Noelle St.Clair Lentz is Co-Founder, CEO and Managing Director of Allivate Impact Capital®, an impact investing fund manager and subsidiary of Woodforest Financial Group®. Noelle is also Senior Vice President, Impact Investing and Strategic Initiatives Director at Woodforest National Bank®. In this role, she spearheaded the bank’s impact investment strategy across its 17-state footprint in line with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) objectives. She also identified and executed over $100 million innovative, high-impact investments across asset classes.

Through her leadership, Woodforest and Allivate have been recognized as impact investing leaders by Forbes, Sorenson Impact Center, Impact Assets IA50, Texas Bankers Association and more. Woodforest also received a global award for societal and community impact from Bank Administration Institute (BAI) for one of their innovative fund models.

Prior to joining Woodforest, Noelle served as Advisor and Outreach Manager for Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where she published research and hosted national events on community development finance and impact investing trends. She led the Federal Reserve’s exploration of impact investment options for its employee pension funds, including presenting the strategy to Federal Reserve Board of Governors and Federal Reserve Bank presidents.

She graduated from Penn State University (BA in Economics and Philosophy) and Drexel Lebow College of Business (MBA in Finance). Noelle was also selected as a 2022 Rising Star by the Philadelphia Business Journal as part of its annual Women of Distinction program. Only five individuals were selected for this honor by the expert Forum of Executive Women. The award showcases some of the region's groundbreaking women 35 years of age and younger. She was also named to Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2025. She is Co-Founder and Board Chair of The WOW Center, a community based nonprofit organization offering various programs and services across New Jersey and the Greater Philadelphia area.

Doug Schaeffer is Board Chairman, Managing Director, and Co-Founder of Allivate Impact Capital® (AIC), an impact investing firm that operationalizes the impact goals of its funds to drive positive social returns alongside attractive financial returns. As a subsidiary of Woodforest Financial Group®, the firm manages capital across asset classes in responsive ways to meet urgent needs to deploy innovative capital solutions, elevate communities, alleviate poverty, and activate entrepreneurial ecosystems. These communities have historically lacked access to the investment needed to bring underutilized local assets to their full potential.

Doug is a visionary financial services leader and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) expert. He conceived and created two highly impactful and profitable business units including community development lending and investment programs with over $1.7B in cumulative AUM. Throughout his career he has raised over $100B of secured and unsecured Debt Capital Markets funding for some of the nation’s leading financial institutions.

Since 2015, in his role as Executive Vice President, Executive Director, CRA for Woodforest National Bank®, Doug led and recruited an award-winning and industry-leading Community Development Team that delivered an outstanding rated CRA program in one exam cycle. As a member of the bank’s Executive Leadership Team, Doug also established CRA as a profitable line of business with a growing lending and investment portfolio.

He is known for his innovative style, team development, and ability to read and navigate complex landscapes to deliver better than expected results. He is a trusted, strategic advisor to CEOs and boards, and adept at creating strategic vision, implementing that vision, and winning over diverse groups of constituents, resulting in significantly improved business reputation. His leadership and foresight have won numerous awards (national and international).

Throughout Doug’s expansive career, predominantly in the financial sector, he has held multiple executive-level positions including Chief Financial Officer, Chief of Staff to CEO, Strategy Executive, and Treasurer. Doug discovered his calling later in his career by leading efforts to improve the community reinvestment program for one of the nation’s largest banks.

Doug is committed and passionate about leveraging his experience and knowledge of capital and financial services to break down barriers to access, increase inclusion, and bring transparency to resources that expand economic opportunity for communities that are far too often denied entry. Through this drive, Doug has created numerous award-winning initiatives. For example, he introduced the concept of and launched the Woodforest Foundry^SM. The Foundry SM is an entrepreneurial ecosystem activator that provides trusted guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs from ideation through public offering, helping thousands of people across the nation test their business ideas while preserving time and capital.

Doug is relatable and deft at meeting people “where they are”. He currently sits on the boards of Food Bank of South Jersey (Board Vice-Chairman), National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders Executive Board (Board Chairman, and Racial Equity, Finance and Conference Planning Committees), Mr. Schaeffer is also a member of HCAP Partners (Advisory Board, Fund IV), and Consumer Bankers Association (Vice Chairman, Community Reinvestment Committee).

