Green Initiatives
Climate United has been selected to receive nearly $7 Billion in funding from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The Climate United coalition, of which NeighborWorks Capital is a member, is led by Calvert Impact Capital, Community Preservation Corporation, and Self Help and is a collaboration of experienced, mission-driven lenders and investors dedicated to bringing accessible clean energy solutions to Justice40 communities across the country.
The GGRF presents a generational opportunity to mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis, particularly in communities that have been historically left behind. Through our partnership with NeighborWorks America, its network of leading nonprofits, and the larger membership groups serving CDFIs, NeighborWorks Capital Green is uniquely equipped to facilitate the equitable distribution of GGRF capital to a diverse group of CDFIs serving communities in every state, the District of Colombia, Puerto Rico, and on tribal lands, and to implement plans to ensure leaders in every community have access to training and support to bring this resource to their neighborhoods.
As a member of the Climate United coalition, NeighborWorks Capital Green will:
NeighborWorks Capital Green will provide a new source of loan capital for multi-family real estate development to fund the retrofit of existing properties to increase building energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and loans for the construction of new Net-Zero properties.
NeighborWorks Capital Green will coordinate the training of the CDFI industry to engage in energy-related lending and engage, educate, and equip leaders in low-income, disadvantaged, rural, and Native communities across the country to build their knowledge of the GGRF opportunity.
Our Reach
Most developers in the affordable housing industry do not have significant experience with energy efficiency investment at scale and it is critical for NeighborWorks America and its national network of nonprofit member organizations to have access to this funding. NeighborWorks Capital Green will work collaboratively with NeighborWorks America to engage its national network to communicate the opportunity and expand engagement with communities in need regardless of whether a NeighborWorks member works in that community.
This partnership is critical to ensure GGRF funding reaches underinvested communities. Absent a substantial education and outreach effort, GGRF funding is likely to follow the course of many other previous investment efforts and many deserving underinvested communities will again be overlooked. Together, we are in a position to ensure this does not happen again.
Advisory Board
The NeighborWorks Capital Green Advisory Board is comprised of some of the most knowledgeable and influential leaders in the industry who are joining together to ensure that GGRF funding reaches low-income, disadvantaged, rural, and Native communities across the country. The Advisory Board will guide NeighborWorks Capital’s role as the CDFI multifamily channel market-building lead and green development lender by seeking to increase NeighborWorks Capital’s reach beyond its traditional customers and stakeholders, retain executive-level advice regarding CDFI and green lending, and engage industry leaders in its work. Members of the NeighborWorks Capital Green Advisory Board include:
Lee Anne
Adams
Senior Vice President – National Initiatives
NeighborWorks America
More About Lee Anne Adams
Lee Anne Adams has more than 20 years of experience working on the design, implementation and evaluation of community-based economic development in the U.S. and Latin America. She currently leads a division responsible for developing, testing, and managing innovative national programs and services designed to support the approximately 245 NeighborWorks Organizations across the country. Lee Anne has also worked for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the World Bank, the Futures Group International and the U.S. Peace Corps. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Native CDFI Network and Unity Health Care, a Washington, DC based community health center.
Catherine
Buell
Founder/Principal
Wellness Real Estate Innovations
More About Catherine Buell
Catherine Buell, a catalyst for change within the realm of housing and community development, distinguished for her ability to conceive of and implement large-scale, innovative real estate-driven initiatives that enrich communities. A recent 2024 Loeb Fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Catherine created and launched Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund—a +$2 billion initiative on track to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable homes in Seattle, Arlington, and Nashville. With a wealth of experience, Catherine has held pivotal roles such as President and CEO of Atlanta Housing, Chair of the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board, and Executive Director of St. Elizabeths East Campus in Washington D.C.’s Ward 8.
Catherine's steadfast dedication to driving transformative change is reflected in her prioritization of design efforts aimed at fostering equitable progress in various community types. This commitment extends to her active participation on the boards of organizations such as the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, Women of Color in Community Development, and the Anacostia Coordinating Council.
