Oscar Perry Abello, award-winning reporter for Next City and author of The Banks We Deserve (Island Press, February 4, 2025), will moderate the Keynote Panel at the NYS Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Coalition’s 2025 Annual Conference.

The Keynote is open to the public and will take place Monday, March 24 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Marriott Albany, 189 Wolf Road, Albany. Tickets for the keynote, reception and book signing are $50 and one need not be a member of the Coalition to attend.

Community Development leaders from across New York State will gather in Albany for the conference, titled NYS CDFIs: Developing Resilience. “Resilience means different things to different people, including: the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from stress; the process of adapting to challenging life experiences; and the ability of people and communities to prepare for and respond to climate change,” said Colleen Ryan, consulting executive director of the Coalition.

The Keynote Panel will explore the need to break down the mental maps that divide communities, the imperative to advance environmental equity, and priorities for housing, fair lending and small business.

In addition to Abello, panelists will include: Mindy Fullilove, MD – Author, Professor of Policy and Health; Brenda Loya – Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Justice Climate Fund; and Dafina Williams – Executive Vice President, Chief Public Policy Officer and Head of Government Affairs at Opportunity Finance Network.

“Studies show that disasters’ effects on underserved communities and people of color are compounded by the history of unfair housing and economic practices, and that inequalities continue to persist long after the crisis has passed,” Ryan continued. “Policies like redlining have made our communities more vulnerable to climate risks and less able to recover from adverse events. This discussion will help mission-driven lenders develop strategies for deploying scarce resources in the communities they serve.”

Conference panels and workshops will also explore how community lenders like CDFIs are uniquely positioned to support efforts to develop and sustain resilience in the communities they serve.

The NYS CDFI Coalition represents CDFIs across New York State. CDFIs are community-based specialized lenders that serve low-income people or businesses in economically distressed communities, often working in market niches that may be underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDFIs provide a wide range of financial products such as mortgage financing for low-income or first-time homebuyers and lending for small business and community facilities that help customers build wealth and maintain an ownership stake in society. CDFIs include regulated institutions such as community development banks and credit unions, and non-regulated institutions such as loan funds and venture capital funds.

Tickets for the keynote, book signing and reception are available online at nyscdfi25.eventbrite.com. For more information visit www.nyscdfi.org.

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Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2943423-0?pid=91