He also enjoys mentoring and coaching a diverse team of next generation-oriented leaders and key influencers.

As Managing Director for Allivate Impact Capital® Daniel Galindo is responsible for identifying, developing, and managing impact-first investments and solid financing solutions for the firm and its funds. In this role, he will leverage his nearly 20 years of banking, community and economic development, regulatory, public policy, and relationship management experience.

As Senior Vice President, Director of Community Development and Strategic Initiatives, Daniel also leads the development, implementation, expansion, and direct oversight of groundbreaking, award-winning, strategic initiatives in Retail Banking, lending, investments, and corporate responsibility across Woodforest National Bank’s® 17 state footprint.

He also manages regulatory, credit risk, profitability, and impact through the Community Reinvestment impact investing and loan portfolios for the Bank. Daniel is a skilled professional in financial structuring through Community Development Financial Institutions, Private Equity Funds, Opportunity Zone Funds, Small Business Investment Companies, Rural Business Investment Companies, and Special Purpose Vehicles. Daniel is also responsible for Woodforest’s Community Development, Minority Deposit Institution, and Impact Investing strategy teams.

Daniel sits on the boards of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas Foundation Board of Directors, Centrant Community Capital (Chairman), Alamo Community Group, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and an Advisory Board Member for Impact Shares Affordable Housing MBS ETF (OWNS), a publicly traded fund.

He has earned many accolades such as ICBA’s 2021 40 under 40, San Antonio Business Journal’s 2020 40 under 40, and San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Advocate of the Year). Daniel was also featured as a thought leader in Hispanic Executive Magazine. He has a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Texas A&M University, and an Executive MBA in Banking and Financial Institutions.

Kyle Kotsios is a seasoned finance professional with a unique dual focus on traditional banking and impact-driven investment. He currently serves as Vice President at Allivate Impact Capital, where he leads underwriting and deal structuring for the Allivate Employee Ownership Fund. In this role, Kyle advances employee ownership transitions by deploying mission-aligned capital that promotes sustainable business growth and long-term wealth creation. His work contributes to a national movement aimed at empowering workers, strengthening local economies, and generating lasting social impact.

In addition to his work at Allivate, Kyle holds the position of Associate Director in the Loan Syndications Group at Woodforest National Bank. There, he is responsible for structuring, arranging, and managing complex debt transactions across a broad spectrum of industries. Over the course of his tenure, Kyle has played a key role in originating more than $3 billion in syndicated credit facilities, developing deep expertise in credit risk analysis, relationship banking, and syndication strategy.

Kyle’s dual roles reflect a rare blend of conventional financial acumen and forward-thinking impact strategy. He brings a holistic perspective to the intersection of private capital and social good, leveraging his experience to drive meaningful change in both corporate and community contexts.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at San Antonio, where he cultivated his passion for finance and social impact.

As Managing Director for Allivate Impact Capital® Charlie Marling will leverage his knowledge of private equity, banking, and investing to help Allivate succeed, and help make a lasting impact across the communities it serves.

Charlie has solid business acumen and holds several positions concurrently. As Chief Financial Officer of The Woodforest Charitable Foundation he sources and evaluates many private equity investment opportunities and helped grow the foundation’s corpus. He also assists with strategic planning, and implementation of operational policies, practices, and goals for the foundation.

Charlie works as an Accountant for Woodforest National Bank® and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He also manages the Marling Family Office which focuses on private investing and growth opportunities. In this role he oversees all aspects from investment management and investment strategy to tax planning.

He is Board Treasurer for Woodforest Charitable Foundation, and a Board Member of Fielding’s Culinary Group. Charlie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Baylor University.

Perashina LaMotte is Chief Communications Officer for Allivate Impact Capital®. She has over 20 years’ experience in communications, public relations, and marketing collaborating with nearly 100 premium brands across the financial services, retail household, entertainment, automotive, leisure, and healthcare industries. She is driven to help the Allivate team create a meaningful experience for investors and communities nationwide.

She also currently serves as Communications Strategist for Woodforest National Bank®. In this role she supports the Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and Community Development teams; as well as the Public Relations Director, and other senior leaders to promote the organization’s strategic community and corporate initiatives.

