Stella: In your early policy and government roles, what did you see or learn about inequity in access to credit that continues to motivate your work today?
Jeannine: After my master’s, I landed in Washington, drawn to government as a vehicle for systemic change. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Color of Money” series exposing redlining, followed by the 1992 Los Angeles riots, made painfully clear how discrimination and disinvestment fuel unrest. Working for the Senate Banking Committee on affordable housing and community development, I saw systemic racism in financial services become a national policy concern and found my way to the emerging CDFI field. When President Clinton proposed creating a national fund to seed mission-focused lenders, I helped craft the authorizing legislation that became the CDFI Fund. That work crystallized my vocation: making the financial system accessible and fair to all.
Stella: You have played key roles in building and leading Partners for the Common Good and the Community Development Bankers Association. How have these institutions helped move the needle on financial inclusion and community development?
Jeannine: Over 25 years with Partners and CDBA, I’ve watched both grow from start-ups into institutions with real scale, impact, and influence. Partners channels capital into affordable housing and community facilities serving low-income people, and has pioneered collaborative lending tools, such as participations and syndications, among CDFI loan funds. Most CDFIs are small, so combining resources lets us finance projects that wouldn’t otherwise get done. CDBA, in turn, gives CDFI banks a collective voice to advance policies that expand access to credit and financial opportunity, grounded in on-the-ground lending experience. Together, Partners and CDBA connect policy and practice in community development finance.
Stella: Community development banks and CDFIs often fill in the gaps that traditional finance overlooks. What do you wish more mainstream investors understood about the value and potential of these mission‑driven institutions?
Jeannine: Education is an ongoing challenge for every CDFI and will remain so. CDFIs are collectively frustrated that many investors and the public still don’t know what they are—or what they do—despite three decades on the national scene. Yet CDFIs are a bright and unifying theme in a very divisive era. They are about investing in your community and helping your neighbors. Unfortunately, too many mainstream investors still struggle to understand that mission and margin are not incompatible.
I wish more mainstream institutions understood just how easy it is to support a CDFI bank. The simplest way is to just make a deposit with one of them. Most deposits are federally insured, so there is no risk. Traditional banks that make deposits at CDFIs can receive Community Reinvestment Act credit. Although CDFIs and CRA have been around for decades, I still encounter traditional banks that do not know what a CDFI is—or how easy it is to get CRA credit by placing a deposit with one.
Stella: As we celebrate Women’s History Month, how has your experience as a woman leader in community finance and banking influenced the way you lead, mentor, and build teams?
Jeannine: I am lucky. My mom and the women of her generation broke down workplace barriers so women of my generation could lead. When I joined the Senate Banking Committee and later Treasury, women were still rare in senior roles, and almost nonexistent as CEOs of financial institutions or heads of federal agencies. It became clear my odds of rising to the top of a large institution were slim, while women were leading small businesses and nonprofits. I concluded the best way to make a difference was to start something new–so when the chance came to launch Partners and then CDBA, I jumped at it. Becoming a CEO also let me shape a more flexible, family-friendly workplace as a new mom, and I’ve tried to lead with collaboration, inclusion, and respect for the boundaries all working parents need.
For me, leadership as a woman has always meant asking “How do we get the work done and still make room for a full life—for ourselves and for the people we manage?”
Stella: Looking ahead, what gives you hope about the future of community development banking and women’s leadership in finance? What challenge or encouragement would you offer investors as they seek to invest for the common good?
Jeannine: The future is bright, as is women’s leadership in finance. While women still significantly lag men in top leadership roles in the broader banking industry, they are better represented at small banks. Within the greater community development finance sector, there is much greater parity. The community development finance sector offers women a wider range of opportunities for becoming leaders than large banks do. I have confidence that that, too, will change over time.
For investors, my encouragement is simple: recognize that when you support CDFIs and community development banks, you are also supporting women’s leadership. You are investing in institutions where women are often at the table—designing products, making credit decisions, and shaping strategy. That matters for the kinds of communities we serve and the kinds of risks we are willing to take on behalf of people who have been excluded.
Stella: Finally, as we celebrate Women’s History Month, what practical advice or encouragement would you offer to younger women who feel drawn to work at the intersection of finance and impact?
Jeannine: My advice to younger women drawn to this work is to stay focused on purpose. Community development finance and impact investing are still a small field, but they are too important to ignore. Today, we are in a tough policy environment for community development finance and impact investing. But we have been here before and emerged stronger.
Our mandate is simple: stay focused on purpose and play the long game. The work we are doing is too important. We do have the power to reshape our economy and provide opportunities to all. And women—at every stage of their careers—have a crucial role to play in making that happen.
About the Author – Stella Tai, Stewardship Investing Impact and Analysis Manager. Stella is passionate about her faith and about creative, innovative ways financial practitioners can use financial assets to make a difference in the world. With more than 15 years of experience in small business lending and nonprofit development, Stella provides primary leadership and support for the promotion, integration, and development of impact investing and community development finance solutions, as well as reporting for both Everence and Praxis.
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