STAFF
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John Hamilton, President
John Hamilton is a nonprofit entrepreneur and public manager who for 25 years has focused on entrepreneurial responses to public challenges. He is President of City First Enterprises, an innovative nonprofit bank holding company in Washington DC that develops and launches community development solutions. He is the founder and a director of City First Bank of DC, a leading community development bank with $250 million in assets that since 1998 has financed 5,000 units of affordable housing, supported 10,000 local jobs, and helped create public charter school seats for 7,000 kids. Hamilton is also Chairman of City First Homes, a shared-equity housing trust providing permanently affordable homes for working families in DC. He has extensive experience in state and local government, including leading two state cabinet departments and advising a governor and lieutenant governor. Hamilton’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a National Innovations Award from the Council of State Governments, a Silver Hammer Award from the National Performance Review, a Distinguished Service Award from the IU School of Law, and support from the Social Innovation Fund of the White House. He has a wide range of experience with boards and positions in affordable housing, economic development, environmental protection, homeless services, historic preservation, people with disabilities, and a local school board. Hamilton also serves presently on the Community Investment Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Hamilton is a graduate of Harvard College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
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David Wilkinson, Executive Director
On temporary leave, currently on assignment as the White House Senior Policy Advisor for Social Finance and Innovation. David has extensive experience working with institutional investors, local and national government officials, real estate developers, philanthropy, CDFIs, and community advocates to design and develop innovative solutions in affordable housing, small business lending, community development, and nonprofit support services, among other areas of social finance. He has helped lead the effort to design, finance and launch CFHomes, an innovative workforce housing solution and foreclosure response effort that has attracted over $16MM in public and private funding and $10 MM NMTC commitment. David leads the creation of the new City First Ventures Fund, which has won $2MM in capital grant commitments to date and has begun to fund small business loans in the District. David has previously served as Executive Director of Common Cause NJ (CCNJ), an 8,000-member organization that successfully fostered local civic empowerment to pass laws in over 100 New Jersey cities and towns. During his years at CCNJ, the organization’s budget and staff more than doubled. More recently, he worked at the law firms of Arnold & Porter and McGuireWoods where he focused on real estate law. David is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Yale Law School. At Yale, he founded and directed a 25-member banking clinic, coordinating all aspects of launching a $25 million start-up community development bank in New Haven, CT. David is currently on leave to the White House where he serves as a Senior Policy Advisor for Social Innovation.
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Lisa Gans, Executive Vice President, Programs
Lisa Gans is a development specialist with over fourteen years of experience in the private and non-profit sectors in the U.S. and overseas. Prior to joining City First Enterprises, Lisa spent a year as a Fuse Corps Fellow, placed with the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative, where she served as the Director of Strategic Planning. There, she developed a plan for the implementation of a cradle-to-career continuum of services for children in the Kenilworth Parkside neighborhood of Washington D.C. Through Fuse Corps, Lisa was trained in design thinking and facilitated innovation labs for a variety of organization. Lisa began her legal career at the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton in New York and went on to work on human rights and development issues around with world with non-governmental organizations including the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights Legal Aid Project, The International Rescue Committee, the International Bar Association, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Medica Mondiale, and the International Medical Corps. She specializes in legal and constitutional development, civil society engagement, women’s rights, refugee issues and international health development, and has worked in Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lisa holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She served as a term member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations and is a contributor to the Huffington Post.
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Jason Washington, Senior Vice President, Community Wealth Building Initiative
Jason brings a wealth of experience managing complex and unique projects and building relationships. Prior to joining City First Enterprises, Jason completed a one-year appointment as a White House Fellow, assigned as a Special Assistant to US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, where he supported the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force. He also served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of Baltimore, and served as Chair of the Mayor’s School Construction Task Force. Prior to joining city government, Jason was a corporate associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He holds a B.A. from Morehouse College, a M.Ed in General Education from the University of St. Thomas - Houston, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
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Bridget Gagne, Chief Financial Officer
Bridget is the Managing Partner of Gagné Parker, CPAs PLLC a Washington, DC based public accounting and management consulting firm. She has extensive experience as a chief financial officer, controller, financial management consultant and corporate associate; with industry expertise in real estate, banking, and nonprofit. She is a subject matter expert regarding various OMB Circulars including A-122 Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations and A-21 Cost Principles for Educational Institutions. Prior to co-founding Gagné Parker, Bridget served for years as a Senior Manager with a Washington, DC based certified public accounting firm, and was responsible for managing various accounting and business consulting engagements. She provided leadership and technical assistance on financial reviews for international award recipients of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program funds; and Financial Management Oversight, EEO, Title VI, and State Management Compliance Reviews for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). She was instrumental in the design and implementation of the accounting firm’s audit approach, conducted training workshops on federal procurement regulations. Bridget has successfully developed accounting departments for small and medium sized businesses both for profit and not-for-profit entities. She has worked with business owners to develop and implement business strategies as well as assist them in raising both debt and equity capital. She also served as a management associate with Bank of America where she helped to develop credit products for Fortune 100 companies. Bridget holds a BBA in Accounting and an MBA in General Business both from the University of Texas at Austin. She has served as an adjunct accounting professor for Howard University’s School of Business and is licensed as a certified public accountant in the District of Columbia and Texas. Bridget is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Greater Washington Society of CPAs, and the National Association of Black Accountants. She is active in the community and has served on numerous nonprofit boards.
