Michelle Beecher

Borrower Analysis
Wednesday May 15 3:00 - 5:00 PM

Loan Officer
Rural Nevada Development Corporation

Michelle is the Loan Officer at the Rural Nevada Development Corporation, working in their lending program for over 7 years. She is a longtime resident of rural Nevada, making her home in Ely with her husband and three children. Her experience prior to alternative lending includes six years in the insurance industry. Michelle is certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council and currently working toward becoming a Certified Financial Coach. When she is not working to lend money to the small business of rural Nevada, her three young children keep her busy with a multitude of community activities.

Ethan Bennett

Evaluating Risk
Wednesday May 15 1:45 - 2:45 PM

Loan Administrator
Enterprise Development Fund of Erie County

Ethan Bennett is an economic development and public finance professional who works with clients to promote growth and stimulate job creation. In his role as Loan Officer at the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, Ethan helps businesses by providing gap financing solutions that work in conjunction with private equity and debt to help with real estate acquisitions, construction projects, and equipment purchases, along with other important ventures that determine commercial success.
 
Ethan is currently in the process of working towards both his Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) and Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designations. He also holds a MPA and a BA from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Brett Doney

Investment Strategies
Thursday May 16 1:15 - 2:15 PM

President & Chief Executive Officer
Great Falls Development Authority

Brett Doney leads the Great Falls Development Authority, a public/private economic development partnership serving the 12-county Great Falls Montana trade area. Doney has over 30 years of experience in urban and rural community economic development. Prior positions include: President/CEO of Enterprise Maine, a family of community economic development organizations dedicated to creating economic opportunity and enhancing the quality of life in rural western Maine; Director of the Ft. Devens Reuse Center, a 9,600 acre army base redevelopment planning effort in Massachusetts; and, President of Doney Associates, a Boston-based consulting firm focused on urban revitalization, public/private real estate development, and innovative economic development.

Doney’s team efforts have won awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the American Economic Development Council, the International Economic Development Council, the National Association of Development Organizations, the Finance Authority of Maine, the Montana Economic Developers Association, and the National Brownfield Conference. His professional certifications include Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR), Senior Leader of Corporate Real Estate (SLCR), American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), RMA Credit Risk Certification, Federal Grants Management, and Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP). He is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute of the University of Oklahoma. Doney earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Doney has taught, given presentations, and served on technical advisory teams for a variety of state, national and international economic development and industry organizations. He currently serves on the boards of the Montana Economic Developers Association, the Great Falls Convention & Visitors Bureau (Chair), the Downtown Development Partnership of Great Falls (Chair), and the Upper Missouri River Heritage Area Planning Corporation. He serves on the International Economic Development Council’s Accreditation and Public Policy Advisory Committees, as the Montana Government Relations Chair for the International Council of Shopping Centers, and on the McLaughlin Research Institute’s National Development Council. He is an active Rotarian and past President of the Great Falls Rotary Club.

Terri Hathaway

Principles of Loan Underwriting
Wednesday May 15 12:15 - 1:30 PM

METCO RLF Manager
Louisville Metro Government

Terri Hathaway joined Louisville Metro Government in 2020 to administer the Metropolitan Business Development Corporation (METCO)’s Revolving Loan Funds for small businesses and commercial property improvements. She is currently leading efforts to increase program lending and to optimize METCO’s community development impact. Prior to joining METCO, Ms. Hathaway had worked for several non-profit organizations focused on community development and transformation. Her roles have included program implementation and supervision, advocacy and analysis, development and fundraising, and financial administration. Ms. Hathaway holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s in Social Welfare, both from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Colin Kalvas

Evaluating Risk
Wednesday May 15 1:45 - 2:45 PM

Partner
Bricker Graydon

Colin Kalvas practices public finance and economic development law. Colin serves political subdivisions, financial institutions, developers and special purpose districts such as special improvement districts and new community authorities in many different capacities. He regularly represents clients in matters related to the issuance of bonds, securities law, federal income tax law, contracts, real property acquisition, development, and governmental revenues.

