Session 1: It's Happening in New England
Session Postponed
This session will highlight foundations across New England that are using local impact investing to accomplish their mission and bring capital and leadership to the community investment ecosystem.
Presenters
Andrew Winter, Twin Pines Housing
Andrew is the Executive Director of Twin Pines Housing, a nonprofit developer and provider of affordable housing in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont. Over his 12-year tenure, he has overseen significant growth in its multi-family portfolio from 240 units to 665, with over 100 units in various stages of development or redevelopment. Andrew has over twenty-five years of experience as a developer, funder, and investor in affordable housing projects. He currently serves on the board of the Housing Assistance Council and Evernorth. Andrew is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Northeastern University School of Law and a resident of Norwich, Vermont.
Ben Amsden, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Ben has been with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation since 2018 and leads the Foundation’s strategy and grantmaking programs in the areas of basic needs, housing, and food security. Ben also oversees a portfolio of impact investments with a focus on increasing capital deployment in service to NHCF’s initiatives and community-identified needs. Ben, who has his PhD, has also served as Senior Program Officer for multiple rural regions throughout New Hampshire, and prior to joining the Foundation, served as the Director of the Center for Rural Partnerships at Plymouth State University.
Geeta Pradhan, Cambridge Community Foundation
Geeta draws on her deep experience in philanthropy, urban planning, and community development to address the needs of Cambridge. She has led the Foundation’s transformation from a local grantmaker to a data-informed, strategic civic leader that tackles the city’s most intractable problems in deep partnership with nonprofits, local changemakers, and donors. In 2021, Geeta co-authored the Foundation’s Equity & Innovation Cities report, highlighting the widening income disparities amidst Cambridge’s growing prosperity. She helped envision and structure the City’s $22- million Rise Up Cambridge program, the only non-lottery cash assistance program of its kind in the country. Previously, at the Boston Foundation, she served as the associate vice president for programs and co-founded the Boston Indicators Project. Geeta completed her Bachelor of Architecture degree in India and holds a Master of Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Janice St. Onge, Flexible Capital Fund
Janice is President of the Flexible Capital Fund, an impact-focused, CDFI fund, providing flexible risk capital (revenue-based financing, subordinated debt and equity) to New England's food system, forestry and climate solutions businesses. As President, Janice manages all facets of the Flex Fund’s operations, including raising capital, deal flow, due diligence, and portfolio / financial management. Janice brings economic and business development, as well as financial expertise to the organization, having served in the technology, financial services, higher education and state government sectors during her 25+ year career. She is a founding member of the Vermont and Northern New England Women’s Investors Network, and Slow Money Vermont and serves on the Vermont Small Business Development Center Advisory Board. Janice is a graduate of the University of Utah with a B.A. in Marketing and is an alumnus of the Snelling Center for Government’s Vermont Leadership Institute.
Lawrence Miller, Vermont Community Foundation
In 2001 the Vermont Community Foundation set aside 5% of contributions to invest directly in Vermont. Lawrence manages this place-based mission investment portfolio, as well as maintaining an independent strategic consulting practice. He started his career as an entrepreneur in the then new craft brewing sector, is a longtime Director of the National Bank of Middlebury, and is a former Secretary of Vermont's Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
Ricky Bogert, Rhode Island Foundation
Ricky is a Grant Programs Officer at the Rhode Island Foundation, where he works at the intersection of grantmaking and impact investing. Ricky has over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, manages a portfolio of grants made to a variety of sectors throughout the state, and has helped develop the organization's Impact Investing program which has made over $16M in direct investments since 2017. Ricky is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and holds an MBA from the University of Rhode Island.