-Raghy, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund

Panelist, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

"Tamer El-Raghy is the Founding MD of the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF); a $58 million impact Agri VC fund and the world’s first equity fund designed to build the climate adaptation of African smallholder farmers utilizing blended finance. Tamer has more than 20 years of private equity, venture capital, M&A, entrepreneurial, and innovation experience in Africa, the Middle East, the United States, and Europe.

Prior to joining ARAF, Tamer was with responsAbility AG as head of the Agri & Food PE Fund in Africa where he co-led the structuring, due diligence, and closing of transactions that impacted 35,000 smallholder farmers. Before responsAbility AG, he led Cargill’s growth strategy and M&A activities in Africa with a focus on animal nutrition, animal protein, and commodities value chains in Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Zambia, and Ghana, impacting 50,000 smallholders.

Tamer started his career as a materials engineer, where he co-invented a new class of materials, held 9 patents, and founded 3-ONE-2 LLC, as a joint venture, commercializing the technology for both civilian and defense applications. Tamer earned an MBA from the New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business , a PhD in Materials Engineering from Drexel University, and a BSc in Metallurgical Engineering from Cairo University.

"

Desmond Koney, Complete Farmer
Desmond Koney, Complete Farmer

Panelist, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Desmond is the Founder and CEO of Complete Farmer Inc. Complete Farmer is an end-to-end platform connecting industries with commercial precision agriculture produce on demand to meet their production needs and specifications. Complete Farmer's aim is to digitize the agriculture value chain in Africa to make it more competitive and efficient.

A mechanical engineer and product designer with interests in process optimization, product development and strategy development and implementation and challenging old norms to problem solving. With a firm belief that better products and processes improve livelihood with a contrarian and pragmatic approach, I like to explore possible design solution to Africa’s pressing challenges.

I am also interested in mechanical product design, IoT, Artificial intelligence, agriculture and renewable energy.

Kathy Mannes, JFF
Kathy Mannes, JFF

Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce

Kathryn Jo Mannes is vice president, impact partnerships, at JFF. She helps catalyze partnerships and programs that further JFF’s mission and impact in the field.

Kathy identifies educational and employment needs and crafts solutions to address those needs. She builds and promotes public and private partnerships to reimagine and scale opportunities that benefit companies, communities, and individuals. She is a dot-connector, with a wide range of corporate, education, government, and community contacts,. Currently, she is proud to be working with companies and organizations including Google, Salesforce, IBM, McDonald's, Verizon, SHRM, and AARP that are investing in a diverse and equitable workforce strategy.

Before joining JFF, Kathy worked at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she launched the Center for Workforce and Industry Partnerships. Peviously, she served as senior vice president for workforce and economic development at the American Association of Community Colleges and as the managing director of workforce development at the National Retail Federation Foundation. She has also worked at Dusco Community Services, the Council for Adult Education and Learning, and American University.

Kathy is a member of the board of the Center for Employment Opportunities. She previously served on the Workforce Investment Board of Montgomery County, Maryland, and on the board of the National Center for Children and Families. She speaks on the opportunities and challenges in a changing economy and world of work.

Kathy says she looks for new ways to push systems, investors, and other stakeholders to combine efforts and resources. Her goal is to change the paradigm of how we prepare for and think about work by taking risks and putting ideas into action.

Kevin Donovan, Yale School of Management
Kevin Donovan, Yale School of Management

Moderator, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Kevin Donovan is an assistant professor of economics at the Yale School of Management. His work focuses on economic development, with a particular focus on the role of market access on rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Before coming to Yale, he was an assistant professor of economics and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Arizona State University and a B.S. in mathematics from Bentley College.

Thomas Abell, Asian Development Bank
Thomas Abell, Asian Development Bank

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Thomas is leading ADB’s Digital Technology for Development Unit, which is tasked with facilitating the effective use of digital technology in ADB programs to improve development impact.

He has over 20 years of professional experience in digital technology, including software development, systems architecture and technology strategy. During his 10+ years of experience in international development, he has worked extensively across Asia, Africa and Latin America, working with governments, development organizations, NGOs and corporations. He has authored several publications on the use of technology in development with leading organizations, including Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Cash Learning Partnership, and Mastercard.