Colin has been at the forefront of developing property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing in Ohio. His PACE efforts include serving as counsel to PACE administrators and energy special improvement districts throughout Ohio, as well as serving as bond counsel and lender’s counsel to Ohio port authorities and other financial institutions that finance energy efficiency and clean energy projects through PACE.

He is well known within the national PACE community and has spoken at several national PACE conferences. He has extensive experience negotiating, documenting and closing PACE transactions, including as part of complex capital stacks. Colin is frequently called upon to advise PACE capital providers of all kinds with respect to transactional best practices and documentation.

Colin serves on Bricker Graydon’s public finance federal income tax support committee. In that capacity Colin advises clients on federal income tax issues related to municipal bonds.

Other significant portions of Colin’s practice include port authority common bond fund financing and the negotiation, implementation and monetization of economic development tools like tax increment financing (TIF), special assessments, community redevelopment area (CRA) abatements and new community authority charges.

Siena Kane

Identifying Market Gaps in Your Community
Thursday May 16 3:45 - 5:00 PM

Engagement & Operations Manager
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

Mary Louk

Principles of Loan Underwriting
Wednesday May 15 12:15 - 1:30 PM

Programs Manager
Grow America

Mary Louk serves as Programs Manager for Grow America, overseeing Small Business Lending programs. Mary has helped launch various loan programs across the Grow America footprint that focus on serving the target markets of low-income and minority-owned businesses. She came to Grow America after spending 12+ years in various roles in the banking industry.

Michele O'Connor

Identifying Market Gaps in Your Community
Thursday May 16 3:45 - 5:00 PM

Director
Innova Commercialization

Michele O’Connor has more than 30 years’ experience in the finance and banking industry. She has attained her Certified Financial Planner designation along with the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Manager and Development Finance Certified Professional designations. She is also a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute.

Michele was the Portfolio Manager for the Trust Department at First United Bank and managed over $600 million for the department. Currently she is the Senior Investment Manager for the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, which is a leading WV venture capital firm focused on turning the innovation of new ideas into successful world-class companies. She is a Board member and Chair of TechConnect West Virginia and serves as an Advisory Board Member for the WVSBDC and the WV Women’s Business Center.

Michele graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Finance from the University of Maryland University College.

Michael O'Donnell

Identifying Market Gaps in Your Community
Thursday May 16 3:45 - 5:00 PM

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Developer
Prairie Rose Development Corporation

Mike holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia.

He began his career in the United States in 1990 as the executive director of the University of Kansas Small Business Development Center and as an adjunct faculty in the business school there before relocating to Colorado in 2000 to head operations at the nonprofit, mission-based lender, Colorado Lending Source.

At the end of 2020, Mike retired from Colorado Lending Source and started a new nonprofit that facilitates crowd-funded 0% Kiva loans of up to $15,000 to Colorado small business owners.

He lives with his wife on a small farm in rural Yuma County and also sits on the board of Startup Colorado, NuProject (an Oregon-based nonprofit that manages a million dollar loan fund in Colorado) and the Ohio-based Council of Development Finance Agencies Foundation.

Sean Pritchard

Borrower Analysis
Wednesday May 15 3:00 - 5:00 PM

Financial Review Manager
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Everett Sands

Collecting Borrower Documents and Providing Technical Assistance
Thursday May 16 12:15 - 1:15 PM

Chief Executive Officer
Lendistry

Everett K. Sands leverages his 20+ years of experience in banking to change the game for underserved small business owners who need access to responsible capital to reach the next level. Mr. Sands has shared his recommendations before Congressional committees and at conferences hosted by FORTUNE, the National Urban League, and several industry-related events. He has appeared as a subject matter expert on national business media, including CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg.

