In a long-awaited announcement, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund stated on March 11 that Pravina Raghavan has joined as its new Director. Acting Director Marcia Sigal had held the position for almost a year, during which time she oversaw the update of the CDFI certification application.
Raghavan most recently was Director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, a public private partnership, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Prior to that, she was Executive Vice President at Empire State Development, New York State's economic development agency, where she played a key role in designing and implementing economic assistance programs, including those aimed at small business recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. In that position she launched the $100 million CDFI New York Forward Loan Fund that provided low-cost capital to small businesses, including through partnerships with CDFIs. Raghavan also had experience with CDFIs in her tenure as Deputy Associate Administrator and New York District Director in the US Small Business Administration, where she managed substantial loan portfolios and collaborated with CDFIs and credit unions to support small businesses.
CU Strategic Planning President and CEO, Stacy Augustine, stated, “we were delighted to hear of Ms. Raghavan’s appointment as the incoming Director of the CDFI Fund and look forward to her leadership of the agency. Director Raghavan’s leadership role in economic development, and background working with both loan funds and credit unions should make her a tremendous addition to the CDFI Fund’s professional staff.”