Smarter Support: How AI Can Strengthen Main Street and the Small Business Ecosystem

John Torres

John Torres is an accomplished professional with over two decades of experience in strategic communication, marketing, and public relations. He recently assumed the role of Director of Marketing and Communication at AEO, joining the team in January 2024. With a robust background in fostering organizational success through effective communication strategies, John is recognized as a visionary leader dedicated to excellence and innovation.

Before joining AEO, John served as the Director of Communication at Land O’Lakes Venture37 in Washington, DC, the non-profit international development arm of Land O’Lakes, Inc. During his tenure, John played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s global footprint. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, he spearheaded comprehensive marketing and communication initiatives, overseeing branding, social media, and event management. Notably, John led efforts to amplify awareness and support for initiatives aimed at fostering inclusive societies, better health and nutrition, and increased access to capital in developing communities.

Prior to his role at Venture37, John served as the Vice President of Communication and Public Relations at the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA). Through over a decade of service, John demonstrated his expertise in driving strategic communication efforts for the professional trade association. As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, he played a pivotal role in aligning organizational practices with mission objectives and enhancing the association’s resilience and strategic agility.

Throughout his career, John has excelled in building high-performing teams and driving dynamic business results. His tenure at various organizations underscores his ability to distill complex concepts into relatable narratives, leverage data-driven insights for strategic decision-making, and orchestrate successful national and international events. With a proven track record of enhancing brand visibility, increasing member engagement, and amplifying advocacy efforts, John is poised to make a transformative impact at AEO and beyond.

Mitch Jacobs

CEO & Founder

Plink

Mitch Jacobs is a financial technology pioneer. His first two payment companies were sold to public companies and his last, OnDeck, debuted on the NYSE in 2014. Mitch is an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and his companies have twice been named to the Inc. 500 and list of Forbes most promising companies.Mitch was CoChair of the MicroCapital Task Force, which advised the US Treasury on the impact of fintech on Main Street and a member of Mayor Bloomberg’s council on technology and innovation. Mitch and his wife, entrepreneur & author, Samantha Ettus, live with their three children in Los Angeles.

Jessie Lee

Managing Director

Renaissance Economic Development Corporation (REDC)

Jessie C. Lee is the Managing Director of Renaissance Economic Development Corporation (REDC), an affiliate of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). Renaissance is a 25-year old CDFI that is also an SBA Microlender and SBA Community Advantage lender. She oversees Renaissance’s lending operations, technical assistance programs, community relations, and capacity building. She provides the organization with strategic guidance for expansion and works to increase long term community impact. Additionally, Jessie cultivates partnerships with both public and private institutions. Her expertise is in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and economic development in the last 20 years.

Theresa Bedeau

Community and Economic Development Leader & Small Business Advocate

An experienced change agent and impact leader within the nonprofit and corporate sector dedicated to advancing equitable economic opportunity via philanthropic investments, public-private-social partnerships, and program innovation. Avid learner, leveraging skills to empathetically understand and define problems and co-create solutions with an eye toward discovery, impact, and scale. Proven history of engaging diverse stakeholders, moving projects forward, and finding the leverage for outsized impact.

Natalie Madeira Cofield

Natalie Madeira Cofield Headshot

President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

AEO

Natalie Madeira Cofield

President & CEO, Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO)

Natalie Madeira Cofield is an accomplished leader and influential advocate in small business development and entrepreneurship. As the President and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), Natalie leads the foremost national trade association representing microbusinesses and small enterprises. Under her dynamic leadership, AEO has initiated regional councils, bolstered investments in innovation and capacity-building among business service organizations and pioneered extensive research on the small business ecosystem.

Natalie is an award-winning entrepreneur, philanthropist, political appointee, and economic activist with a robust track record of empowering small businesses and underserved communities. She has offered her expertise and strategic insights to prominent CEOs of billion-dollar organizations, senior advisors to the White House, mayors of major cities, and community leaders across the nation. Her contributions have earned her recognition as one of the most powerful women in business by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Prior to her role at AEO, Natalie served as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). As the Assistant Administrator, she was instrumental in managing the deployment of $1.2 trillion in funding during a critical period in economic history, directly supporting the allocation of over $200 million to entrepreneurial ecosystems nationwide. She also spearheaded the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at the SBA, overseeing a $70 million grant-making budget and leading the largest expansion of the Women’s Business Center network in the agency’s history. Natalie chaired multiple White House Advisory Councils and Taskforces, including the Council on Gender, Council on Equity, and the Council on HBCUs.

In addition to her governmental service, Natalie is the founder of Walker’s Legacy, a national organization that operates in 20 cities and has supported thousands of multicultural women entrepreneurs in securing substantial capital for their businesses. She co-founded the $14 million Coalition to Back Black Business, which provided critical funding to nearly 1,000 Black-owned businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an executive, Cofield was named the inaugural Entrepreneur-in-Resident for the District of Columbia, served as an Executive in Residence for Mastercard, advising the Fortune 500 company on go-to-market strategies for small businesses, and was the CEO of a Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, among other notable director and CEO level leadership roles in economic development and small business.