Throughout her career Perashina has led creative teams of writers, designers, and web/multimedia professionals on the East Coast and in the Midwest who developed communication and marketing experiences for Fortune 500 and Global 100 brands. Perashina also worked in multimedia and provided ghostwriting and speeches for corporate executives and notable personalities. She started her career in journalism covering music and entertainment.

Perashina has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree concentrated in leadership and executive communications from Central Michigan University. She also advocates for education in the arts for underserved students across her home state.

As an Advisor and a Board Member for Allivate Impact Capital®, Chuck will leverage his expert legal skills, and C-Suite financial services acumen to support and guide the firms’ mission and impact investing goals. He also currently serves as Senior Legal Officer for Woodforest National Bank which he has counseled for over 20 years.

While operating his own successful law firm, Chuck specialized in representing financial institutions, credit unions, and corporations. His areas of specialty include consumer and commercial collections, real estate, corporate, probate, contracts, and business litigation. While serving as General Counsel for Woodforest National Bank (WNB), Woodforest Financial Group, Inc., and Merchants’ Choice Payment Solutions, he directed and managed all legal affairs of these companies. He also managed WNB’s Compliance, Bank Secrecy Act, and Investigations teams. Notably, as CEO of Merchants’ Choice Payment Solutions (MCPS), a leading provider of merchant payment processing services, Chuck grew the company from negative net income to $30 million EBITA.

Chuck is a member of the State Bar of Texas, United States District Courts (every district in Texas), and the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. He also served on the Board of Directors for Bank of Almeda, Richmond Avenue Bank and MCPS.

Chuck received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law. He now enjoys teaching as an Adjunct Professor for a master’s degree class at Florida State University College of Law focused on risk management for financial compliance. Chuck is an avid Kansas Jayhawks basketball fan. He also enjoyed serving as President of First Colony Youth Basketball League (in Sugar Land, Texas) for two years and was an active Board Member of the league for five years.

Ms. Janie Barrera is Founder of LiftFund. Ms. Barrera started LiftFund in 1994 with only three employees. To date, LiftFund has over one-hundred employees and has grown to become one of the largest micro and small business lender in the United States. The nonprofit organization provides loans and management training to enterprises of all kinds— from startups to long-established businesses — and operates in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Since its inception, it has disbursed more than 24,000 loans totaling more than $425 million – with an impressive 96 percent repayment rate.

As Founder, Ms. Barrera interacts with the communities we serve and advocates for hard-working small business owners and entrepreneurs who do not have access to loans from commercial sources. Ms. Barrera has worked hard to level the financial playing field for entrepreneurs, who historically have faced considerable obstacles when seeking the financing they need to start and grow their businesses.

Ms. Barrera has dedicated her professional life to helping others. Ms. Barrera is a change-agent in the field of microfinance and helping small businesses reach their full potential. Ms. Barrera has received nationwide recognition for her accomplishments, including the Small Business Administration Financial Services Advocate of the Year and the Minority Enterprise Development Consortium's Corporate Advocate of the Year. The San Antonio Business Journal listed Ms. Barrera as one of “Twenty Defining Players: People Who Have Helped Shape the City, and named her as one of 2013’s “Legacy Leaders.” Ms. Barrera has served on many national, state, and local boards, including the Federal Reserve Board’s National Consumer Advisory Council. President Barack Obama appointed Ms. Barrera to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, and she was named to the board of directors for the Federal Reserve of Dallas’ San Antonio Branch. In 2015, Ms. Barrera was named to the San Antonio Business Hall of Fame. Most recent awards and nominations include: July 2022, Ms. Barrera was awarded with the AEO Impact Award for Innovation on Main Street. In August 2022, Ms. Barrera received the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Impact Legacy and Merit Award. In October 2022, Ms. Barrera was nominated and selected to be part of the inaugural Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity (TACRE), a twenty-five-member advisory committee for the US Treasury created to identify, monitor and address financial inclusion, capital access, housing stability, federal government supplier diversity and economic development. On October 18, 2022, Opportunity Finance Network announced Ms. Barrera as the recipient of the 2022 Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Finance, the CDFI industry’s highest individual honor.

