Deputy Under Secretary, Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture

An experienced leader who focuses on people and effective management outcomes, DJ LaVoy has more than 22 years of experience working as a leader in affordable housing and economic development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most recently, LaVoy served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) where he has been highly effective in driving agency innovation. LaVoy lead the replacement of numerous essential outdated IT data collection systems with data streaming, web portals architecture, maintained in a cloud environment. While in his latest role, LaVoy also partnered with members of the federal family and all 58 State Housing Finance Agencies to lead the way in establishing a universal inspection standard for federally subsidized properties, which will increase customer service and improve the lives of millions of Americans across the country. In addition to his experience with HUD, LaVoy served under the Bush and Reagan Administrations. LaVoy started his career with the United States Marine Corps and is a marine aviator and combat veteran. LaVoy earned his Bachelor of Applied Science Degree from Old Dominion University and his Master of Industrial Engineering from U.S. Army War College.

Christopher Allison is the Program Manager for the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). Mr. Allison previously served as Associate Program Manager for the NMTC Program. He oversaw the development of NMTC application materials, led the implementation of the NMTC evaluation process in the CDFI Fund's new Awards Management Information System (AMIS), and made recommendations for tax credit allocations.

Prior to joining the CDFI Fund, Mr. Allison was a Program Manager at Single Stop USA, where he oversaw grant and performance management for a national portfolio of community-based organizations related to income supports. He worked on several innovative workforce development and asset building projects at Seedco, a national economic development intermediary. Mr. Allison has also held positions with Self-Help Ventures Fund and the Center for Community Capital in North Carolina.

Mr. Allison holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an emphasis on economic development, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban studies from Eugene Lang College at The New School in New York.

BLOG POSTS BY GAIL THOMAS

New Markets Tax Credits Help Museums Increase Community Impact

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Historically, museums have been defined as buildings where objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. But, many museums have evolved into education centers that actively engage with surrounding communities (...)

CDFIs Help Make Manufactured Housing Affordable for America

JULY 09, 2019

Homeownership has always been a major part of the "American Dream."? While conventional site-built housing has become out of reach for many Americans, manufactured housing has made homeownership attainable for many low- and moderate-income families priced (...)

Jeff Merkowitz is Senior Advisor to CDFI Fund Director Jodie Harris and brings over two decades of both policy and direct, on the ground experience in the areas of housing finance and community development. He previously served as Director of Operations and Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, where he was responsible for crafting the Senator's policy responses to both the foreclosure crisis and the longstanding shortage of affordable housing in California. His work for the Senator to expand refinancing opportunities led to over 2 million struggling homeowners being able to refinance their mortgages at historically low rates, and he led efforts in the Senate to push the Federal Housing Finance Agency to fund the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund.

Prior to his time in the Senate, Merkowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer for Opportunity Fund, a certified CDFI. There he created the financial infrastructure to manage over $25 million in lending programs for affordable housing development and small businesses, as well as receive and distribute $50 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocations, and developed key partnerships with local and national banks. While in California, he also was a director on the board of InnVision, the largest homeless services provider in the South Bay.

Additionally, Merkowitz served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, where he organized local women's groups to start up small businesses and provided assistance to rural communities with small development projects such as bridges, roads, health posts, and potable water projects. He is a graduate of Princeton University and earned a MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.