Leadership Bios
As President and CEO, Don Hinkle-Brown leads a staff of 70 highly skilled lenders, researchers, developers and other professionals at The Reinvestment Fund, a national leader in rebuilding America’s distressed towns and cities through the innovative use of capital and information. With over 20 years of experience in the CDFI industry, Hinkle-Brown is widely recognized as an expert in developing new programmatic initiatives, raising capital and creating new products to meet market demand. Hinkle-Brown previously served as President of Community Investments and Capitals Markets at TRF, leading TRF lending during a tenure where it lent or invested over $1 billion. Hinkle-Brown has also provided his underwriting and capitalization expertise to many community development loan funds and organizations, including the Hope Enterprise Corporation, Opportunity Finance Network, LIIF and as adjunct faculty at the Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence at University of Pennsylvania and University of New Orleans. He serves as Community Development Trust’s founding board member and until recently was on the board of Housing Partnership Network and its affiliated CDFI. Hinkle-Brown has also served as adjunct faculty at Temple University’s Geography and Urban Studies program and the University of Pennsylvania’s City Planning department. He holds an M.B.A. from the Fox School at Temple University in Real Estate and Urban Planning as well as a B.A. in Economics.
Suzanne Anastasi Aloi, Corporate Controller
Ms. Aloi joined TRF in 1998 to maintain TRF’s internal control system, coordinate external audits, and oversee accounts payable, payroll, and grant reporting functions. Ms. Aloi’s 18 years of diverse accounting experience includes 13 years in nonprofit accounting and 4 years as Controller of The Cooper Foundation. She holds an MBA from Rutgers University and a BBA, with a concentration in accounting, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
C. Sean Closkey, President, TRF Development Partners
Mr. Closkey joined TRF in 2004 and is responsible for assisting private developers and public sector clients in their efforts to revitalize neighborhood real estate markets. Mr. Closkey previously served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. His accomplishments include creating and implementing New Jersey’s $2.5 billion Smart Growth Housing Policy. Prior to leading the NJHMFA, Mr. Closkey was Executive Director of St. Joseph’s Carpenters Society in Camden. He holds a BS in finance from Villanova University and a MA in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Michael M. Crist, CPA, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Crist joined TRF in 2001. Mr. Crist leads the finance function of TRF and its affiliates through fiscal oversight, strategic planning, budgeting and financial projections, treasury operations, and financial risk management. He manages TRF’s information technology and office administration needs. Mr. Crist’s 20 years of accounting and operational experience include 10 years in numerous corporate level and line positions at Cendant Mortgage Corporation and as senior manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Delaware.
Ira Goldstein, Ph.D., President, Policy Solutions
Mr. Goldstein joined TRF in 1999 and as Director of Policy Solutions leads all research on economic development issues related to TRF’s organizational goals and mission. Prior to joining TRF, Mr. Goldstein served as the director of fair housing and equal opportunity for the Mid-Atlantic region at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also teaches a quantitative research methods course for the Urban Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Goldstein currently serves on the Consumer Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board, the Research Advisory Board of the Center for Responsible Lending and the Governor of Pennsylvania's Housing Advisory Committee. He holds a PhD, MA, and BA in sociology from Temple University.
Dana Johnson, Market Leader, Baltimore
Dana Johnson joined TRF in 2011 as Market Leader for Baltimore, responsible for TRF's business development activities in the Baltimore area. Ms. Johnson also serves as TRF's Program Manager for the Baltimore Integration Initiative, a partnership of public, private and nonprofit organizations focused on expanding opportunities for low-income residents and communities in Baltimore. Ms. Johnson previously served as Vice President at Homes for America, responsible for overseeing a staff of developers and managing an active pipeline of affordable rental housing projects. Prior to that, she was a Fund Manager with Enterprise Social Investment Corporation. Ms. Johnson holds a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University.
Maggie McCullough, President, PolicyMap
Ms. McCullough is Director of PolicyMap, an online data analysis and mapping service of TRF. She leads the team that is developing and launching PolicyMap to offer a data-rich and accessible way to analyze data from a variety of public and private sources. Ms. McCullough's previous responsibilities at TRF included the coordination and production of a wide range of research studies related to housing, workforce and economic development. Ms. McCullough has more than ten years experience researching public policy matters and implementing programs in the public and private sector. She holds a Master's Degree in Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor's Degree in economics and political science from St Joseph's University.