Natalie’s expertise is widely recognized, and her insights have been featured in major media outlets such as Inc., Time, CNN, The New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Black Enterprise, Essence, and EBONY. She is a sought-after speaker, having presented at esteemed institutions including Harvard, Yale, Brookings, The Aspen Institute, SXSW, Google, Meta, and Dell.

In recognition of her significant contributions to economic development, Natalie was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Shaw University in 2023. She is an honors graduate of Howard University and the Baruch School of Public Affairs, where she was a National Urban Fellow. She also earned the distinguished Certificate of Management Excellence from Harvard University with a focus on Innovation.

Currently, Natalie serves on the corporate board of directors for Harbor Bankshares Corporation ($345M in holdings). An avid traveler, she has explored over 47 countries and continues to broaden her global perspective.

Mabell Fernandez

Mabell brings over 15 years of program strategy, design, and management to her role as VP of Innovations and Senior Culture Officer. She has dedicated her professional career to identifying a scalable path to poverty alleviation and has explored the power of post-secondary education, financial education, and entrepreneurship in changing communities. Specifically, Mabell has worked with a large university in Massachusetts to design and launch a program that creates a pathway to post-secondary education for Boston high school seniors who were recent immigrants.

She also worked at a financial empowerment and education nonprofit whose mission was to empower individuals, primarily single mothers of color, living in subsidized housing to identify a successful path towards financial security and independence. Later, she worked at the World Economic Forum, leading 10 Strategic Partners in shaping a path for transformative change around the world. Prior to joining AEO, Mabell worked at a nonprofit in New York City, dedicated to connecting under resourced individuals to high quality coaching and services needed to empower their businesses to succeed. It is in this role that Mabell discovered the transformational power of entrepreneurship to effect change, not only for individuals, but within communities.

Sophia Javaheri

Sophia Javaheri serves as an Innovation Portfolio Associate at AEO. Sophia is a dedicated and passionate professional committed to operational excellence, providing administrative and strategic support, and empowering underserved entrepreneurs. With a formal education in M.S. Speech Language Pathology, Sophia has made a remarkable career transition and impact in the realm of entrepreneurship and nonprofit support.Sophia began her professional journey as a Programs & Event Coordinator for the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central Texas. In this role, she was vital in connecting nonprofit organizations with corporate giving, ensuring that charitable contributions were channeled effectively towards supporting the community. Her journey continued as she took on the role of Program Manager and eventually Director of Program Operations at 3 Day Startup, focusing on programming entrepreneurship education. One of her most notable accomplishments in this capacity was the design and successful execution of an entrepreneurship student exchange program with the U.S. Embassy Vienna, underscoring her profound dedication to fostering global partnerships and emphasizing the significance of knowledge sharing. Most recently, Sophia played a pivotal role at a startup, Chany Ventures, actively contributing to the establishment of the organization dedicated to supporting female identifying entrepreneurs across Mexico. This work reflects her deep commitment to diversity and inclusivity within the entrepreneurial world.Throughout her career, Sophia has expertly curated and managed events of varying scales, catering to audiences spanning from 20 to 200 individuals, in both virtual and in-person settings. Her meticulous approach and strategic event planning have been instrumental in creating engaging and impactful experiences for entrepreneurs and stakeholders alike.Beyond her professional life, Sophia is an individual with a wide range of interests. She enjoys board gaming, traveling, reading, camping and exploring different cultures through cooking.

Reid Jackson

Reid Jackson serves as a Junior Research Associate at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. Reid brings a combination of academic and professional research experience to the team. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and holds a Master of Science in the History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Reid has delivered on research projects that span a variety of industries, and across countries, on behalf clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to governmental organizations. Reid maintains a strong interest in community and economic development, both nationally and internationally. His volunteer work includes time spent as a research volunteer with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, a Tbilisi based Civil Society organization, where he developed reports and communications materials on comparative law topics as well as the role of non-governmental organizations in helping civil society thrive. He enjoys reading literature in his free time and moonlights as a language-learner. Having grown up in Southern California, he currently resides in the District of Columbia.

Kelly Powers

A passionate social justice advocate and strategic entrepreneur, Kelly Powers has dedicated her career to leading innovative work to positively impact people. An accomplished entrepreneur and organizational leader, Kelly has spent her career building and leading impact-driven organizations. Kelly is an advocate – she believes deeply in the potential of people. She is also a builder – having built programs, solutions and relationships throughout her career. And, Kelly is a strategist – aiming to merge private-sector best practices with on-the-ground work in communities. Kelly’s 15+ years in the social sector have impacted thousands of lives.