José
Cerda
Chief of Staff
IFF
More About José Cerda
José Cerda III oversees public policy, communications, resource development, and talent management, and serves on the senior leadership team. José has a more than 25-year track record of developing, communicating, and advocating for effective public policy solutions.
Prior to IFF, he served as a Senior Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden; Special Assistant for Domestic Policy to President Bill Clinton; and as Chief of Policy for Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago. In addition, José has worked in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as well as in Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.
José is a graduate of Harvard University, where he studied government.
Daniel
Cunningham
Owner/Principal, Development Preservation Consulting LLC Executive Director, Community Preservation Trust
More About Daniel Cunningham
Daniel Cunningham is the founder and principal of Development Preservation Consulting LLC, a Maryland-based firm providing advisory services to affordable housing not-for-profits throughout the country. In addition to his duties as a consultant, he is the founding Executive Director of the Community Preservation Trust, a program of the College Park City-University Partnership. He joined in November of 2022 to provide leadership to this innovative program focused on expanding affordable homeownership within the City of College Park.
Mr. Cunningham brings an extensive background in affordable housing to his current activities. He spent 3+ years as Chief Investment Officer for the Housing Partnership Equity Trust, a Real Estate Investment trust owned by 14 of the largest affordable housing not-for-profits in the country. He has worked at the forefront of affordable housing and real estate finance in a number of national organizations, including as head of Agency originations for the East Coast for PNC Real Estate for nearly 7 years, in addition to being the National Director of Multifamily Affordable Housing Debt at Fannie Mae for 7 years. In addition, he has worked at a number of other financial institutions, including Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Union Labor Life Insurance Company.
He is a member of the Urban Land Institute (Urban Revitalization Council), the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board (founding member) and sits on the Leadership Council of Washington, DC-based Jubilee Housing. Cunningham is a graduate of Harvard University (AB in Social Studies, cum laude) and the Sloan School of Management at MIT (MS in Management, with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate). He is based in the Washington, DC area.
Joe
Evans
Portfolio Director and Social Investment Officer
The Kresge Foundation
More About Joe Evans
Joe Evans is the Social Investment Practice’s portfolio director and social investment officer. In his role, he manages the portfolio of loans, guarantees, deposits and equity investments that support Kresge’s mission. He also originates social investments and grants that support the Environment Program’s strategy around building the climate finance ecosystem.
Evans joined the foundation in 2014. Before joining Kresge, he worked for more than a decade as a generalist with a nationally recognized consulting firm practicing in organizational development, nonprofit business planning, social investing and multi-funder initiatives.
Evans also served as an executive at a community action agency and, just prior to Kresge, was the director of lending for a specialty Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) focused on expanding housing and educational choices for persons living with disabilities and their families.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT, and a certificate in business excellence from Columbia Business School in New York, NY.
Francesca
Ioffreda
Founder & CEO
Breakthrough Strategy Partners
More About Francesca Ioffreda
Francesca Ioffreda brings domestic and international expertise working across the public, private, and social sectors to lead large-scale economic development, innovation, and workforce efforts, organizational transformations, and public-private partnerships. She is the founder & CEO of Breakthrough Strategy Partners, a women and minority owned strategy consulting firm focused on economic development, and a Senior Advisor to the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University.
She was most recently the Vice President for Inclusive Growth and Talent Initiatives at the Greater Washington Partnership, a CEO-led business alliance, where she launched the organization’s inclusive growth initiative and led efforts to create a diverse technology workforce for the region. Notably, she led the Partnership’s $4.7 billion five-year collective commitment to shared prosperity that was unveiled alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo, and U.S. Small Business Administrator Guzman in March 2022, and helped to operationalize these supplier diversity, community banking, and racial equity commitments.
Previously, Francesca spent seven years in strategy consulting at Deloitte and served as Chief of Staff for the firm's Smart Cities practice. She has also served as a policy fellow for former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a capstone fellow for former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, and a research Fulbright Fellow on economic mobility in Bogota, Colombia.
Francesca is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Washington Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree (2022). Francesca has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Economics and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College.