Prior to ADB, he worked for Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP), leading ADP’s programs in Digital Technology for Development and Financial Inclusion. He has specific development expertise in financial inclusion, education, and agriculture. Prior to joining Accenture in 2005, he served various management and technical roles in information technology and strategy for large multinationals, including Hewlett Packard, Motorola, and Ford Motor Company.

He is an American national and holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); a Master of Science from the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, MIT; a Master of Science from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT; and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering degree from MIT.

Xavier Faz, CGAP
Xavier Faz, CGAP

Moderator, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Mr. Faz heads CGAP’s work on business model innovation. He has worked more than twenty years in development, digital finance and technology and has extensive experience leading experimental programs with early-stage businesses testing the use of emerging technologies for financial inclusion. He has worked with leading providers in the digital finance space in Africa and Asia on agent networks, digital payments, and pay-as-you-go models for off-grid solar energy.

Mr. Faz has worked in financial sector development in several countries in Latin America and oversees CGAP’s work in that region.

Before joining CGAP, Mr. Faz worked with the government of Mexico implementing its public policy to regulate the financial cooperative sector and developed a business unit in a government development bank to provide core banking and card switching services to the microfinance sector in that country.

He worked in management consulting with McKinsey & Co. in Mexico and Central America, helping corporates in the private sector launch technology initiatives to grow their businesses in the retail, FMCG, and banking sectors.

He is an engineer by training and focused the early part of his career in software development in the energy and steel sectors. He worked for Schlumberger Wireline in Algeria and spent time working with startups in Mexico and Silicon Valley.

He has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and an Engineering degree from ITESM in Mexico. He is a native from Mexico and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Seung Kim, LISC
Seung Kim, LISC

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

As the Vice President of LISC’s Economic Development Programs, Seung leads the strategy and expansion of LISC’s national workforce and asset building initiatives, and supports the operations and development of LISC’s growing network of business development organizations. Under her leadership, LISC has employed a community-focused and data-driven approach to pilot, test, and scale promising programs.  

Prior to joining the national LISC staff in 2012, she worked as a consultant with LISC Chicago on its Centers for Working Families (she was a CWF financial coach on the Near West Side earlier in 2006) and with the national office on Financial Opportunity Centers.

Earlier, Kim was a Vice President, Fixed Income Analytics, for ANB Financial Group in Chicago and was an Associate, Trading and Analytics, for Performance Trust Companies. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and a master’s of business administration from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
Otho Kerr, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Impact Investing at the Federal Reserve Board of New York
Adem Bunkeddeko, Coro New York
Allison Kelly, CEO of ICA Fund
Bruce Katz, Drexel University
David McGee, Build Wealth Minnesota
Gernot Laganda, World Food Program
Jim Cunha, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Laura Schmid, International Labour Organization
Mathew Davie, Kiva
Michelle Rhone-Collins, LIFT
Nate Loewentheil, Commonweal Venturyes
Reed Hundt, Coalition for Green Capital
Susanne Desroches, NYC Office of Climate & Sustainability/NYC Office of Climate Resiliency
Rachel Korberg, Families and Workers Fund
Smita Aggarwal, Flourish Ventures
Tamer El-Raghy, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund
Desmond Koney, Complete Farmer
Kathy Mannes, JFF
Kevin Donovan, Yale School of Management
Thomas Abell, Asian Development Bank
Xavier Faz, CGAP
Seung Kim, LISC
Preeti Sinha, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)

Keynote

Ms. Preeti Sinha is a globally experienced investment and development banker with a 30-year track record associated with raising and managing institutional public and private development capital. She served as CEO & President of FFD Financing for Development LLC, a specialist development finance firm in Geneva focusing on resource mobilization, donor relations, innovative capital markets, partnerships, strategy & business development and impact investment advisory to finance the UN SDGs. Preeti has also served as an advisor to the UN, International Organizations and Private Sector on mobilizing public and private finance for development.