Throughout her career, Kelly has co-founded and led a start-up, non-profit education organization, building it from the ground up. She has worked in the classroom with young children and in systems change teaching other teachers. Kelly has led operations, finance, and human resources as the chief operating officer at an established non-profit agency. During her tenure as COO, Kelly led and re-built the people & culture department, supported the reorganization of the finance function, spearheaded the implementation of a new HRIS system and successfully operationalized an acquisition with a local community organization.

Prior to her COO role, Kelly was founding Executive Director of VOCEL, an early childhood education non-profit she co-founded in 2013. Under Kelly’s leadership, VOCEL grew from an early-stage start-up working with 18 children to a well-established organization in the early learning sector deploying programs in 17 community areas across Chicago impacting over 300 children and families annually. Before founding VOCEL, Kelly’s career included teaching 1st & 2nd grade in St. Louis, Missouri as a Teach For America corps member; coaching teachers in community-based organizations and elementary schools across Chicago; and managing a team of educational coaches at Teach For America.

Kelly holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business with concentrations in Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship, Managerial & Organizational Behavior and Operations Management. She was a member of the inaugural cohort of Neubauer Civic Scholars at Booth. In undergrad, Kelly was a Hunt Leadership Scholar at SMU where she earned her BA in Communications & English.

Brendan Landry

Brendan Landry serves as an Innovation Portfolio Manager for AEO. Brendan brings over 15 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector where he has focused on providing access to education and learning for people who do not fit into educational and employment norms and therefore have limited opportunity to realize their full potential. His extensive background in community economic development includes co-founding a Denver-based CDFI and heading up the design and delivery of a comprehensive business development and lending program serving entrepreneurs from marginalized communities. Additionally, he brings expertise in innovation and human-centered design, having served as Innovation Program Manager for Denver Public Schools supporting community-based projects that address inequities in the district.

Brendan’s driving belief is that all people have an innate ability to do something great and that often the difference between where someone is and where they want to be is the presence of a meaningful opportunity. As such, he has devoted his career to finding creative ways to ensure that learning and education remain accessible to all people, regardless of the barriers they face.

Brendan lives in Beverly, MA and when not at work, he enjoys getting outdoors with his wife and 2 kids (Eliot and Esmae), trying out new recipes in the kitchen, or strumming his mandolin on the back porch.

Keir Zander

Keir Zander is the Innovation Project Manager at AEO and joined the team in 2022. Keir has been working to democratize access to entrepreneurship and education for the past 15 years. His passion for this work was first forged through personal experience as an entrepreneur. Keir launched and scaled three companies in his early career, including a training center in Guatemala which provided workforce readiness and language instruction to adult learners. This experience taught him the significant barriers to entrepreneurship that plague under-resourced communities. He soon after joined Community Investment Collaborative (CIC), a US based nonprofit to help grow their microlending and entrepreneurship training programs. As Vice-President of CIC, Keir helped to scale the organization’s operations and to build a culture of inclusion and strategic decision making. In 2019 Keir moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he worked to support the rapidly developing entrepreneurship ecosystem there through work with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Fulbright University Vietnam, as well as providing strategic consulting and coaching for several emerging startups.

Keir studied Educational Psychology and History at the University of Virginia and is deeply interested in the impact that human centered design and experiential education can offer when designing inclusive products for adult learners. Keir is also passionate about criminal justice reform and enjoys volunteering as a personal finance instructor to incarcerated citizens approaching re-entry. In his spare time, Keir loves the outdoors, and spends much of his time camping, fishing and traveling.

Sibyl Edwards

Sibyl Edwards is a digital strategist, designer, innovator and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in tech.

For over a decade, Ms. Edwards created successful digital, design and branding campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, non-profit associations, NGOs and tech startups. Working with organizations to help expand their brand and meet their organization goals, Sibyl develops solutions and strategies utilizing best practices in digital marketing and design. Past work includes the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, projects for organizations such as USAID, The World Bank, DC Government, Ogilvy, Rosetta Stone, Edelman Financial Services, Gannett/GO Digital, Cision and Marriott.

A native Texan, Ms. Edwards holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Corcoran College of Art + Design, and a degree in web design and multimedia from the Art Institute of Dallas.

In 2018, Ms. Edwards was listed in Essence Magazine’s Woke 100 list for her work supporting black women entrepreneurs as a co-founder of Black Female Founders.

In her downtime, Sibyl loves SciFi/fantasy and mystery movies and books, watching anime, abstract painting, crafting and cooking. She lives in Washington, DC.

Tara Campbell

Vice President – CED Lending & Investment Strategies Director

Fifth Third Bank

Tara L. Campbell serves as Vice President – CED Lending & Investment Strategies Director at Fifth Third Bank. In this role, her primary responsibilities include managing the CRA lending and investment program, cultivating national partnerships and executing community development strategies across the banks regional footprint.

