Financial Stability Contacts
Local Office Directory
Financial Stability Contacts
Financial Stability Contacts
Seung Kim, Senior Vice President of National Programs
Seung Kim is Senior Vice President at LISC and leads the National Programs unit including Health, Economic Development, Child Care & Early Learning, Safety & Justice and Sports & Recreation. She guides these programs in delivering technical and financial resources, thought leadership, program innovation and scaling, and external partnerships with an aim to enhance LISC’s impact in communities.
Seung has led the strategic expansion of LISC’s national workforce and asset building initiatives, through its network of Financial Opportunity Centers, and its Bridges to Career Opportunities initiative. She was also instrumental to successful program development for LISC’s growing network of business development partners focused on serving small businesses owned by people of color and women. She has championed community-focused and data-driven approaches to pilot, test, and scale promising program strategies.
Laura D'Alessandro, Director of Financial Health
As co-director of the national Family Income & Wealth Building program, Laura leads LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® and Bridges to Career Opportunities work, with a focus on wealth building strategies—including access to safe and affordable financial products, building short- and long-term savings, and creating opportunities for credit-building through accessible, fairly-priced financial products—micro entrepreneurship, and FOCs’ role in creating pathways to asset building and homeownership. Prior to joining LISC, Laura worked at Helen Keller International and has a breadth of experience in program design, non-profit capacity-building and grants management. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a master’s in public administration from New York University and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
Katrin Sirje Kärk, Director of Workforce Innovations
Katrin Sirje Kärk, Director of Workforce Innovations
As co-director of the national Family Income & Wealth Building program, Katrin leads LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® and Bridges to Career Opportunities work, with a focus on program sustainability and innovations including employer partnership development, retention and advancement, digital skilling, and FOCs’ role in creating pathways to homeownership. After starting her career in communications at PolicyLink, she joined LISC to help grow the FOC and Bridges models, then launched a $32M financial capability grant program at NeighborWorks America, and spent time in Rural LISC collaborating with local partners to expand workforce and asset building innovations in rural America before rejoining LISC’s national team in 2019. Katrin earned a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and a master's degree in public administration from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College-City University of New York.
Lorena Avillaneda, Assistant Program Officer
Lorena Avillaneda is a Houston native with over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She co-manages two Salesforce platforms for LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC), Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network, Business Development Organizations (BDO) Network, and the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) by providing ongoing system maintenance, customizations, custom reports & dashboards, and any other program data needs. In addition to this, she facilitates virtual trainings and provides technical assistance to users. Before LISC, Lorena worked at a former Financial Opportunity Center® in Houston where she held roles as a Career Coach, Executive Assistant, and Program Support Specialist while acting as the back-up Salesforce Administrator for the agency-wide platform. Lorena earned a Bachelor of Science in human development and family studies from the University of Houston with a credential as a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP).
Candi Blake, Program Officer
Candi supports the Family Income and Wealth Building (FIWB) team by providing a range of grants management and compliance functions. She also assists with development and implementation of the FIWB program initiatives. Candi joins LISC after serving as Program Specialist for the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Superstorm Sandy Blue Acres Buyout Program. She also has over 10 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. Candi has a passion for community action and service. She holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University.
Thomas Brande, Program Officer for Communications
Thomas Brande executes marketing campaigns for LISC’s Economic Development and Family Income & Wealth Building teams. This includes managing the website, newsletters, social media, client stories, and other promotional content. Thomas has over eight years of experience as a communications professional, serving at non-profit organizations on the local, regional, and international levels. He is passionate about magnifying the voices of community members and creating a more equitable society through his work. Most recently, he acted as Marketing and Communications Manager at Phipps Neighborhoods, a community development organization based in the South Bronx. Thomas holds a Bachelor’s in Peace and Justice Studies and a Master’s in Public Communications from Fordham University. He currently lives in Queens, New York with his family.
Julia Brown, Program Officer
Julia Brown, Program Officer
Julia provides technical assistance, grants management and program support to LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® and Bridges to Career Opportunities networks, with a focus on workforce development. Julia has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit and corporate responsibility, including program and grant management, capacity building and cross-sector partnerships. Julia joined LISC from the Corporate Social Responsibility team at Prudential Financial where she led pro bono capacity building programs that connected employee talent to nonprofit organizations and small businesses. Prior to Prudential, Julia worked at two different nonprofit organizations that focused on financial literacy training and career development programming. She holds a BA from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on Public and Nonprofit Performance Measurement from Rutgers University-Newark.
Lisa Cockerham, Program Officer
Lisa has more than 15 years of experience managing local, state, federal and foundation funded programs in underserved communities throughout Chicago. Lisa oversaw various workforce development programs serving career changers, college students, high school youth and job seekers with justice-involvement. Prior to joining LISC, she was the director of a construction training program sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation at City Colleges of Chicago. Other sector experience includes coordinating and implementing contextualized training programs in healthcare and manufacturing at Moraine Valley Community College. Lisa supports program development, grants management and technical assistance for workforce development programs within the FOC Network.
Ana Gross, Assistant Program Officer
Ana supports both the Family Income & Wealth Building (FIWB) team and Economic Development work by providing a range of administrative, grants management, and reporting functions. She also provides general operational support and technical assistance. Ana brings her experience with Salesforce and her background working in public service and the nonprofit sector to this role. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and is a lifelong New Yorker.