In her prior experiences, Preeti managed the YES Global Institute, a practicing private sector think-tank for socio-economic development in New Delhi. She has served in senior resource mobilization roles at the African Development Bank including a leading role in managing the ADF-13 Replenishment. She was a pioneering Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum working on bring public and private capital together. She has also led multicultural teams and worked in investment banking at HSBC, Rabobank, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and New York.

Preeti is a Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education alumna in Public Financial Management. She has a Masters in Global Leadership from the World Economic Forum and a Masters in Public and Private Management (MPPM)/MBA from the Yale School of Management (SOM). She graduated from Dartmouth College with Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Computer Science.

Otho Kerr, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Impact Investing at the Federal Reserve Board of New York

Keynote

Otho Kerr is charged with catalyzing capital providers to invest in underserved communities. Otho has helped to shape the impact investing sector as a founding partner and Chief Operating Officer for Encourage Capital and as Chief Investment Officer for Acumen. Otho has worked in finance for over 30 years, beginning with Goldman Sachs. He began his professional career as an attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Otho received a BA from Dartmouth College, where he received the Barrett Cup, given to the outstanding senior and a JD from Harvard Law School. He was the first member of his class to receive the Dartmouth Alumni Award. Otho serves on the National Academy of Medicine’s Advisory Committee on the Culture of Health Program. Otho has served on numerous non-profit and corporate Boards. Otho enjoys running, skiing and travel and is an active member of the TED community.

Adem Bunkeddeko, Coro New York

Moderator, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

Adem is the Executive Director of Coro New York. He is tasked with leading a civic leadership organization that believes meaningful change comes from collaboration: people in business and communities, schools and unions, government and nonprofits, working together to find creative solutions and strengthen our democracy.

Adem brings a unique combination of vision, energy, experience, and local expertise. Prior to Coro, he worked in a variety of managerial roles across the private, public, and social sectors and is a two-time candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, Adem served as senior advisor to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s (LISC) Project 10x—an initiative designed to upend the racial and opportunity gaps in America.

Allison Kelly, CEO of ICA Fund

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

Allison Kelly is deeply committed to fighting economic inequality through innovation and out-of-the box partnerships at ICA, a venture capital-certified non-profit CDFI, where she has been serving in the role of CEO since June 2019. Under Kelly’s leadership, ICA has more than doubled its net assets, its investments, number of companies served and revenues.

Before joining ICA, Kelly was head of strategy and innovation at CDC Small Business Finance where she led the effort to bring on over $40million in new impact investments to fund non-SBA small business loan products. Prior to CDC, Allison spent seven years in various leadership positions at Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit social enterprise focused on helping small businesses thrive through affordable capital and free business coaching.

Ms. Kelly serves on the Board of Goal 5, a women’s apparel company dedicated to gender equity in sport, and Mal Warwick Donor Digital. Additionally, Kelly serves on the Advisory Board of CNote.

Bruce Katz, Drexel University

Panelist, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Previously he served as inaugural Centennial Scholar at Brookings Institution and as vice president and director of Brooking’s Metropolitan Policy Program for 20 years. He is a Visiting Professor in Practice at London School of Economics, and previously served as chief of staff to the secretary of Housing and Urban Development and staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Katz co-led the Obama administration’s housing and urban transition team. He is coauthor of The Metropolitan Revolution and The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, editor or coeditor of several books on urban and metropolitan issues, and a frequent media commentator.

David McGee, Build Wealth Minnesota

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap in community finance

David McGee is a Business Administration Graduate, who is considered an emerging leader in his community who has spent over 38 years in the Banking and Financial Services field. He has worked in the affordable housing, residential lending and the Secondary Market Investment industry for much of his career including 5 years auditing failed banks and savings & loan thrifts across the country during the late 80s & 90s. He has spent many years serving and empowering members of his community, serving on boards and working with various community organizations.

David is the founder and current Executive Director of Build Wealth Minnesota (BWMN); which is a 501c3 non-profit designated as a Community Development Financial Institution by the US Department of Treasury. Since 2004 BWMN has worked to help thousands of families become self-sufficient and build assets while attaining sustainable social and economic wealth.