Florence (Flo)
Ludka
Chief Financial Officer
Oweesta Corporation
More About Florence Sterling Ludka
Florence Sterling Ludka is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Oweesta Corporation, responsible for the oversight and management of all finance activities and staff.
Prior to joining the Oweesta team, Ms. Ludka worked for a non-profit organization in Traverse City, Michigan for over 16 years as the Director of Finance and Technology. During her tenure, Florence procured expertise and experience in non-profit accounting, compliance, auditing practices, budget development and management, CRM/database management, administration, and training.
Ms. Ludka obtained a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Michigan. Ms. Ludka completed her undergraduate studies at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) earning a Bachelor of Science in Public Accounting and an Associates of Science in Technical Accounting. After completing her MBA, Florence returned to her alma mater as an adjunct accounting faculty member teaching accounting principles, intermediate accounting, auditing, advanced accounting, and federal taxation. Currently, Ms. Ludka is in her fourth year of a six-year Ojibwe language pane immersion program.
Ms. Ludka resides in Traverse City, Michigan where she owns a small farm and enjoys spending time and engaging in outdoor activities with her twin daughters and their spouses, grandchildren, and family pets. In her spare time Florence can be found crafting, camping, boating, traveling, or out in the woods viewing and photographing wildlife.
Ms. Ludka is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan.
John
Moon
President
LISC Green
More About John Moon
John Moon is President, LISC Green where he leads LISC’s climate-related activities, including the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program as part of the Power Forward Communities coalition. A core focus is building and delivering climate finance that supports an equitable transition. Prior to this role, John was the SVP Sustainability Philanthropy Leader at Wells Fargo where he led grant-making to scale sustainable finance in underserved communities. He has extensive public and private sector experience, focused on the intersection of racial equity, investments, climate, and health including work at the Federal Reserve, Living Cities, Municipal Government, and Fleetbank. A core focus has been how the built environment/communities are key levers to produce transformative change that improves economic mobility, resilience, and inequality.
John has helped to lead national cross-sector initiatives in partnership with philanthropy, social impact investors, community-based organizations, and government to tackle complex social challenges holistically with a wide range of stakeholders and sectors. He also serves on a number of regional and national advisory groups. John graduated from UCLA and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Benson (Buzz)
Roberts
Retired
More About Buzz Roberts
Benson F. (Buzz) Roberts retired in 2024 from the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, where he served as President and CEO starting in 2015. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing. Buzz was previously the Director of the Office of Small Business, Community Development and Housing Policy in the U.S. Treasury Department from 2011 to 2015; and Senior Vice President for Policy and Program Development at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), where he worked from 1988 to 2015. He 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; a Treasury-HUD partnership to finance affordable rental housing; and bond guarantees for community development financial institutions. Buzz has written extensively about affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.
Abigail (Abi)
Suarez
Executive Director
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
More About Abi Suarez
Abigail Suarez is the Head of Neighborhood Development within the Office of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase & Co. She is responsible for developing and implementing the company's housing policy and philanthropic strategies. This includes the firm's $400 million commitment to Neighborhood Development, which encompasses low-cost loans, equity, grants, and advancing evidence-based policy solutions to improve housing affordability, homeownership growth, and wealth building for underserved households across the U.S.
Before joining JPMorgan Chase, Abigail was a Market Lead for Capital Impact Partners, a national Community Development Financial Institution. In this role, Abigail led Capital Impact's investment strategy and growth for the East Coast. Abigail started her career as a Policy and Program Officer in the New Markets Tax Credit within the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. She holds an MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, and a B.A. in Finance from St. Edward's University.
Our Partnership
Climate United is a partnership of three non-profits—Calvert Impact, The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), and Self-Help—that are complementary in their expertise and like-minded about the imperative to make sure that all Americans, particularly those bearing the greatest burden from the climate crisis, participate in and benefit from the movement to reduce carbon emissions. Between them, the organizations have more than 120 years of experience directly deploying more than $30 billion to address climate change or assist communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change. Multiple deployment and implementation partners will join the core partners to assist with managing and mobilizing the National Clean Investment Fund established by the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
For more information, please visit www.weareclimateunited.org.