Jacqueline Guzman, Program Officer
Jackie supports the data management and technical assistance efforts of the FOC network through co-management of and training on the Family Financial Tracking (FFT) template via Salesforce. She also is leading the way in the development of systems to boast and streamline opportunities for additional training for the FOC network to support local capacity building. Jackie brings over seven years of experience with—and passion for—the nonprofit sector. She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and master’s degree in urban planning and public policy with a special interest in community and economic development.
Valerie Moffitt, Senior Program Officer
Valerie joined LISC’s Family Income & Wealth Building Team in June 2022 to increase equitable access to safe, affordable financial products for people living in underserved communities. She first joined LISC Toledo in January 2014 to establish and grow the city’s network of Financial Opportunity Center® partners. During her tenure with the Toledo office, she also provided capacity building and technical assistance to local non-profit and grassroots organizations, spearheaded local policy initiatives leading to a moratorium on new payday lenders in the city and partnered with statewide coalitions to effect Payday Lending Reform in Ohio.
Valerie is an attorney licensed in Ohio, a Housing Development Finance Professional, and a Board Certified Coach with over 20 years of experience serving in government and nonprofit positions. She completed her undergraduate studies in her hometown of Murray, Kentucky at Murray State University. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Toledo College of Law. She currently resides in Toledo, Ohio with her husband, Judge Joseph V. McNamara, and their merry band of four-legged family members.
Sandylane Oquendo, Program Officer
Sandylane provides technical assistance, grants management and program support to LISC’s network of Financial Opportunity Centers® and Bridges to Career Opportunities specializing in financial products, housing and micro-entrepreneurship. With over 15 years of combined strategic and management experience, she joined the team from the LISC Houston where she acted as Program Officer providing support to the FOC Network and overseeing the Wells Fargo WORTH BIPOC Homeownership initiative. Sandylane is a Retired Army Veteran. She spent 11 years serving in the logistics operations field. Sandylane holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science in Business Occupations and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on Management & Leadership from Texas A&M University-Central Texas. She is a Doctor of Business Administration candidate from Prairie View A&M University. Sandylane is passionate about volunteering with various philanthropic organizations, especially those focused on closing the racial wealth gap.
Carolina Rendon, Senior Program Officer
Carolina has over 14 years of experience working in nonprofit in the Chicago area, including in grants management, data evaluation, contract regulations, fiscal management, programmatic design, and CRM administration. Carolina supports multiple LISC national programs including the Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network, Business Development Organizations (BDO) Network, and the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) as the Salesforce System Administrator managing over 750 users. In addition, Carolina provides the FOC network with technical assistance and model implementation support. Carolina holds a dual bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in finance and management and is a Certified Salesforce Administrator.
Local Office Directory
Local LISC Office Contacts
Office Target Market | Contact Person |
| Atlanta | Amit Khanduri, Program Officer |
| Boston | Emily Jones, Senior Program Officer Silvana Bastante, Program Officer |
| Charlotte | Hiba Asalih, Program Officer Harold Lloyd, Program Officer |
| Chicago | Jennifer McClain, Financial Opportunities Director Sarai Garza, Program Officer |
| Cincinnati | Valerie Daley, Senior Program officer |
| Cleveland | Walter Morris, Program Officer |
| Connecticut | RaQuasia Smith, Assistant Program Officer |
| Detroit | Jackie Burau, Program Officer Karista Gallick, Assistant Program Officer |
| Duluth | Emily Mowchan Drevlow, Assistant Program Officer |
| Flint | Juan Zuniga, Executive Director Shaina Tinsey, Assistant Program officer |
| Hampton Roads | Rosalyn Wolfe, Program Officer |
| Hawai'i | Matt Hara, Program Officer |
| Houston | Rushka Tcholakova, Director, Community Programs Ellary Makuch, Program Officer |
| Indianapolis | Brandon Taylor, Program Officer |
| Jacksonville | Melissa Chester, Economic Development Program Officer Kathie Silva, Program Assistant |
| Kalamazoo | Sonja Dean, Senior Program Officer |
| Kansas City | Kelli Hearn, Assistant Program Officer |
| Los Angeles | Vicky Rodriguez, Director, Field Services & Program Management |
| Memphis | Katie Midgely, Program Officer |
| Milwaukee | Christopher Kemp, Deputy Director Gabrielle Charles, Assistant Program Officer |
| New York | Talor Crawford, Community Development Officer |
| Newark | Elijah Dixon, Senior Program Officer |
| Peoria | Angela Bolden, Executive Director Tara Lindsay, Assistant Program Officer |
| Philadelphia | Jessica Collazo, Program Officer |
| Phoenix | Mariana Torres, Assistant Program Officer |
| Rhode Island | Claudia Staniszewski, Program Officer Sue Leonardi, Assistant Program Officer |
| Rural | Emily Avery, Director of Rural Financial Opportunity Centers Justin Burch, Program Director Francesca Santos, Assistant Program Officer |
| San Diego | Karina Velazquez, Program Officer Ivonne Rojas, Assistant Program Officer |
| San Francisco (Bay Area) | Sasha Werblin, Senior Program Officer Hellena Ruiz, Assistant Program Officer |
| Seattle/ Puget Sound | Tina Vlasaty, Deputy Director |
| Toledo | Selena Coley, Assistant Program Officer Shaulonda Jones, Assistant Program Officer |
| Twin Cities | Rachel Speck, Consultant Orissa Ramnarine, Program Assistant |
| Virginia | Shanika McClelland, Program Officer, Community Development/FIWB |
| Western New York | Tyra Johnson Hux, Deputy Director Kate Rehban, Program Officer |