David has been training underserved populations in financial literacy education for over 20 years in addition to developing and administering culturally sensitive courses in Credit Awareness, Mortgage Underwriting, Loan Origination, Homeownership education etc. He has been certified locally and nationally in several capacities including housing development, loan origination, homebuyer education, financial literacy, credit counseling and other social leadership roles.

David is housing developer and has been engaged collaborative efforts to design, engineer and develop affordable housing in Minneapolis and works alongside multifamily and mixed use developers in the Housing Opportunities Made Equitable Collaborative (HOMECO).

Gernot Laganda, World Food Program

Panelist, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Gernot Laganda is leading the Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programs at the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP). He supports WFP Country Offices and the governments they serve to understand the effects of climate change on food security, develop strategic initiatives to reduce climate risks in food systems, and make innovative risk financing instruments work for vulnerable communities. Gernot joined WFP from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), where he managed the world’s largest climate change adaptation program for smallholder farmers.

A geoscientist by training, Gernot spent the past 20 years working at the nexus between disaster management and sustainable development - holding posts with NGOs supporting disaster relief and reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and Tajikistan; serving as Humanitarian Program Specialist with the Austrian Development Agency; and managing climate and environmental programs with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in South Africa and the Asia/Pacific region.

Gernot holds a M.Eng. degree in Applied Geosciences, an MA degree in Public Policy, and Postgraduate Diplomas in Disaster Management and International Development Cooperation. He is a Yale 2016 Greenberg World Fellow at Yale University. "

Jim Cunha, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Jim Cunha is the Executive Vice President and Interim COO at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. His entire career has focused on the interrelationship of payments, security, technology and innovation.

Cunha is the interim COO as the Fed looks to replace its recent President who retired early due to health reasons.

Cunha leads the Federal Reserve’s Secure Payment efforts, which seeks to reduce fraud in the U.S. payments system through collaboration with industry participants.

Cunha is also spearheading the Boston Fed’s efforts to study distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to determine potential benefits and risks in financial services for internal and external uses. He is also responsible for the Bank’s technology research related to central bank digital currencies (CBDC), including a joint research effort with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative.

Cunha has worked at the Boston Fed since 1984. Prior to that, he worked at Fleet National Bank. He holds a bachelor’s in accounting and philosophy from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in computer science from Rhode Island College.

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Laura Schmid, International Labour Organization

Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce

Laura Schmid is the Skills and Employability Specialist for North Africa and the Horn of Africa for the ILO based in Cairo, Egypt. She supports 11 different countries including the Maghreb with regards to skills development. Prior to this position, she has worked for the German Development Cooperation GIZ as Employment Advisor in Egypt and as Migration and Employment Advisor in Jordan focusing on the Syrian crisis response. Laura holds a BSC. in International Economics and Development from Bayreuth University Germany and a MSC in International Relations from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Mathew Davie, Kiva

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Matthew Davie is Chief Strategy Officer at Kiva, a global non-profit focused on bringing financial inclusion to the world’s unbanked populations. In this role, he leads new initiatives that bring emerging technologies to vulnerable populations around the world. Additionally, Matthew is a board member at Diem and a senior advisor at the Linux Foundation, the World Economic Forum, and ID2020. Prior to Kiva, he was an executive at multiple technology companies in the data, entertainment, and gaming sectors. Matthew earned a B.S. from the University of California at Davis and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Michelle Rhone-Collins, LIFT

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

Michelle’s career has been defined by standing up for equity and access for disenfranchised individuals and communities. Prior to joining LIFT, Michelle spent nearly 20 years leading youth and community development efforts in New York and Los Angeles. Michelle joined LIFT in 2012 as the Founding LIFT-Los Angeles Executive Director where she seeded many of the program innovations that are now core to LIFT’s nationwide program model, including the focus on an intergenerational approach to breaking the cycle of poverty, the integration of financial coaching into traditional supports, and giving cash directly to members. After serving as LIFT’s Chief Cities Officer overseeing all of LIFT’s regional operations, in 2019, Michelle was promoted to and now serves as LIFT’s Chief Executive Officer.

