Deepak Bahl, Program Director, USC Center for Economic Development
bahl@usc.edu
Deepak Bahl serves as a Program Director for the USC Center for Economic Development and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. He has more than 20 years of professional consulting experience and has managed federal, state, and local projects in the areas of community and economic development. His work experience includes strategic planning, business development, project management, teaching at USC, and policy research and analysis. He has conducted research projects for the EDA, DoD, EPA, FTA, HUD, NSF, Caltrans, local governments, and private foundations among others. He received his Master of Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business, Master of Planning from the USC Price School of Public Policy, and Master of Architecture from Clemson University.
Sarah Simms, Senior Community Development Finance Manager, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
sarah.simms@sf.frb.org
Sarah Simms joined the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Development department in 2021. In her role as Community Development Finance Manager, she is responsible for identifying finance and investment needs across the 12th District, and for elevating innovative practices within the community development finance sector. By fostering strategic partnerships with non-profit, public, and private sector partners, Sarah seeks to further the conversation around emerging issues and best practices in the community development finance sector.
Prior to joining the Fed, Sarah spent 10 years structuring and managing the lifecycle of impact-focused investments at Low Income Investment Fund, a national Community Development Financial Institution. She also spent several years working on issues related to national community development policy with the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Richard Pallay Jr., Deputy District Director, Los Angeles District Office (LA, Ventura, Santa Barbara), Small Business Administration
Public servant leading a dynamic team of experts to serve members of the small business communities in LA, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties with business counseling and access to capital for growth and profitability of the business in the communities they choose to serve.
Worked in the banking and non-profit sector for the last 11 years for financial institutions and non-profits as a Business Development Officer and in numerous management roles.
Encouraging partnerships with financial institutions and non-profit organizations who share the vision to “raise all small businesses who are willing to listen, learn and act upon the guidance to help them achieve their vision of success, profitability and expansion of their businesses through hiring and profitability!
Christopher Earl, Assistant Deputy Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship & Southern CA Regional Advisor, California Office of the Small Business Advocate
chris.earl@gobiz.ca.gov
Christopher Earl, appointed as Assistant Deputy Director for the Office of the Small Business Advocate at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development in December 2022. Earl was previously appointed as Southern California Regional Advisor at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development since 2020. Previously, Christopher served at Riverside Community College District where he held several positions from 2012 to 2020, most recently as Executive Director of Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, District Director of the Office of Grants and Contracts, Statewide Director of the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, Assistant Director of TriTech Small Business Development Center serving the Southern California Region.
Christopher has an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from South Carolina State University and started out his career with the Department of Transportation (DOT) serving as a Civil Engineer/State Inspector. Christopher’s post-graduate studies are in Technology Transfer and Commercialization, and entrepreneurial management as part of the Integrated Technology Transfer Network (ITTN) fellowship program at California State University San Bernardino in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), the Department of the Navy (DoN), and the Army Research Lab (ARL).
Kelly Bearden, Director, CSU Bakersfield Small Business Development Center
kbearden@csub.edu
Kelly Bearden has over twenty years directing small business development centers (SBDC) in Central California, the past eleven with the CSU Bakersfield SBDC. His team thrives on assisting entrepreneurs through a balance of advising and training to reach their potential assisting with the capitalization and execution of their specific plans. The popular “Webinar Wednesday” program he started over a decade ago is nearly three hundred episodes and continues to provide cutting-edge information and real-life solutions to small business owners.
Along with leadership experience with SBDC program, he spent a decade self-employed in a consulting firm that offers solutions to small businesses and the communities they represent. He has worked directly with several thousand small businesses. In his spare time, he farms wine grapes in the Sierra Nevada foothills. He is a graduate of California State University Chico.
Viridiana Rosales-Trujillo, Interim-Manager & Business Project Advisor, Imperial County Small Business Development Center
viridianarosales@co.imperial.ca.us
Viridiana Rosales-Trujillo, started her career with the Imperial Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC) as a business advisor. She then served as the center’s administrator and now currently serves as the SBDC interim manager. Viridiana began her first business in 2018 and a second business in 2020. Through her personal experiences she now focuses in helping clients with start-up requirements, business plan writing, marketing strategies and capital funding. Viridiana obtained her bachelor’s degree from SDSU and completing her master’s degree at CLU. Her passion is helping others in the community and making a difference in the valley she calls home.
Max Ordonez, Los Angeles SBDC Business Advisor
mordonez@smallbizla.org
Max A. Ordonez is an established entrepreneurial executive with diverse hands-on experience in strategic and financial management, accounting, operations and project management.
Mr. Ordonez’s cumulative experience encompasses over 13 years advising entrepreneurs through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). As a SBDC business advisor, Mr. Ordonez has had an emphasis in two areas: financing start-ups to more established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and procurement contracts with government and large corporations.
Industry experience includes responsibility for strategic plan development, business development, client management, forecasting and operational/financial reporting for various clients in the insurance, construction, construction management, development/redevelopment, technology, software, and medical/medical device industries throughout Southern California.