Prior to joining Fifth Third Bank, she held the position of Signature Initiatives Manager within the Business Impact Group at U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation where she supported the development and implementation of new products, services and experiences in partnership with business lines across the U.S. Bank enterprise to advance their social impact strategy of closing persistent and historic gaps in outcomes for women, people of color, and low-income communities. Most notable accomplishments in this role include leading a $50 Million Paycheck Protection Program liquidity fund for CDFIs and the launch of the $25 Million U.S. Bank Access fund for women of color microbusinesses.

Shane Dolgin

Chair, U.S. Large Clients and Global Chief Quality Officer

Edelman

Shane Dolgin is a senior communications executive with significant global leadership experience working in more than 50 countries. He has spent much of his career in the technology sector with a focus on financial services and mobile communications. He brings a strong background in corporate communications and public and government affairs, along with expertise in digital storytelling, crisis and issues management, financial communications and corporate reputation management. Since 2018 he has led the international communications consultancy Edelman’s global relationship with PayPal, overseeing a team of more than 150 people in 20+ markets. Previously, he led international communications and government affairs at Scotiabank. In that role, he was responsible for global external communications and reputation management, internal communications to the bank’s more than 90,000 employees, as well as government affairs in 50+ markets. Prior to Scotiabank, Shane led communications for TELUS, at the time Canada’s second largest wireless carrier. He lives in Toronto with his two children and is active as a volunteer supporting pediatric cancer and other causes.

Sean Barry

Sean is the Innovation Portfolio Associate for the Innovation Hub at AEO. In this role, Sean helps with the launch and growth of various initiatives across the Innovation Hub. The goal of this work is to create a more inclusive marketplace for underserved microbusinesses.

Prior to working at AEO, Sean was a Program Coordinator for the Finance Leaders Fellowship at the Aspen Institute. In this role, he managed the nominations and sourcing process for the Fellowship.

Sean believes that business can be used as a powerful tool for good. At AEO, he hopes to amplify this idea by helping empower entrepreneurs through small business ownership.

Sean is a graduate of Georgetown University. In his free time, he enjoys spending time in the outdoors and is passionate about conservation and sustainability.

Lori Smith

Lori Smith is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Data and Analytics. Lori brings data, experience, and strategy together to uncover unique insights and actionable intelligence to support underserved entrepreneurs. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University, and her experience spans multiple industries with a concentration in banking, community economic development, and economic policy. She focuses on applying rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods to these areas, including quasi-experimental approaches to policy and impact evaluation. Lori’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and academic presses, and she has presented her research at numerous academic and industry conferences. Prior to joining AEO, Lori coordinated research at a Mexican government-owned social development bank, bringing customer intelligence and data analytics capabilities to financial inclusion strategies. Lori has also consulted with the United Nations and the World Bank on a number of financial policy projects.

Chelsea Maxwell

Chelsea Maxwell serves as a Senior Research Associate at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. Maxwell is a trained social worker with a Bachelor’s of Social Work with minors in political science and sociology from Dordt University (formerly Dordt College) and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. Maxwell is a mission-driven professional with nearly a decade of experience focused on advancing social and economic justice through community-grounded research and advocacy. A sixth-generation Iowan, Maxwell currently lives in the District of Columbia.

Ryan Kon

Bio Coming Soon

John Stanford

John Stanford is a government relations and public affairs professional with experience leading multi-year advocacy and awareness campaigns. He specializes in communicating client objectives to government stakeholders to drive policy formation.

As a partner at Prism Group, John leads Democratic lobbying and engagement and the federal level, specializing in identifying champions for pro-growth and innovation agendas. His relationships on Capitol Hill build on nearly a decade of experience leveraging entrepreneurship to close wealth gap in low-income communities.

He also leads the firm’s advocacy practice, which is responsible for developing and executing a broad array of strategies including third-party activation and coalition development.

Finally, John provides regular commentary on key issues around innovation and the economy, including in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNBC and has been featured on cable television.

Marieka Walsh

Marieka Walsh serves as the Project Manager at AEO. She is responsible for implementing AEO’s enterprise-wide project management framework, managing cross-departmental projects and collaborating with project owners to drive projects to completion. She also advises departments on project management best practices to ensure projects are completed in an effective and efficient manner.

Marieka offers eight years of global project management experience in the non-profit sector from both a professional and academic perspective. During her five years at PYXERA Global she managed innovative social impact programs and team-based projects with Fortune Global 500 companies that took place across India, Brazil, and the United States. Her corporate clients included Mastercard, Medtronic, and IBM. Most recently she led client management activities of Mastercard’s pro bono portfolio and in 2020 successfully launched and implemented two new pro bono programs, one of which was focused on engaging employees in skills-based projects with non-profits on the frontlines of racial justice in the United States. For nearly three years she served as the India Desk Officer where she acted as the HQ-based resource supporting India staff with program management and business development through business process roll out and training.

Prior to that Marieka managed student support for Alternative Breaks service-learning programs at American University, served as a Peace Corps Community Health Volunteer in Mozambique, and taught English in the Republic of Georgia. Marieka holds a MA in Public Administration with a concentration in Non-profit Management from American University and a BA in International Relations and minor in Economics from Mount Holyoke College. She is proficient in Portuguese.