Michelle LIFTs because she believes in the transformative power of “hope, money and love” – her signature take on LIFT’s special sauce. Her own parents loved her fiercely and instilled in her the notion that she could do and be anything she wanted. She fully understands that this firm belief and investment in her possibility provided a buffer against socioeconomic inequity. It is an honor for her to pass on this transformative power of love, backed by rigor and dedication, to populations historically marginalized and unjustly overburdened by stigma, isolation, and disregard.

Michelle is a sought-after public speaker and thought leader whose has been featured in SSIR, Variety magazine, LA Magazine, NPR’s Marketplace, and the 2018 United State of Women Summit, amongst others. She is a Senior Fellow at both the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab at the USC Marshall School of Business, a Promise Venture Fellow, and part of the inaugural class of ProInspire’s Catalyst Collective of BIPOC nonprofit executives across the country,

Michelle resides in Los Angeles and is the proud mother of two beautiful children who are her ultimate source of motivation and inspiration. She loves them fiercely!

Nate Loewentheil, Commonweal Venturyes

Moderator, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Nate Loewentheil is an investor, social entrepreneur, and nationally recognized public policy expert. Nate is the founder and managing partner of Commonweal Ventures, a VC firm investing in leading companies in the sectors of sustainability, transportation and infrastructure, and the urban environment. Nate is also an adjunct Professor at Yale University, where he teaches a course on Technology and the American City. Previously, Nate served in the Obama White House as a Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council, where he advised President Obama on urban policy, transportation, and emerging technologies. Nate is the founder of numerous successful social enterprises, including Baltimore Homecoming, the Millennial Action Project and the Roosevelt Network. He is a former Forbes 30 under 30 and Aspen Ideas Fellow. He has published major national reports on topics ranging from small business policy to the politics of climate change. He has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and Fast Company, among many other outlets. Nate holds both a BA and JD from Yale. He lives with his wife in New York City.

Reed Hundt, Coalition for Green Capital

Panelist, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Hundt is the CEO and co-founder of the Coalition for Green Capital, a non-profit engaged in the creation of green banks in the United States and internationally, and Making Every Vote Count, a non-profit advocating to make the national popular vote relevant to selecting the President. He was also on the board of Intel Corporation 2001-20. He was a senior adviser to the law firm, Covington, in Washington, D.C., from 2014 to 2019, and lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and Portola Valley, California. Hundt graduated from Yale College in 1969 and the Yale Law School in 1974.

Susanne Desroches, NYC Office of Climate & Sustainability/NYC Office of Climate Resiliency

Panelist, From Legislation to Laying Foundations: How the Infrastructure Act can connect 21st century America

Susanne DesRoches is the Deputy Director for Infrastructure and Energy at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency and Mayor’s Office of Climate & Sustainability. She is responsible for the City’s energy policy and regulatory affairs at the local, state, and federal levels, and directs the City’s efforts to transition to 100% clean electricity by 2040. Susanne leads the City’s long-term energy planning efforts, which center rapid decarbonization while prioritizing a just and affordable energy transition for all New Yorkers.

Susanne also directs the City’s policies and programs designed to adapt regional infrastructure systems to climate change, including electric, gas, and transportation systems. She leads the City’s efforts to ensure climate resiliency is integrated into utility and bulk power system planning, and oversees the development of the NYC Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines. Susanne also leads the NYC Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, which works to identify climate risks and coordinate adaptation strategies, and is a chapter author for the fourth National Climate Assessment.

Susanne was previously the Chief of Resilience and Sustainability for the Engineering Department at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. She holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. Susanne is on the faculty of Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Professional Studies. "

Rachel Korberg, Families and Workers Fund

Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce

Rachel Korberg is the Executive Director and a co-founder of the Families and Workers Fund, a coalition of twenty diverse philanthropies working together to build a more equitable economy in the United States. Originally established in April 2020 to respond to the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, today the $52 million fund makes grants and builds strategic partnerships to advance good jobs and deliver equitable, effective public benefits.