Iman Cotton, Small Business Loan Officer, CDC Small Business Finance
icotton@cdcloans.com
Iman Cotton is a loan officer providing financing to small businesses throughout Los Angeles and surrounding areas. As part of CDC Small Business Finance, the #1 SBA Community Advantage lender in the nation, Iman Cotton has over 15 years of experience in business lending and being the trusted advisor for her clients. She focuses on understanding the client’s situation, determining what they need, and recommending solutions to help make their dreams come true.
Jennifer Whelan, CFA, Senior Loan Counselor, Business, PACE LA
jwhelan@pacela.org
Jennifer Whelan is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) CFA® charter holder, CFA Institute. She has extensive experience in consulting, access to capital, working capital loans, small-to-mid-size business mergers, and acquisition M&A execution experience. Currently a senior loan counselor at PACE, a CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) that provides working capital loans for small businesses. Jennifer is also a mentor for Cal State Fullerton Entrepreneurship Center classes.
Ahmed Zwin, MBA, EVP-Director of Government Guaranteed loans, AmPac Business Capital
azwin@ampac.com
Ahmed is the Executive Vice President, Director of Community Lending at AmPac Business Capital. Ahmed has over 15 years of experience in commercial lending and has helped small businesses nationwide. AmPac Business Capital is a mission-driven, community-centered provider of affordable financial services to grow small businesses. As a CDFI and SBA Lender, AmPac provides resources to small businesses to foster growth at all stages.
Alyssa Lopez, Underwriting Associate, Inclusive Action for the City
alyssa@inclusiveaction.org
Alyssa Lopez is the Underwriting Associate at Inclusive Action. She is a lifelong Northeast LA resident and has passions in urban planning, design, and community organizing. Alyssa has experience collaborating and leading teams in the nonprofit sphere on land use, popular education and mutual aid initiatives. Her work focuses on the development of equitable programs in Los Angeles for those living in underserved communities with the intention to make civic participation more accessible and build power within gentrifying neighborhoods. Alyssa holds a B.A. in Growth and Structure of Cities from Bryn Mawr College with minors in Spanish Literature and Latinx Studies.
Alberto Enriquez, Credit Analyst, Pacific Community Ventures
aenriquez@pcvmail.org
As one of the Credit Analysts of Pacific Community Ventures’ loan fund, Alberto works with the lending team to underwrite small business loans and support entrepreneurs in creating strong jobs in their community.
Alberto is born and raised in the Bay Area. He attended San Jose State University and graduated in 2020 with a B.S. in Economics. In his spare time he likes to both watch and play sports, watch movies and TV shows, and read fiction.
Eleanor Boli, Associate Director of Corporate & Community Partnerships, Pacific Community Ventures
eboli@pcvmail.org
Eleanor is an experienced builder, advisor to entrepreneurs, and catalyst for transformative change in systems and operational processes. She is firmly committed to creating landscape change by operating at the intersection of business, and innovation. At Pacific Community Ventures, Eleanor’s mission is to activate an economy where all business owners can truly thrive. As Associate Director of Corporate and Community Partnerships, Eleanor leads relationship building with key ecosystem partners to connect resources and expertise across industries in service of entrepreneurs of color across the United States. She collaboratively leads our national Business Advising platform, teaming with a group of stellar individuals to innovate how small business support, mentoring, and learning resources are delivered with cultural responsiveness, efficacy, and impact. In 2022, she launched her own consulting practice, geared toward local community-oriented entrepreneurs preparing for launch. Eleanor holds an MBA from Berkeley Haas.
Prior to joining PCV, Eleanor contributed to building and leading a high school in Richmond, CA for 8 years; constructed and scaled a training program for a non-profit with sites across the U.S., and then took a brief detour through the Investment Banking and FinTech arenas as she completed business school.
Mayra Contreras, Director of Partnerships, TMC Community Capital
mayra@tmccommunitycapital.org
Mayra Contreras is the Director of Partnerships for TMC Community Capital, working together with other community organizations to help promote access to responsible and affordable capital. She also works one-on-one with entrepreneurs to get them loan ready and provides tailored resources to ensure they have the support they need to succeed. Mayra has over 14 years of experience in the financial services space and 7 years in microlending.
TMC Community Capital is a nonprofit small business lender that provides online financing and fosters financial stability among women-owned, low-income, and under-resourced small businesses in California.
Brian A. Sagert, MBA, Business Development Officer, Clearinghouse CDFI
brians@ccdfi.com
Brian A. Sagert, MBA is a highly regarded community & economic development (C&ED) professional with over 25 years of experience. Brian’s C&ED knowledge and skillset is very diverse having held executive and leadership roles in the public, private, non-profit sectors to include: former Member of the State of Nevada Board of Finance, former Southern Nevada HUD Field Office Director, former President & CEO of NHS of Southern Nevada, and former Development Director for the Las Vegas Housing Authority.
Brian is well educated having obtained am Associates of Arts in Real Estate Technology (AA-University of Toledo) , a Bachelor’s of Arts in Business Administration (BA – Lourdes College), a Master’s of Arts in Business Administration (MBA-Heidelberg University), and an Achieving Excellence in Community Development Certification from Harvard University-John F. Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, Brian is a decorated U.S. Navy Veteran having served in the Gulf War (Desert Storm & Desert Shield).