Marieka is passionate about the non-profit sector and the power of organizations like AEO to help communities thrive. Currently she is the Community Relations Volunteer for the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and independently produces thought leadership content about how public, private and social sectors can and are collaborating to solve global challenges.

Jenny Flores

Jenny Flores
Head of Small Business Growth Philanthropy, Wells Fargo

Flores is responsible for shaping the Wells Fargo’s small business growth philanthropy aimed at helping entrepreneurs access capital and technical assistance so they can expand their impact on the economy and ability to provide jobs.

She has more than 20 years of experience overseeing philanthropic investments, employee engagement and corporate citizenship initiatives. Most recently, she was head of community affairs and corporate social responsibility at Bank of the West, where she led the company’s strategy for small business engagement and impact including the creation of a new $30 million investment fund with community development financial institutions for small business owners. In addition, Flores advocated for an enterprise small business strategy in support of women entrepreneurs, resulting in a coordinated effort across the bank’s resources to provide female founders with access to capital, tailored mentorship and networks needed to scale revenue. Flores also launched a partnership with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance to accelerate the growth of innovative businesses focused on using the latest technology to protect the health of the ocean and the environment.

Prior to Bank of the West, Flores spent a decade in community development at Citigroup, and also held roles at the Congress of California Seniors, Greenlining Institute, and the California State Legislature.

She currently serves as a mentor with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Milestone Makers Program and sits on the board of directors for the Ocean Conservancy. Flores received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California–Berkeley and a master’s degree from the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Courtney Robinson

Head of Financial Inclusion and Public Policy Development

Square

Courtney Robinson serves as the Financial Inclusion Lead for Square. Previously she was the Senior Counsel on the House Financial Services Committee, where she worked closely with Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA). At Square she works on issues critical to underserved communities and financial services policy development, particularly related to equal access to banking services and the broader financial system. She is a graduate of North Carolina Central University and American University.

Jose Martinez

President

Prestamos CDFI, LLC.

With over 20 years of experience in non-profit management, and fund development, Jose Martinez serves as both Executive Vice President of Economic Development, and President of Prestamos CDFI, LLC. Mr. Martinez is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of Prestamos – a subsidiary lending division of Chicanos Por La Causa, and also leads CPLC’s strategy to improve economic conditions in low-income communities by providing investments and services that lead to job creation and economic prosperity. Mr. Martinez also provides strategic direction for CPLC’s Opportunity Zone initiative.

Under his leadership, Prestamos has more than tripled its annual lending, deploying over $89 million (2011-2018), and has led the institution in providing access to capital and technical support to small businesses and economic development projects in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. In 2018, Mr. Martinez had recorded and managed a portfolio of over $52 million in assets.

Mr. Martinez has dedicated over 20 years to CPLC in various capacities, including his service as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. Throughout his career, he has raised over $165 million for CPLC programs and joint ventures.

Mr. Martinez holds both a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a Master’s in Business Administration from Arizona State University.

Gustavo Lasala

President & CEO

PeopleFund

Gustavo is a seasoned microfinance practitioner passionate about advancing opportunities for underserved communities through capital. Prior to becoming President and CEO of PeopleFund he held leadership positions with top-tier community lenders where he was instrumental in their growth at a national level. Highlights of his career include: the development of LiftFund’s MMS – an early “lending as a service” platform tailored to microlending in the US; the financial engineering of a $30M asset purchase agreement between LiftFund and Citibank – a first in US microlending; the expansion of Oportun (from 35 to 85 stores) where he was directly responsible for the production of 20,000 loans per month; he redefined the CFO role for Opportunity Fund and put together credit facilities that helped the organization become the largest non-profit microlender in US. Most recently he co-founded and managed Listo, an organization providing financial products and services to thousands in California. Gustavo has served on the boards of Opportunity Finance Network, Foundation for Women and School of Excellence – San Antonio and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Susan Taylor Batten

President & CEO

ABFE

Ms. Batten joined the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) as President and CEO in January 2009. ABFE’s mission is to promote effective and responsive philanthropy in Black Communities and counts among its members some of the most influential staff, trustees and donors of grantmaking institutions in the U.S. Under her leadership, ABFE has expanded its base of programming and membership across the country.