Previously, Rachel led grant making portfolios at the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation and also worked in impact investing and global development. She is currently President of the Board of the Stonewall Community Foundation, and her commentary has appeared in, or her work has been profiled by, the Washington Post, Fortune, TechCrunch, PBS, Newsweek, and more. Rachel has a Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Yale University, executive training from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Tufts University. "

Smita Aggarwal, Flourish Ventures

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Listed in “Top 35 Global Women in Fintech Powerlist”, ‘Top Women in Finance’, “Top 30 Fintech Influencers” and “Women Who Venture”, Smita Aggarwal is a fintech investor and a thought leader with deep expertise in venture capital, financial inclusion, digital banking, micro-insurance and financial regulation. In her role with Flourish Ventures, a global fintech focused fund, she leads investments in innovative fintech start-ups that help advance financial health and inclusion in Asia. She is on the Fintech Advisory Board of New York University and Global Fintech Fest. She is a member of the Board of Directors of IIFL Asset Management Company. She is a guest faculty for “Fintech in Emerging Markets” at the Stern School of Business, New York University.

She has three decades of experience in finance as a banker, lender, regulator and an investor that have enriched her with unparalleled domain expertise, unique perspective and empathy for fintech founders. She has held leadership positions with noteworthy names such as Omidyar Network, Fullerton India Credit, Reserve Bank of India and ICICI Bank with a successful track record of building businesses from scratch, introducing new products, and driving growth through innovation. She is a rank-holder chartered accountant and has attended executive programs at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.

Tamer El-Raghy, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund

Panelist, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

"Tamer El-Raghy is the Founding MD of the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF); a $58 million impact Agri VC fund and the world’s first equity fund designed to build the climate adaptation of African smallholder farmers utilizing blended finance. Tamer has more than 20 years of private equity, venture capital, M&A, entrepreneurial, and innovation experience in Africa, the Middle East, the United States, and Europe.

Prior to joining ARAF, Tamer was with responsAbility AG as head of the Agri & Food PE Fund in Africa where he co-led the structuring, due diligence, and closing of transactions that impacted 35,000 smallholder farmers. Before responsAbility AG, he led Cargill’s growth strategy and M&A activities in Africa with a focus on animal nutrition, animal protein, and commodities value chains in Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Zambia, and Ghana, impacting 50,000 smallholders.

Tamer started his career as a materials engineer, where he co-invented a new class of materials, held 9 patents, and founded 3-ONE-2 LLC, as a joint venture, commercializing the technology for both civilian and defense applications. Tamer earned an MBA from the New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business , a PhD in Materials Engineering from Drexel University, and a BSc in Metallurgical Engineering from Cairo University.

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Desmond Koney, Complete Farmer

Panelist, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Desmond is the Founder and CEO of Complete Farmer Inc. Complete Farmer is an end-to-end platform connecting industries with commercial precision agriculture produce on demand to meet their production needs and specifications. Complete Farmer's aim is to digitize the agriculture value chain in Africa to make it more competitive and efficient.

A mechanical engineer and product designer with interests in process optimization, product development and strategy development and implementation and challenging old norms to problem solving. With a firm belief that better products and processes improve livelihood with a contrarian and pragmatic approach, I like to explore possible design solution to Africa’s pressing challenges.

I am also interested in mechanical product design, IoT, Artificial intelligence, agriculture and renewable energy.

Kathy Mannes, JFF

Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Workforce

Kathryn Jo Mannes is vice president, impact partnerships, at JFF. She helps catalyze partnerships and programs that further JFF’s mission and impact in the field.

Kathy identifies educational and employment needs and crafts solutions to address those needs. She builds and promotes public and private partnerships to reimagine and scale opportunities that benefit companies, communities, and individuals. She is a dot-connector, with a wide range of corporate, education, government, and community contacts,. Currently, she is proud to be working with companies and organizations including Google, Salesforce, IBM, McDonald's, Verizon, SHRM, and AARP that are investing in a diverse and equitable workforce strategy.