With past tenures at national and community banks including MDIs, Mr. Sands has closed more than $10 billion in finance transactions. His experience also includes structured finance transactions like New Markets Tax Credits, Opportunity Zones and secondary market transactions. Mr. Sands is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, an Advisory Board member of The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), and a Board member of The Center for Strategic Economic Studies and Institutional Development.

Thomas Schnell

Collecting Borrower Documents and Providing Technical Assistance
Thursday May 16 12:15 - 1:15 PM

Team Lead & Finance Officer
Business Oregon

Tom currently serves as a Team Lead and Finance officer for Business Oregon, the State of Oregon’s economic development agency. In this position he works to develop economic vitality for Oregon businesses through public-private partnerships and leveraged funding opportunities for companies and entrepreneurs.
 
Tom has over 30 years in finance, 25 of which were in commercial banking.  He has been involved in both debt and equity financing. His experience ranges from serving small start-up companies to large corporations. He has experience in agricultural, real estate, asset based, equipment, line of credit and royalty-based financing. In addition to loan production, he managed several commercial banking centers and served as a loan workout specialist. Tom has served on numerous boards and committees during his career. He currently serves on the St. Charles Hospital Authority Board and is a board member on the Risk Management Association (RMA) for Central Oregon, a member organization for the finance industry. He is a past instructor at the Northwest Economic Development course.

John Taflan II

Borrower Analysis
Wednesday May 15 3:00 - 5:00 PM

Team Member
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Cynthia Tonucci

Portfolio Management
Thursday May 16 2:30 - 3:30 PM

Senior Vice President
MassDevelopment

Cyndy joined MassDevelopment in 2017 and is the Senior Vice President, Lending. With more than 30 years of banking and lending experience, she was a commercial lender and portfolio manager for national and regional commercial banks primarily engaged in asset based, C&I and real estate lending prior to joining MassDevelopment.

Robin Weis

Portfolio Management
Thursday May 16 2:30 - 3:30 PM

Deputy Director/ Rural MN Energy Board PACE Administrator
Southwest Regional Development Commission

Robin Weis has been with the Southwest Regional Development Commission since June 1998.  The SRDC serves a nine-county area of Southwest Minnesota and provides regional planning services focused on economic development, transportation, energy, active living and solid waste to local units of government.  Prior to her current position, she was both the Aging Program Director with the MN River Area Agency on Aging, Inc. and the Executive Director of RSVP of Southwest Minnesota.  Weis has been performing Economic Development duties since 2014 and administers several revolving loan funds, including a Local Development Organization (LDO) and the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program through the Rural MN Energy Board.  Weis became certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council in November 2015.  She facilitates regional economic development initiatives such as daycare, broadband and succession planning. Weis has extensive experience in forming collaborations, strengthening capacity and generating support for new or expanding initiatives.  She facilitates many workgroups and committees within the region.

Fawn Zimmerman

Welcome & Overview
Wednesday May 15 12:00 - 12:15 PM

Director, Research & Technical Assistance
Council of Development Finance Agencies

Fawn Zimmerman is a Director of Research & Technical Assistance at the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) working to create, develop, and execute programming which will help underserved communities gain more access to capital. She is responsible for working on the CDFA Equitable Capital Loan Guarantee Program designed to bring more capital to minority small businesses and the CDFA–NASDA Foundation Socially Disadvantaged Farmers & Ranchers Access to Capital Program focused on curating an extensive database of agricultural resources, providing hands-on technical assistance, and developing culturally significant programming to encourage increased investment in socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

Fawn studied at Ohio University as a post graduate and holds a BA with honors in Communication from The Ohio State University. She also has extensive experience working within the real estate industry in sales, investing, marketing, and operations; and, she has provided leadership in a variety of settings including classrooms, training sessions, production sets, and writing projects. She has long united her career goals with her philanthropic ones, and looks forward to applying her creative, academic, and work experiences together to promote positive changes within the development finance landscape.