Panel: Bridging the Gap – How CDFIs Can Strengthen Pipelines and Expand Opportunity
Moderator
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Tabitha Atkins
CEO, The Atkins Group
Tabitha Atkins has dedicated her career to advancing community development finance, ensuring that residents, small businesses, and nonprofits in under-resourced areas have access to affordable financial products and services. Her expertise spans New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), historic tax credits, grants, and structured debt.
She has held leadership roles with Cross Street Partners, Urban Action Community Development, City First Bank of DC, and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation, and also served at the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund and Opportunity Finance Network. In 2023, she founded The Atkins Group to provide NMTC consulting and strategic capital deployment support for lending institutions.
Tabitha serves on the governing boards of St. Agnes Hospital Foundation, The Creative Alliance, Baltimore Heritage, and Partners for the Common Good, where she also sits on the Loan Committee. She is a founding board member of Women of Color in Community Development. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.
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Panelists
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Sean E. L. Russell
Vice President & Chief Lending Officer, Baltimore Community Lending
Sean Russell is a seasoned real estate finance and asset management professional with over 40 years of experience in loan origination, underwriting, and portfolio management. As VP and Chief Lending Officer at Baltimore Community Lending, he oversees lending strategy and portfolio administration, expanding access to capital for residential, commercial, and mixed-use development in Baltimore City.
He has originated more than $135 million in real estate loans and underwritten over $300 million in project financing, managing portfolios exceeding $2.5 billion. His prior roles include leadership positions at Bank of America’s Community Development and Real Estate Finance divisions and as Principal of C&RES, Inc.
Sean holds a B.S. in Business and Chemistry from High Point University and completed Bank of America’s Credit and Financial Analysis Management Program, with further studies in loan workouts, bankruptcy, and appraisal.
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Mark Kaufman
President & CEO, Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund
Mark Kaufman is President and CEO of the Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund, a Certified CDFI focused on supporting disinvested neighborhoods in Baltimore City. Previously, he served as EVP at City First Bank, overseeing mission-driven capital deployment across the Mid-Atlantic.
He served in the Obama Administration as Counselor to the Deputy Treasury Secretary and earlier as Maryland’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation, guiding financial policy in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Prior to public service, Mark spent 15 years in investment banking.
He serves as a Trustee of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Director of the Jacob K. Javits Foundation, and member of the Affordable Housing Advisory Council of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.
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Germano Gomez
Managing Director, Harbor Bank Community Development Corporation
Germano Gomez brings more than 20 years of experience in real estate development, finance, and education. As Managing Director at Harbor Bank Community Development Corporation, he oversees mixed-use and community development initiatives across the Mid-Atlantic.
Prior to joining Harbor Bank, he held leadership positions with the Bozzuto Group, Jair Lynch Development Partners, and the National Housing Trust, managing more than $300 million in commercial real estate projects. He also served as Associate Director and Senior Lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development.
Germano holds a B.S. in Social Work from Morgan State University and is deeply committed to leveraging capital for equitable and sustainable urban revitalization.
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