Before joining JFF, Kathy worked at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she launched the Center for Workforce and Industry Partnerships. Peviously, she served as senior vice president for workforce and economic development at the American Association of Community Colleges and as the managing director of workforce development at the National Retail Federation Foundation. She has also worked at Dusco Community Services, the Council for Adult Education and Learning, and American University.

Kathy is a member of the board of the Center for Employment Opportunities. She previously served on the Workforce Investment Board of Montgomery County, Maryland, and on the board of the National Center for Children and Families. She speaks on the opportunities and challenges in a changing economy and world of work.

Kathy says she looks for new ways to push systems, investors, and other stakeholders to combine efforts and resources. Her goal is to change the paradigm of how we prepare for and think about work by taking risks and putting ideas into action.

Kevin Donovan, Yale School of Management

Moderator, Green Futures: Market driven innovation for climate and food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Kevin Donovan is an assistant professor of economics at the Yale School of Management. His work focuses on economic development, with a particular focus on the role of market access on rural development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Before coming to Yale, he was an assistant professor of economics and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Arizona State University and a B.S. in mathematics from Bentley College.

Thomas Abell, Asian Development Bank

Panelist, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Thomas is leading ADB’s Digital Technology for Development Unit, which is tasked with facilitating the effective use of digital technology in ADB programs to improve development impact.

He has over 20 years of professional experience in digital technology, including software development, systems architecture and technology strategy. During his 10+ years of experience in international development, he has worked extensively across Asia, Africa and Latin America, working with governments, development organizations, NGOs and corporations. He has authored several publications on the use of technology in development with leading organizations, including Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Cash Learning Partnership, and Mastercard.

Prior to ADB, he worked for Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP), leading ADP’s programs in Digital Technology for Development and Financial Inclusion. He has specific development expertise in financial inclusion, education, and agriculture. Prior to joining Accenture in 2005, he served various management and technical roles in information technology and strategy for large multinationals, including Hewlett Packard, Motorola, and Ford Motor Company.

He is an American national and holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); a Master of Science from the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, MIT; a Master of Science from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT; and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering degree from MIT.

Xavier Faz, CGAP

Moderator, The future of fintech and financial inclusion

Mr. Faz heads CGAP’s work on business model innovation. He has worked more than twenty years in development, digital finance and technology and has extensive experience leading experimental programs with early-stage businesses testing the use of emerging technologies for financial inclusion. He has worked with leading providers in the digital finance space in Africa and Asia on agent networks, digital payments, and pay-as-you-go models for off-grid solar energy.

Mr. Faz has worked in financial sector development in several countries in Latin America and oversees CGAP’s work in that region.

Before joining CGAP, Mr. Faz worked with the government of Mexico implementing its public policy to regulate the financial cooperative sector and developed a business unit in a government development bank to provide core banking and card switching services to the microfinance sector in that country.

He worked in management consulting with McKinsey & Co. in Mexico and Central America, helping corporates in the private sector launch technology initiatives to grow their businesses in the retail, FMCG, and banking sectors.

He is an engineer by training and focused the early part of his career in software development in the energy and steel sectors. He worked for Schlumberger Wireline in Algeria and spent time working with startups in Mexico and Silicon Valley.

He has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and an Engineering degree from ITESM in Mexico. He is a native from Mexico and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Seung Kim, LISC

Panelist, Race and Capital: Narrowing the racial wealth gap with community finance

As the Vice President of LISC’s Economic Development Programs, Seung leads the strategy and expansion of LISC’s national workforce and asset building initiatives, and supports the operations and development of LISC’s growing network of business development organizations. Under her leadership, LISC has employed a community-focused and data-driven approach to pilot, test, and scale promising programs.  

Prior to joining the national LISC staff in 2012, she worked as a consultant with LISC Chicago on its Centers for Working Families (she was a CWF financial coach on the Near West Side earlier in 2006) and with the national office on Financial Opportunity Centers.

Earlier, Kim was a Vice President, Fixed Income Analytics, for ANB Financial Group in Chicago and was an Associate, Trading and Analytics, for Performance Trust Companies. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and a master’s of business administration from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

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