As a Business Development Officer with Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (CCDFI), Brian’s role enables him to engage in, and partner with, C&ED type stakeholders, and together work towards achieving the Community’s C&ED goals. CCDFI offers nationwide, a variety of Construction and Permanent Term loan products and services. CCDFI’s ability to be creative and flexible, provides the opportunity to tailor the loan terms and conditions, and structure a deal that is financially viable, economically sustainable, resulting in impactful outcomes that benefit the community.
Yehwroe S. Martyn, Resilience Fund Program Manager, California Reinvestment Coalition
ymartyn@calreinvest.org
Yehwroe S. Martyn is a leader in the field of philanthropy and racial and economic justice, currently spearheading the Resilience Fund Program at Rise Economy (formerly the California Reinvestment Coalition). As the driving force behind this groundbreaking $4.5 million initiative, Yehwroe is dedicated to providing capacity building, technical assistance, and grants to a cohort of emerging BIPOC-led Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) across California. With her expertise in project management and a deep understanding of philanthropic initiatives, she ensures that the program makes a lasting impact.
Yehwroe brings invaluable firsthand experience to her role at Rise Economy, having worked closely with BIPOC communities historically excluded from mainstream financial systems and lacking access to capital. Her previous positions at advocacy organizations such as the NAACP, Prosperity Now, and the Columbus Urban League have honed her skills in strategic guidance and oversight. She has played a key role in designing and developing funds and investment vehicles aimed at addressing the unique needs and opportunities within BIPOC communities.
Outside of her professional commitments, Yehwroe is a dedicated wife and mother to two preschooler boys. Despite her busy schedule, she remains committed to her personal growth and is currently pursuing a part-time graduate degree at USC’s Marshall School of Business. When she finds a moment to unwind, Yehwroe enjoys indulging in the soulful melodies of R&B classics.
Overall, Yehwroe S. Martyn’s unwavering dedication to advancing racial and economic justice shines through in her work and personal life, making her a respected leader and catalyst for positive change.
Oscar Franco, Investment Manager, Founders First Capital Partners
ofranco@f1stcp.com
Oscar Franco is a distinguished business leader with a focus on selecting, accelerating, and promoting entrepreneurs in the US, Mexico, and Latin America. With expertise in consulting, strategy, fundraising, sales, and event planning, Oscar spearheaded Endeavor Mexico’s national selection efforts, collaborating with top entrepreneurs in the region. He played a pivotal role in developing new services for entrepreneurs, implementing diverse fundraising strategies, and organizing successful investment events. Currently, as the Investment Manager at Founders First Capital Partners, Oscar connects small to midsize businesses led by diverse founders with non-dilutive growth capital options. His work aligns with Founders First’s mission to bridge racial and socioeconomic gaps by facilitating the growth and scale of these companies.
Kasra Movahedi, Executive Director, IRC’s Center for Economic Opportunity
kasra.movahedi@rescue.org
Kasra has led IRC’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) since 2014. Prior to CEO, he worked as the Deputy Director for the IRC in San Diego, where he implemented a consumer lending program that would serve as the basis for CEO’s national efforts. He offers support and guidance to IRC’s U.S. network of 27 community-based offices – which serve over 50,000 primarily refugee and immigrant families each year. Kasra holds a BSBA in Economics and an MA in International Business from the University of Florida. He is fluent in Farsi.
Craig Howells, SBA Division Manager, Mission Bank
howellsc@missionbank.bank
Craig Howells is the SBA Division Manager at Mission Bank headquartered in Bakersfield, CA. He has over 35 years of banking/finance experience. Craig began his banking career with Wells Fargo Bank and, also, worked for Bank of America, Heritage Bank of Commerce, Citibank, Fresno First, and Suncrest Bank. He also worked in the public sector for the SBA Commercial Loan Servicing Center-Fresno as a Loan Specialist. Craig has a Bachelor of Science from the Eberhardt School of Business at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, and an MBA from the Craig School of Business at California State University Fresno. Craig lettered in swimming while attending the University of the Pacific. Craig is currently a loan committee member for Access Plus Capital and Valley Small Business Development Corporation. Craig is member of SBA’s Region IX Committee and NAGGL’s Small Lender West Committee. On the weekends he Volunteers at the Stockton Maritime Museum where he is refurbishing a minesweeper used in the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Craig is married and has two adult children. Craig currently resides in Fresno, CA.
Lew Murez, First Vice President/Business Center Manager Culver City, California Bank & Trust
lew.murez@calbt.com
In Commercial Banking in the Los Angeles area since 1984 – have been with both Regional and Independent Banks
Currently Business Center Manager for CBT Culver City Office – here since 2000
Extensive banking history working with small businesses, professionals, nonprofits and investors
Volunteer with PCR loan committee since 1998
Alumni of USC undergraduate and ASU MBA
Enjoys golf in spare time and involved in various community and youth golf causes and organizations