Prior to joining ABFE, Ms. Batten was a Senior Associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. At Casey, Ms. Batten served as staff in the Community Change Initiatives Unit which provided investments to help transform neighborhoods into family supportive environments. She also coordinated a portfolio on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion where she worked across the Foundation to strengthen its’ focus on addressing racial disparities. Her duties also included assisting Casey in its efforts to build and employ equitable and inclusive management and administrative practices (workforce diversity, grantee diversity, vendor practices, etc.). Prior to working in philanthropy, Ms. Batten held leadership positions in both federal and city government.
She is a co-founder of the Race and Equity in Philanthropy Group and serves on the board of the United Philanthropy Forum. Ms. Batten received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science from Fisk University, and her Masters of Social Work degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Tanya Hughes

Interim Chief Operations Officer (COO)

AEO

Tanya Y. Hughes, is the Interim Chief Operations Officer of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), is a non-profit organization of over 2,800 practitioners and advocates focused on creating economic opportunities for underserved entrepreneurs throughout the United States. Since 1991, AEO and its members have provided capital and services to assist underserved entrepreneurs in starting, stabilizing and expanding their businesses. Together we are working to change the way capital and services flow to underserved entrepreneurs so they can create jobs and opportunities for all. We are the voice of microbusiness and look to provide Advocacy, Innovation, Research and Convenings which not only highlight the challenges these businesses face but also provide key insights on the kinds of policies, solutions and services that will be most effective in driving positive impact within the microbusiness ecosystem.

Tanya comes to AEO from the global consulting services provider, Guidehouse, where she served as a Partner within the Banking, Insurance & Capital Markets practice. At Guidehouse, Hughes led the AEO partner relationship and worked with AEO staff to deliver critical resources to AEO grant recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also provided technical assistance to hundreds of entrepreneurs and small businesses through partnering with small business organizations and faith-based communities.

With over 25 years of financial services experience in the commercial and public sectors, she is a dynamic and innovative leader who is passionate about helping organizations transform and unlock their potential to drive growth and a world class culture. Prior to joining Guidehouse, Hughes was a Managing Director at FIS, where she spent over 10 years advising clients on strategic initiatives to modernize and consolidate their legacy systems across core, eBanking, payments, and infrastructure environments as they looked to enhance and simplify their customer experiences. She started her career with IBM and serving clients in the financial services industry and was a Certified Client Executive and Client Services Manager.

Tanya also serves a number of national organizations which include the Institute for Sport & Social Justice Board of Directors; the University of Arizona’s National Leadership Council and the US Olympian & Paralympian Association and Speaker’s Bureau.

Dedrick Asante-Muhammad

Chief of Race, Wealth, And Community

National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC)

Dedrick Asante-Muhammad is Chief of Race, Wealth and Community at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). He oversees NCRC’s Fair Housing, Fair Lending and Small Business programs. Dedrick is known for his racial economic inequality analysis particularly as it relates to the racial wealth divide.

Dedrick comes from Prosperity Now where he was Senior Fellow and founder of the Racial Wealth Divide Initiative. Before Prosperity Now, Dedrick worked for the NAACP, where he was the Senior Director of the Economic Department and Executive Director of the Financial Freedom Center. Dedrick has also worked for Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and the Institute for Policy Studies.

Chris Wheat

Co-President

JPMorgan Chase Institute

Chris Wheat is the President of the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Prior to joining JPMCI, Chris served as the Director of Business Research at JPMCI. Previously he served as Director of Analytics at a financial technology startup, where he led the development of advanced analytics algorithms. He previously was an Assistant Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and at the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers Business School. As a faculty member, he taught and researched topics in strategy, entrepreneurship, global microfinance, economic sociology, and social network analysis.

Chris earned a B.S.E. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, an M.A. in Sociology from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University.

Corey Briscoe

Corey Briscoe, Vice President of Strategic Engagement and Communications, has been a part of the AEO team since December 2015.

Corey is a thought leader who transcends industries. He is the Managing Partner for Operations at ABCD & Company, where he oversees daily operations and human capital strategy. Known as “the company culture guy,” Corey specializes in molding leaders and uniting people around common goals. His ability to drive strategic agendas has privileged him to work with leaders across various sectors. A masterful orator and strategist, Corey has served as an advisor to legislators, university presidents and corporate executives.

Corey’s expertise in meeting planning and building strategic communication campaigns has served many associations, nonprofits and institutions of higher education with a significant multicultural presence and target audience. His work in this field includes engagements with organizations such as The Apollo Theater, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, University of the District of Columbia and Hampton University. He has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR and ABC. He has also been named a “BE Modern Man” by Black Enterprise. The BE Modern Man award celebrates 100 influential men of color “who have done or are doing exceptional work within their communities, within their respective industries and/or globally.”

Corey is an alumnus of Howard University, where he served on the Board of Trustees. Additionally, Corey holds a B.A. in Political Science, a B.A. in English and a M.S. in Management. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Corey now resides in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In his free time, he enjoys spending time on his boat.

Ines Polonius

CEO

AEO Board Chair

Communities Unlimited, Inc.

Ines Polonius is CEO of Communities Unlimited, Inc., a CDFI and not-for-profit organization driving community economic development through the building of entrepreneurial ecosystems, direct assistance and capital to micro-enterprises, small businesses and infrastructure improvements in persistently poor rural places across Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

In 1998, Ines founded alt.Consulting and became its Executive Director in 2003. alt.Consulting was dedicated to starting, growing, transitioning and turning around micro-enterprises and small businesses in the Arkansas Delta until a successful merger with Community Resource Group in 2014 formed Communities Unlimited, Inc.

