From the Fund to the Field: Closing the Distance Between Ideas and Impact

Throughout my career, I have been drawn to a simple question: How do we make good ideas work for communities?

I have approached that question from different sides. In government and economic development, I worked on programs designed to expand access to capital and technical assistance. As Director of the CDFI Fund, I saw the field at a national scale and worked alongside institutions serving communities across the country. Today, as President and CEO of Locus, I see the work from a different vantage point.

Leading a CDFI has brought me closer to what happens after a program is designed or capital becomes available. I see what it takes to turn those resources into housing, businesses, and community projects. I also see the work required when the traditional solution does not quite fit.

That shift from the Fund to the field has reinforced something I have believed throughout my career. Making capital available is only part of the work. We also have to make capital usable.

At Locus, that means looking beyond a single product or transaction. Sometimes the answer is lending. Other times it may require impact investment, credit enhancement or a partnership that brings different sources of capital together. The structure should follow the need, not the other way around.

Behind every transaction is someone trying to solve a problem in their community. That perspective keeps innovation grounded in purpose. The CDFI field has spent decades demonstrating what community-focused finance can accomplish. Our next chapter should build on that foundation while continuing to evolve how we work.

More capital will always matter. But so will flexibility. We need structures that make it easier to move resources where they are needed and partnerships that allow public, private and philanthropic capital to work together more effectively.

I see that as one of the greatest opportunities ahead for CDFIs and for Locus. We can use what we have learned from individual projects to create approaches that work at greater scale. We can build tools that help communities move from an idea to execution more efficiently. And we can continue finding ways to bring additional capital into places where traditional systems have fallen short.

My roles have changed over the years, but the part of this work that motivates me has remained consistent. I want to close the distance between a good idea and the impact it can have on a community.

The future of community finance will require us to keep listening, learning and building. At Locus, that is the work we are committed to doing, and I believe it is work that will continue to shape the future of the CDFI field.