Ms. Barrera began her career as director of telecommunications for the Diocese of Corpus Christi in 1977. There, Ms. Barrera helped found the area's first nonprofit radio stations, KLUX and KHOY, as well as two television production studios. After completing her MBA at the University of the Incarnate Word, the Corpus Christi native remained in San Antonio where, in 1989, Ms. Barrera became marketing director for the U.S. Air Force Morale, Welfare and Recreation Division headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base.

Betsy Biemann is Chief Executive Officer at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), a community development financial institution headquartered in Brunswick, Maine and serves as the Vice Chair of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) board, Chair of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation board, and member of the board of the New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN). Prior to joining CEI, Betsy led the Maine Food Cluster Project of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard University and was a consulting advisor to businesses, nonprofit organizations and social enterprises in Maine and nationally.

She previously served as president of the Maine Technology Institute, which invests in Maine companies and initiatives seeking to grow high-potential sectors of Maine’s economy. Prior to that, she was an associate director at The Rockefeller Foundation in New York City, where she managed a national grant program and impact investment portfolio aiming to increase employment and economic mobility in low-income communities. Betsy graduated with a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.P.A. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

Aisha Benson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a nonprofit lender, consultant, and advocate that has worked for more than 40 years to strengthen nonprofits and improve the way money flows to social good. As a leading community development financial institution (CDFI), NFF has invested over $1.1 billion in financing and access to additional capital in support of over $3.6 billion in projects for thousands of organizations nationwide.

Prior to NFF, Aisha was COO for TruFund Financial Services, a CDFI serving historically disadvantaged small businesses, where she led multi-disciplinary teams executing the delivery of lending services, tax credit deployment, and advisory programs. She also oversaw program design and implementation, resource partner selection and management, and compliance. During her tenure, numerous multimillion-dollar capital access, guaranty, and grant programs were sourced and implemented under her direct management.

Prior to TruFund, Aisha held community development finance roles at Carver Federal Savings, Banco Popular, and JP Morgan Chase. She has deployed $130 million in New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) funding and $175 million of capital to low-income communities.

Aisha holds leadership positions on several key industry boards, including Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), and the NMTC Coalition, and is a Social Sector Advisor to the Economic Opportunity Coalition. Ms. Benson holds a B.A. in Psychology, Cum Laude from Columbia University, a certificate in Social Impact Management and Leadership from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, and a certificate through a Citi/OFN Sponsored Leadership Training Program for CDFI Executives at Wharton University.

Annie Donovan is Raza Development Fund’s President & CEO. She leads an experienced team of servant leaders who are passionate about building communities of opportunity where everyone in America can thrive.

Donovan brings a wealth of experience in the CDFI sector. For decades she has been driving impact investing strategies to spur economic opportunity and revitalize communities. She served in the White House Office of Social Innovation and as the Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, where she directed a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of programs aimed at improving access to capital for disinvested communities across the country. She has held top executive positions at Capital Impact Partners (now Momentus Capital), and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where she worked to propel these organizations to greater levels of growth and impact.

Donovan’s passion for community development and sustainability began with her service in the U.S. Peace Corps. Today, Donovan is an accomplished leader in the industry and a published writer. She has published many articles on economic and community development, health, climate and impact investing. Donovan has been a keynote speaker and guest lecturer to share her extensive knowledge. She has an undergraduate degree in Economics and an MBA in Finance.

Susan Hammond is the new Relationship Manager for Native CDFIS at Fahe, a national CDFI serving rural Appalachia and other non-profits in rural and Native communities with a mission to building the American Dream. Her main focus in this position will be to develop strong partnerships/collaborations with Native CDFIs by providing training, expertise, and support in accessing the secondary mortgage market, which will increase the capacity and provide equity access to capital for these organizations while also addressing the severe housing needs faced by Native families and communities.

Susan is a tribal member of the Penobscot Indian Nation, a tribal community located in central Maine. She has dedicated her career to growing investments in Native economies and serving Native communities. After graduating from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Susan worked with the Penobscot Nation tribal government in various capacities - in vocational education, economic development, health and housing - and served eight years on the Tribal Council. Her work opened her eyes to the deep systemic changes needed in tribal communities, particularly with housing.