In 2011, Ines and her team launched Delta BioEnergy, a wealth creation value chain that introduced a winter energy crop in the Arkansas Delta and built out the infrastructure to generate biofuel from the crop and waste vegetable oil. Ines has personally worked with more than 200 small businesses, conducting organizational and financial audits, facilitating strategic planning sessions and customizing management systems. Previously, she served as a Business Development Consultant at the North Carolina Institute for Minority Economic Development.

Ines earned an MBA and an MA in Economics from Boston University. Before pursuing her graduate work, she worked for three years with rural micro-enterprise development in Chile and the Dominican Republic. She received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.

Lenwood V. Long, Sr.

President

BV&L Associates

Lenwood has more than twenty-five years of experience in community economic development, human resources and business management. He has held leadership positions in a variety of organizations, including statewide economic and community development agencies, national consulting firms, and nonprofit organizations. Lenwood also served as the Minority Affairs Assistant in the Office of former North Carolina Governor James E. Holshouser and the Chief of Staff for former Congresswoman Eva M. Clayton.

Most recently, Mr. Long, was the President/CEO of Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and statewide nonprofit organization. The mission of Carolina Small Business is to foster economic development in underserved communities by providing capital, business services and policy research to support small businesses. Lenwood presently serves as the President of BV&L Associates, Inc.

Inez Long

President and CEO

Black Business Investment Fund

Long has 28 years of combined experience in the financial services industry. She began her professional career in commercial banking in Credit Management and Commercial Lending with First Union and SunTrust banks in Orlando, Florida. It was while working for them that she met Judy Jones, the former President of the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF).

Under Long’s leadership, BBIF Florida has provided over $47.6 million in loans to over 406 Black and minority businesses, created and sustained over 12,906 jobs all while maintaining a historical loan loss rate of approximately 4 percent; invested and leveraged $55.2million in community economic develop projects. She has led the organization to: (1) expand its geographic service area to statewide, (2) expand its client base from Black businesses to include other minority and underserved small businesses, (3) receive two federal New Markets Tax Credits allocation of $20 million each, two FA awards totaling $1.9 million, and (4) be selected as one of three initial CDFI’s to be nationally recognized and received a Wells Fargo Bank Diverse Community Capital grant of $1 million.

Veronica Maturino

Executive Director

ONABEN

Veronica Maturino is the Executive Director of ONABEN, a national nonprofit dedicated to growing the economies of Indigenous peoples. Responsible for overseeing the organization’s operations and acting as ONABENs spokesperson, she also manages the training programs associated with the organization.

Previously, Maturino led the Cherokee Nation Economic Development Trust Authority, an Oklahoma-based, Native CDFI. An advocate for small business creation and economic development, Maturino was named the 2010 Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the Native American Business Enterprise Center, a facet of the Minority Business Development Agency. She has also been recognized twice as a 40 Under 40 winner by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. With a background in marketing and public relations, Maturino works to create opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses to grow and prosper. Over the course of her career, Maturino has created a network of opportunities designed to enhance business development within Native American communities.

Veronica is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, where she formerly served as a member of tribal government and engaged in economic development and private and Tribal public relations and communications.

Donna Gambrell

CEO

Appalachian Community Capital

Donna J. Gambrell is a steadfast advocate for the revitalization of America’s most vulnerable, low-wealth communities. A champion of microbusinesses, Gambrell was the first African American woman to be appointed as Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund).

During Gambrell’s tenure, the CDFI Fund experienced significant growth, doubling funding under its flagship program. The CDFI Fund also designed and administered a number of new initiatives targeted to underserved markets, including the Capital Magnet Fund, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, and the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.

Previously, Gambrell served in several executive positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including Deputy Director for Compliance and Consumer Protection, where she was responsible for overseeing the FDIC’s national compliance bank examinations, as well as the agency’s community affairs, consumer affairs, and deposit insurance programs.

Currently, Ms. Gambrell is a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In addition, she is a board member for Southern Bancorp, Inc., in Little Rock, Arkansas. Ms. Gambrell also speaks and consults on issues related to consumer protection and community and economic development.

Ms. Gambrell received a B.S. Degree from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and an M.S. Degree from New York University.

Ron Fong

Executive Director

Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program

Ron Fong leads the Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program (APISBP), which provides bilingual technical assistance to thousands of entrepreneurs, to help them start or expand their small and micro businesses. APISBP is a collaboration of five community-based organizations, formed to assist the development of small and micro businesses in Los Angeles with a particular focus on low-income immigrants of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Thai descent.

Fong has established himself and the organization as a voice for low-income Asian immigrant entrepreneurs. He has over 30 years of community economic development, housing finance, and city planning experience. Prior to serving at APISBP, Fong directed small business assistance, land use, and urban planning initiatives for the Little Tokyo Service Center as part of their community economic development strategy. He previously served as the Community Development Director for the Fannie Mae Western Regional Office. Fong also directed the Los Angeles office of the California Housing Partnership Corporation, a statewide nonprofit that provides affordable housing financial consulting services. He has also worked for redevelopment agencies in Boston and St. Louis.

