Expertise in Community Development Representative

Chief Executive Officer
Southern Bancorp, Inc.
Little Rock, AR

Darrin Williams is a banker, securities and consumer protection attorney, former legislator and passionate advocate for financial inclusion.  Currently serving as the CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc., Williams oversees the strategic direction and operations of each of Southern Bancorp’s three Community Development Financial Institutions: Southern Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company; Southern Bancorp Bank, one of America’s largest rural development banks; and Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) development finance and lending organization – collectively known as “Southern.”  With $1.9 billion in assets, more than 65,000 customers and 52 locations, Southern Bancorp’s markets extend throughout the Mid-South.  Focused on the net worth building strategies of homeownership, entrepreneurship and saving, Southern Bancorp believes that wealth building isn’t just for the wealthy; they seek to be wealth builders for everyone.  Mr. Williams received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College, his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and his Master of Laws in securities and financial regulation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Expertise in Community Development Representative

Director
Center for Impact Finance, Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH

Michael Swack is a professor at the University of New Hampshire, where he has appointments at the Carsey School of Public Policy and at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.  He directs the Center for Impact Finance and the Master’s Program in Community Development, a program designed for adult practitioners.  At Carsey, he is working on building scale in the community development finance sector, innovations in community development finance, microfinance, and sustainable energy financing.  He also directs the Financial Innovations Roundtable a collaboration with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.   Previously, Mr. Swack was the founder and former dean of the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University.  He was the first chairman and served for seventeen years as a board member of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority.  Mr. Swack also founded the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and was a founding board member of the National Association of Community Development Loan Funds (now the Opportunity Finance Network), a trade association of Community Development Finance Institutions.  Mr. Swack received his doctorate degree from Columbia University, his master’s degree from Harvard University, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Designee

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs
Federal Housing Administration
Washington, DC

With close to 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ms. Pittman is currently appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), within the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  In this role, Ms. Pittman serves as the Chief Risk Officer for FHA’s $1.4 trillion insured mortgage portfolio consisting of loans for single-family residences, multifamily properties, and health care facilities. Immediately prior to joining FHA, Ms. Pittman served as Chief Credit Review Officer for National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a $3 billion mission lending bank based in Arlington, VA.  Before NCB, Ms. Pittman worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  Over the course of her career, Ms. Pittman has worked for community, regional, and large financial institutions as a commercial lender with a background in community development finance.  Ms. Pittman has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.B.A. in Finance from Temple University, and an M.A. in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University.

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.

Expertise in Native American Community Development Representative

Founder and Director
Peȟíŋ Haha Consulting
St. Paul, MN

Patrice Kunesh, of Standing Rock Lakota descent, is the founder and director of Peȟíŋ Haha Consulting, a social enterprise committed to fostering self-determined Native nations by expanding their access to economic opportunities and fostering social and economic capital. Previously, she established and led the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, a national initiative focused on activating financial, human, and social capital to facilitate economic growth and prosperity in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Ms. Kunesh began her legal career at the Native American Rights Fund, where her work centered on jurisdiction and natural resources, nation building, and Indian child welfare matters. Ms. Kunesh previously served in various federal government roles including as the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as the Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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.

CDFI Representative

President and CEO
MoFi
Missoula, MT

Dave Glaser is currently the President of MoFi, a position he has held since 2007. MoFi is a Community Development Financial Institution that provides loans to individuals and businesses across the Rocky Mountain West that are just outside the financial mainstream. Mr. Glasser formerly served on the board of the Opportunity Finance Network and is a member of the U.S. Bank Community Advisory Committee, the Columbia Bank Community Advisory Panel, and the Mission Lender Working Group Steering Committee. He holds a Master of Science from the University of Montana and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado. Dave lives with his family in Missoula, Montana.

U.S. Department of the Interior Designee

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs
Washington, DC

Wizipan (Wee-zee-pan) Little Elk Garriott, an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior. He serves as the first assistant and principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs in the development and interpretation of policies affecting Indian Affairs bureaus, offices, and programs. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Garriott served as chief executive officer from 2012 to 2021 of the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation, an ecosystem of Tribal organizations serving the Rosebud Indian Reservation. In this capacity, Mr. Garriott led and started businesses and community-based programs, including a Native language immersion school and 1,500-head buffalo herd. Mr. Garriott’s previous federal service included serving under the leadership of Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Garriott was born and raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation where he attended St. Francis Indian School, a Bureau of Indian Affairs (now Bureau of Indian Education) facility. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Yale University. Mr. Garriott received his Juris Doctor degree in 2008 from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College.

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.