Susan brings 20 years of experience working in the Native CDFI sector as she was a founder of Four Directions Development Corporation (FDDC) in 2001 and which she served as its Executive Director until January of 2022. FDDC is a Native CDFI located in Orono, Maine serving the four Native tribes in Maine. Under Susan's leadership, FDDC created a transformative on-reservation home mortgage product. Susan also led FDDC's efforts to implement new legal infrastructure and lending codes in the Maine tribal communities, allowing collateral recourse. Since then, FDDC has closed $18+ million in loans so tribal members can buy, sell, improve and build equity in their homes.

Susan serves on numerous boards: Oweesta Corporation, Coastal Enterprises Inc, Four Directions Development Corporation, Maine Community Foundation, Maine Venture Fund and Bangor Savings Bank. She was awarded the Maine SBA Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year Award as well as the Visionary Leader Award from the Opportunity Finance Network/Oweesta Corporation.

Saurabh Narain is President and CEO of National Community Investment Fund (www.ncif.org) an impact investor and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) focused on mission-oriented financial institutions including minority and CDFI banks. He is a Banking Executive with over 35-years of global experience building highly profitable businesses both in the for-profit and non-profit environments.

Under his leadership, NCIF has increased its AUM to $210 million, created over 10,000 jobs and is the largest investor in CDFI and Minority Banks. NCIF seeks to generate impact in underserved markets nationally using its three lines of businesses – equity investing into mission-oriented financial institutions, deployment of New Markets Tax Credits and lending. Recently NCIF launched a $50 million Credit Strategies Fund to increase co-lending and enhance impact. Impact Measurement (www.bankimpact.org) is foundational to all activities of NCIF.

Saurabh is a member of the Investors Council of the Global Impact Investing Network (www.thegiin.org), the Board of the CDFI Coalition (www.cdfi.org), Advisory Board of Wells Fargo Community Development Entity and Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (www.cdvca.org). He was a past member of the Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Advisory Council chaired by Chairman Ben Bernanke and Advisory Board of Ripple (www.ripple.com). Prior to NCIF, Saurabh has had extensive experience in capital markets and risk management having worked at Bank of America for almost 17 years based in Asia and the US. Saurabh is a graduate of the ABA Graduate Stonier School of Banking, and hold an MBA from Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India.

Benson F. (Buzz) Roberts is former President and CEO of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders since 2015. NAAHL is the national alliance of leading banks, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and other capital providers for affordable housing and inclusive neighborhood revitalization. Buzz served on the Biden-Harris transition’s agency review team for the Treasury Department.

He was the Director of the Office of Small Business, Community Development and Housing Policy at the Treasury Department from 2011 to 2015. He was previously Senior Vice President for Policy and Program Development at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a leading nonprofit investor in low-income community development. Buzz has helped to create the Low Income Housing Tax Credit; the New Markets Tax Credit; the HOME housing partnerships program; regulatory changes to the Community Reinvestment Act; the Capital Magnet Fund; Treasury funding for FHA multifamily risk-sharing loans to finance affordable rental housing; and bond guarantees for CDFIs. He has been a board member of several national nonprofit organizations and coalitions and has written extensively about affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.

John Ellis is Chief Commercial Banking Officer at Woodforest National Bank and serves as a Board Member of Allivate Impact Capital. In this capacity, he brings extensive expertise in commercial banking, capital markets, and strategic growth, supporting Allivate’s mission to expand access to capital and drive economic impact.

At Woodforest, John leads the bank's commercial banking strategy across middle market, commercial real estate, business banking, syndications, healthcare, and treasury solutions.

Previously, he served as Managing Director and Founder of the bank’s Syndications group. Under his leadership, the platform grew to approximately $3 billion in agented transactions and facilitated more than $6 billion in debt capital over the past decade, while evaluating over $20 billion in debt capital markets opportunities.

With more than 20 years of experience in commercial banking, John plays a key leadership role across the organization. He serves on Woodforest National Bank’s ESOP committee and participates on advisory boards supporting the bank holding company’s private equity and venture investment activities. He is also an active investor in private fintech and payments companies.

Before joining Woodforest, John was with Bank of America in Chicago, where he worked in Corporate Banking serving large middle market and corporate clients. He joined the firm through its acquisition of LaSalle Bank, where he completed a formal credit training program and began his career as a loan associate, focusing on capital solutions and banking services for commercial clients.

John earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Purdue University.