Fong has been elected three times to represent Little Tokyo on the Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council in the City of Los Angeles, and recently chaired Union Bank’s Community Advisory Board. Fong received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and studied at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Byna Elliott

Head of Advancing Black Pathways

JPMorgan Chase

Byna Elliott is a community reinvestment professional with over 20 years of experience. As the Senior Vice President and Director of Community and Economic Development for Fifth Third Bank, Elliot oversees its landmark $30 Billion Community Commitment. She started her career at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 1993, where she spent five years administering all aspects of consumer compliance programs and Community Reinvestment Act initiatives. Elliott moved into the financial services industry in 1998, and in 2001 she launched her tenure with Fifth Third Bank, a $141 billion financial services company with retail presence is Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Elliott holds a B.B.A. Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University and a Boston College Corporate Citizenship Certificate. Her professional and civic positions include: Chairperson, Greater Works Foundation (GWF); Board & Trustee, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland; Board Member, Habitat for Humanity; Board Member, Wayne County Development Entity; Board Member, Woodstock Institute (Chicago); and Task Force Member, Detroit Neighborhood Forum.

Gary Cunningham

Senior Advisor to the New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy

The New School

AEO Board Vice Chairperson

For more than 20 years, Gary L. Cunningham has served as a top leader of philanthropic, health care, public policy and educational organizations. Cunningham comes to Prosperity Now from MEDA, where he served as President and CEO from 2014 – 2019. At MEDA, he was committed to addressing racial economic inequities by fostering minority business development in Minnesota through MEDA’s proven market-based solutions.

Prior to joining MEDA, Cunningham served as Vice President and Chief Program Officer for the Northwest Area Foundation and as the President and Chief Executive Officer for NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center in Minneapolis. Currently, he serves on multiple boards, including: Co-chair, African American Leadership Forum; Board Chair, Association of Black Foundation Executives; Board Member, Corporation for Enterprise Development; Board Member, GREATER MSP; and Council Member, Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities.

Cunningham has been locally and nationally recognized throughout his career for his commitment to civil rights, education, and public policy.

Samira Cook-Gaines

Chief of Economic Empowerment

National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Samira Cook-Gaines serves as the Chief of Economic Empowerment for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). In the post, she provides strategic and programmatic leadership in the areas of wealth creation and asset building for NCRC’s direct services programs, including two business centers serving the Washington, DC metro area.

In 2010, Cook-Gaines founded the Washington, DC Women’s Business Center (DC WBC), which supports women entrepreneurs through training, individual consultation, mentoring. In particular, the DC WBC fuels business growth through government procurement opportunities and exporting. Under Cook-Gaines’ direction, the DC WBC has assisted over 1,000 women in achieving their business goals. In honor of her work with small businesses, Cook-Gaines was selected as a White House Champion for Change in the area of entrepreneurship mentoring.

Cook-Gaines received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and her Master of Public Administration degree from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is also an active member of her Fort Lincoln neighborhood and volunteers, and a board member of the Association of Women’s Business Centers, and the Brandywine Street Association. Cook-Gaines is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

Joshua Brackett

Chief Financial Officer

Ascendus, Inc.

AEO Board Treasurer

Joshua has served in the community development space focused on small business finance for over a decade. Most recently, Joshua worked with a CDFI to grow assets to over $100M as CFO. Prior that that, he served in community banks with experience as a loan collector, auditor, financial analyst, and financial manager. At Ascendus, he oversees the finance and accounting departments. Joshua is a Babson College 10,000 Small Businesses Alumni and was named CFO of the year by Atlanta Business Chronicle for 2020 within the Community Service space. He currently serves on the Opportunity Finance Network’s “Performance Counts” CFO Working Group and AEO’s Board of Directors. He is a graduate of Berry College with a BS in Business Administration, and a graduate of the Community Bankers Association Consumer Lending School.

Usman Ahmed

Head of Global Public Policy

PayPal Inc.

Usman Ahmed is the Head of Global Public Policy at PayPal Inc. His work covers a variety of global issues including financial services regulation, innovation, international trade, and entrepreneurship. He has given talks on these subjects at conferences and universities around the world and has published in the World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report, MIT Press Innovations Journal, and the Boston University International Law Journal. Ahmed is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law School where he teaches a course on Fintech Law and Policy. Prior to PayPal, Ahmed worked at a number of policy think tanks in the Washington DC area focusing on good governance issues.

Ahmed earned his JD from University of Michigan, his MA from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and his BA from University of Maryland.

Smarter Support: How AI Can Strengthen Main Street and the Small Business Ecosystem

Feb

24

2026

Overview

Tuesday, February 24th, 2026

2:00-3:00PM (EST)