OFN President and CEO Lisa Mensah Amplifies the CDFI Message
OFN’s President and CEO Lisa Mensah continues to amplify the CDFI voice boldly and broadly as CDFIs work deeply in rural, urban and Native communities impacted by a pandemic, economic recession, and racism. In 2020, she’s appeared on numerous virtual panels to discuss the CDFI industry’s role in economic relief for communities disproportionally affected by COVID-19 and in fighting for social, economic, and racial justice.
In late September, she was part of the inaugural Forbes Small Business Summit, which brought together business leaders, policymakers, and serial entrepreneurs in conversations about the issues that matter most to more than 125 million small businesses worldwide.
With Alda Leu Dennis, general partner, Initialized Capital, and Carla Harris, vice chairman, Morgan Stanley, Lisa participated in Cracking the Capital Code: Fundraising & Managing your Balance Sheet, a panel moderated by Forbes’s Sade Muhammad, director of representation & inclusion. Bringing diverse perspectives to a critical discussion, the three key-decision makers explored the best ways to land financing and investment—Lisa and others proposed CDFIs, naturally—for small businesses traditionally underserved by mainstream finance.
Watch the full conversation here.