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Brian Nagendra, Associate Vice President of Real Estate Finance
Brian focuses on underwriting, structuring, and deal development for CFE's community development and real estate investments. Previously, Brian assisted operations and launch of a new resident services initiative as a project manager at The Community Builders, an affordable housing developer and property manager with a focus in comprehensive community revitalization projects with approximately 8,000 units under management and over 20,000 units developed. At the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Center Urban Markets Initiative, Brian coordinated a pilot funding program for new information tools to solve urban policy issues and tested alternative metrics to identify new economic development opportunities. Brian has a BA in Public Policy & Urban Studies from Brown University and an MBA from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business with a focus on real estate, finance and community development.
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Suzanne Adatto, Assistant Vice President for Social Innovation
Suzanne works on CFE’s initiative to leverage community development financial institution lending and impact finance crowdfunding. Prior to joining CFE, Suzanne was an Analytical Lead and Strategist for Google, where she developed strategy for Google’s largest clients including focus on Elections and Issue Advocacy, National Restaurants, and Technology Start-ups. While at Google, Suzanne also served as a Project Manager for an initiative to connect minority business owners with tools to help them grow their businesses online. Previously Suzanne has served as a Politicorps Fellow with the Oregon Bus Project and a Research Assistant at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Suzanne serves on the Board of Directors of ProInspire, and previously served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for a set of foster siblings in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Suzanne holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a Certificate in Budget and Finance from Georgetown University.
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Andria Seneviratne, Program Associate
Andria comes to CFE from Deloitte & Touche LLP, where she worked in Deloitte's AERS Advisory practice. During her time at Deloitte, Andria helped organizations identify, manage and mitigate critical risks by enhancing the integrity of control systems, processes and technologies throughout the enterprise. As a Senior Consultant in the Governance, Risk and Regulatory Strategies group she helped financial services clients build their governance frameworks, develop regulatory strategies, and ensure regulatory compliance. Previously, Andria worked for the American Red Cross to analyze market needs and profitability of the Health & Safety Services Program in the St. Joseph County Chapter. Andria is a CPA and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, with a Master of Science in Accountancy and a Bachelor of Business Administration.
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Dionne Galloway, Operations Manager
As Operations Manager, Dionne oversees the programs and resources of City First Enterprises and City First Homes. Through comprehensive project management she helps to ensure that staff is adequately supported and that each organization is able to further its mission with the greatest impact. Dionne comes to City First from The Keri Shull Team and Keller Williams Realty, where she worked as Marketing and Operations Director. As Director, Dionne maintained a comprehensive responsibility for all major marketing initiatives, from inception to implementation, including: campaign management, website development, ad creation and design, and public relations strategy. She also oversaw the company’s business policies and procedures, continually identifying and implementing industry best practices, along with managing all staff, vendor relationships, and company resources to ensure the highest level of efficiency and return. Dionne is a graduate of Howard University in the District of Columbia and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism—with a concentration in advertising—and a minor degree in graphic design.
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Jake Levine, Program Assistant
Jake comes to CFE from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where he worked on targeted fundraising efforts for top Democratic candidates across the country. While at the DCCC, Jake worked closely with Members of Congress, the business community, and Democratic donors to raise over $5M in candidate support. Prior to the DCCC, Jake served as the Development Director for Skills for living, an educational non-profit in Houston, TX, where he gained valuable experience in fundraising and community outreach. At Skills For Living, Jake leveraged corporate, community, and public sector resources to more than double the number of students served by their programs. Jake also possesses a background and considerable experience in political campaigns at both the state and local level. Jake is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, with a degree in political science.
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