Southeast Regional Meeting Highlights from Miami
Sarah Weintraub, OFN Senior Associate, Peer Learning
Read time: 4 minutes
OFN held its first Regional Meeting of 2026 on February 18 at the Overtown Performing Arts Center in Miami’s historic Overtown district. As an economic engine of the Southeast, Miami provided a meaningful backdrop for conversations about growth, resilience, and equitable development.
More than 50 attendees representing CDFIs, mission-driven financial institutions, foundations, and other industry partners gathered for a day of peer exchange and strategic dialogue about community development finance in the Southeast.
Opening Remarks
The meeting opened with remarks from Lia Yaffar, Executive Director of Community Fund of North Miami Dade (CFNMD), and Jeff Bridges, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Ten North Group. CFNMD is a CDFI that provides small business lending to minority and women-owned businesses throughout Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties.
Lia and Jeff discussed the challenges facing Miami-Dade County, including rapid population growth, rising income inequality, barriers to capital access for small businesses, increasing commercial rent and insurance costs, and the region’s affordable housing shortage. They highlighted the work of Miami Homes For All and the South Florida CDFI Coalition in addressing these needs. Building on these reflections about the region’s challenges and collaborative efforts, the meeting transitioned into the morning sessions, which focused on industry trends, policy developments, and member updates shaping the broader CDFI landscape.
Morning Sessions
Seth Julyan, OFN’s Chief Network Officer, provided updates on OFN’s membership in the South, regional trends, the emerging Career Meets Purpose Hub, and OFN’s development services offerings.
Dafina Williams, OFN’s Chief Public Policy Officer and Head of Government Affairs, and Susie Han from OFN’s Policy Team discussed the political and policy landscape, including OFN’s 2026 policy priorities, congressional appropriations updates, CDFI-related legislation, updates from the Trump administration and federal agencies, and the state of CDFI certification.
The OFN Member Updates session allowed attendees to share current challenges and opportunities at their organizations, including raising capital, hiring staff, and maximizing technology resources.
Afternoon Sessions
Harold Pettigrew, OFN’s President and CEO, shared his perspective on the CDFI industry’s resilience and continued bipartisan support, noting OFN’s recent closure of a $100 million Treasury-backed Bond Guarantee as an example of how the organization continues moving capital to the field.
The Ideas In Action segment featured participants sharing innovations their organizations implemented in 2025 and are planning for 2026, including new technology products, financial products, housing mobilization strategies, system integration, and expanded financial literacy and technical assistance programs.
Looking Ahead
The Southeast Regional Meeting showcased the resilience and collaborative spirit of OFN’s membership throughout the region. OFN thanks Community Fund of North Miami Dade and Ten North Group for welcoming attendees and sharing insights into Miami’s community development landscape. The connections and peer learning from this convening will strengthen the network’s work in the months ahead.
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