Harold B. Pettigrew, Jr.,

Harold Pettigrew
Harold B. Pettigrew, Jr.,
CDFI Representative

President and Chief Executive Officer
Opportunity Finance Network
Washington, DC

Harold Pettigrew currently serves as president and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network, the leading national network of community development financial institutions serving rural, urban, and Native communities. Before that, he was CEO of Wacif, one of the Washington, DC, area’s leading CDFIs focused on access to capital and technical assistance to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs of color. Mr. Pettigrew has spent his career in economic development, with nearly 20 years of experience in small business development, venture capital investing, transportation and transit, workforce development, and public sector management. Prior to 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, he has served as an advisor to the World Bank on private sector, small business development, and business licensing strategies and to the National League of Cities on equitable development strategies. His fellowships include OFN Opportunity Fellowship (2017) and Common Future Local Economy Fellowship (2016). He was a 2015 Next City Vanguard and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Mr. Pettigrew has a master’s degree in urban planning from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University, where he served as a member of the university’s Board of Trustees.

Marla Bilonick

Marla Bilonick
Marla Bilonick
National Consumer or Public Interest Representative

President and Chief Executive Officer
National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders
Washington, DC

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.

Dietrich Douglas

Legal Counsel
Dietrich Douglas
Dietrich Douglas
Legal Counsel

Dietrich Douglas is Legal Counsel to the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and in that role functions as lead counsel on all legal matters related to the CDFI Fund's policies, programs, and administration. Prior to being named Legal Counsel in 2023, Mr. Douglas served as Branch Chief within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicare Operations Division where he supervised a team of attorneys handling claim appeals.

Before this, Mr. Douglas was Program Counsel with the Legal Services Corporation where he performed grant oversight and provided program guidance to federally-funded legal-aid organizations that serve low-income individuals. He has also served as Assistant Director with the New Jersey Department of Human Services, which manages federally-funded public assistance programs. There, he managed a legal unit that adopted regulations, drafted policy guidance, managed the third-party procurement process, and served as general counsel.

Mr. Douglas has more than 15 years of combined experience conducting grant oversight, managing legal and regulatory affairs in state government and practicing civil litigation. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Virginia Union University, and a Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law. He is a member of the New York State Bar.

VACANT

Profile
VACANT

U.S. Department of the Interior Designee

Will the CDFI Fund communicate with CDFI Certification Applicants to provide clarifying information to help make its determination?

The CDFI Fund will not communicate with CDFI Certification Applicants to gather additional information to help make its determination. Any application that is incomplete or contains inaccurate information will automatically be rejected. Organizations whose applications are rejected for missing or inaccurate information will be required to submit a new application.

Starbucks Partners with CDFIs to Help Chicago’s Underserved Communities

With a population of more than 2.7 million1, the City of Chicago is the third most populous city in America and has a total economic output of $770.7 billion2. This makes it the third largest metropolitan economy in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. In spite of the city’s economic activity, Census Bureau data indicates that 17.3% of the City’s population lives in poverty.