Patricia Muraresku, SPHR, Director, Human Resource Services
Ms. Muraresku joined TRF in 1998. Ms. Muraresku directs TRF’s human resource department and delivers human resource services and products to TRF portfolio companies. She employs effective human resource strategies to help businesses be more successful and create opportunities for low income employees. Prior to joining TRF, Ms. Muraresku had ten years of experience as the accounting supervisor and benefits coordinator for a privately owned common carrier in the transportation industry. Ms. Muraresku holds a certificate in professional human resource management from Villanova University and BA in human performance management from Immaculata University.
Barry Porozni, Chief Information Officer
Barry Porozni joined TRF in 2010 as its Chief Information Officer. His is responsible for managing TRF’s day-to-day and growing information and technological needs. Mr. Porozni brings over 25 years of information technology experience, ranging from application development to consulting. Most recently, Mr. Porozni worked with Fiberlink for 13 years, as it grew from 7 to 250 employees, first as Vice President of Operations and then as Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Porozni is a graduate of the University of Alberta Computer Science program.
Andy Rachlin, Vice President & Market Leader
Andy Rachlin joined TRF as Vice President & Market Leader in 2012. In this position, Mr. Rachlin is responsible business development activities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mr. Rachlin previously served as Interim Chief of Staff for the School District of Philadelphia, where he was responsible for crafting and initiating implementation of a strategy to restore the District to fiscal balance in the face of a $1.35 billion shortfall. Prior to his term at the District, Mr. Rachlin was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Development for the City of Philadelphia, where he developed and oversaw a portfolio of over $40 million in innovative investment products, with a focus on energy efficiency. Mr. Rachlin has also served as the Chief of Staff to the Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY and NJ and as a Policy Advisor to the transition team of Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Mr. Rachlin holds a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a master's degree in International Security from Saint Andrews University.
Patricia L. Smith, Senior Policy Advisor
Ms. Smith joined TRF in 2005 and is responsible for coordinating targeted initiatives involving two or more lines of business. Prior to TRF, Ms. Smith directed the City of Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Transformation Initiative (NTI), a $295 million redevelopment bond program she designed to address decades of urban blight and stimulate new investment in Philadelphia neighborhoods. Ms. Smith’s career spans the foundation, government and nonprofit sectors and includes public policy .advocacy, program development, strategic planning, and housing bond financing. Ms. Smith currently serves on the board of directors of the Urban League of Philadelphia. In 2002, she was awarded a Fannie Mae Fellowship to attend the John F. Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University. Ms. Smith holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and JD from George Washington University Law Center.
Sara Vernon Sterman, Chief Lending Officer
As Chief Lending Officer, Sara Vernon Sterman is responsible for leading business development, originations and relationship management within TRF’s lending operation. For many years responsible for leading the program design and implementation of lending products for a portfolio of nonprofit educational institutions and social service organizations, Ms. Sterman more recently assumed responsible for TRF's food access financing activity. Sterman is responsible for developing and growing TRF’s charter school loan portfolio to over $200 million and is a sought after speaker on the topic. Prior to joining TRF in 1999, Ms. Sterman taught elementary school in New York City and Washington, D.C., with the Teach For America program, and was a program director for Teach For America in eastern North Carolina. Ms. Sterman holds an MSW from the School of Social Work and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Kavita Vijayan, Director, Strategic Communications
Kavita Vijayan is TRF's Director of Strategic Communications and currently leads all of TRF's communications, media and marketing initiatives. She brings more than 14 years of experience in strategic communications, with expertise ranging from marketing planning to design and website development. Ms. Vijayan previously worked with TransEthnic, an e-commerce company that specialized in specialty foods from across the globe. She holds a Masters in Public Relations from the University of Denver and a bachelor's degree from Delhi University.
Nancy Wagner-Hislip, Executive Vice President, Capital Structure and Lending Operations
Nancy Wagner-Hislip is responsible for establishing and maintaining the systems that support TRF 's lending function: capitalization and capital structure; loan policy, credit approval and risk mitigation; and ongoing portfolio and asset management. Until taking on this new role in 2011, Ms. Wagner-Hislip led all housing lending, commercial real estate lending and oversaw energy financing. Ms. Wagner-Hislip joined TRF in 1998 as a senior loan officer and became Managing Director of the Affordable Housing Group in 2003. She brings more than 20 years of community development finance experience to TRF and is a recognized expert in housing finance and policy. Prior to joining TRF, Ms. Wagner-Hislip served as community development lender at CoreStates Bank, where she underwrote construction and permanent loans and managed the bank's low-income housing tax credit investments. She holds a bachelor's degree in public policy and economics from the University of Pennsylvania.