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RDFC Board of Directors 

Pete C. Garcia, Board Chair

Pete C. Garcia, Board Chair
Mr. Garcia is President of Chicanos Por La Causa, a statewide community development corporation headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, which operates numerous community initiatives and is one of the country’s largest Hispanic nonprofit organizations. A tireless worker for community development, he has lectured in the U.K., sharing his extensive experience in housing, social service delivery, and economic development to assist in community empowerment efforts in England, Wales and Ireland. Mr. Garcia serves on the Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, the National Coalition for Community Reinvestment, and on numerous local boards and commissions. In 2001, he was selected from a national pool of nominees as one of six James Johnson Fellows by the FannieMae Foundation. This designation honors community development profess-sionals for lifelong achievement in their efforts to provide safe, affordable housing for American families. Mr. Garcia is Mexican-American.

 

Peter Beard, Vice-Chair

Pete Beard, Vice-Chair
Peter Beard is the FannieMae Foundation's Senior Vice President of Knowledge Access and Technology Strategy. Mr. Beard oversees the Foundation's information and technology strategy work, its activities that respond to the information needs of its partners and develop new tools that will disseminate the Foundation's knowledge and information. Since 1994, he has served in various capacities at the Foundation, such as directing the Foundation's national grant making program, its regional offices, and its strategies for homeowner education and counseling. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Beard served from 1988 to 1993 as the general counsel to Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, GA. He received his A.B in Economics from Davidson College and his J.D. from Syracuse University.

 

Richard Isoldi

Richard Isoldi
Mr. Isoldi joined the RDFC board in March of 2001. He is a Vice President in the Community Development Group for J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in Houston, Texas, where his current responsibilities include small business lending programs that target women, minorities and businesses located in low to moderate-income areas. He also manages relationships with community development financial intermediaries in Texas that offer loans to small businesses. Mr. Isoldi has over 17 years of banking experience in lending and problem loan workout. He is originally from New York.

 

Sherrie P. Pugh

Sherrie P. Pugh
Ms. Pugh is the Executive Director of the Northside Residents Economic Development Council, a community development corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An African-American, she has over 20 years of hands-on experience in organizing, managing, and supporting non-profit community development corporations. Her work history includes stints as the Senior Program Manager of Economic Development for the Foundation for the Mid-South, located in Jackson, Mississippi, and Community Builder with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. She also served as Executive Director of the California Community Economic Development Association.

 

Dr. Bárbara J. Robles

Dr. Bárbara J. Robles
Dr. Robles joined the RDFC Board in July of 2004. She is currently an Associate Professor at Arizona State University, Center for Community Development & Civil Rights and Department of Public Programs. She received her doctorate in Economics from the University of Maryland-College Park with concentrations in Econometrics and Monetary Policy. Her research focuses on Microenterprise along the US-Mexico Border, credit and loan accessibility issues in US manufacturing, women’s status in the US economy, and women and minority small business and micro-enterprise activities. During her tenure at UT-Austin, Dr. Robles co-founded the Latino Financial Issues Program and currently serves as National Faculty Director for the program. She is a member of the Hispanic Business, Inc., Board of Economists and has consulted for the US AID Legislative Strengthening Initiatives in El Salvador and Guatemala and the State Department. Dr. Robles, who is Mexican American, was born and raised in rural South Texas.

 

Louis R. Escareño

Louis R. EscareñoMr. Escareño, who joined the RDFC board in 2005, is an Attorney at Law in San Antonio, Texas. He received his Doctorate in Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center and a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University. Among his extensive experience in community and legal affairs, Mr. Escareño is the former President of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the State of Texas, and served as Director of Federal Relations at the Office of the Mayor of Houston. Mr. Escareño co-founded the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) as an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. A recipient of many awards for his dedication to the community, including the Government Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year, Mr. Escareño has continued to be actively involved in Latino community advocacy and development issues. Mr. Escareño, who is Mexican-American, was born and reared in San Antonio, Texas.

 

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