At Mission Driven Finance, we like to think about many layers of impact: not just who is getting access to capital and how much, but how are we doing that in relationship with the community? To formally incorporate community voice in our lending, we piloted an advisory committee in 2022 for the Advance Strategy—our original, artisanal, housemade fund supporting small businesses and nonprofits. The work continued in 2023 with additional advisory committee members sharing their insights and expanding networks. We love this model for breaking down possible echo chambers and, as a result, implementing advisory committees for many other funds.
As we expand the Advance approach from San Diego statewide into Advance California, we are also intentional in reflecting the state’s diversity—of geography, industry, and demography—on the Advance Advisory Committee (AAC). We are thrilled to welcome five new members spanning across California:
Iman Cotton, MBA-Fin, MAFM, based in Los Angeles, is a business loan officer at Momentus Capital—CDC Small Business Finance & Capital Impact Partners. She brings over 15 years of experience in banking, finance, lending, business management, and sales.
Lisa Garcia, founder and CEO of Lisa Garcia International, specializes in federal grants management in Indian country. With 30 years of experience in fundraising, nonprofit management, grant writing, grants management, and most recently, municipal and Tribal government, she consults with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tribal Energy Finance Program and nonprofits including Kumeyaay Community College and Tipey Joa Native Warriors.
Dr. Rosibel Ochoa is the associate vice chancellor for technology partnerships and an adjunct professor for chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside. She oversees the university’s intellectual property portfolio and leads corporate strategic partnerships, consults with international organizations in entrepreneurship, technology development, and commercialization in Latin America, and serves on the governing council of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries.
Martha Silva, based in the Inland Empire and Orange County, is assistant VP and business banking officer at CommerceWest Bank. She brings over 15 years of experience in sales, lending, and relationship management, and proficiencies in financial accounting, commercial loans, health care finance, and treasury management. Her mission is to empower small businesses with knowledge, resources, and support to succeed financially.
Lauren M. Taylor (Bay Area) is a principal at venture philanthropy REDF, where she supports entrepreneurs and enterprises scaling revenue and impact. She is also co-founder and managing partner at Zero Gravity, a tech consultancy supporting startups with capacity-building technical assistance to drive growth. She is passionate about investing in visionary founders building innovative solutions to our biggest challenges.
We are proud to introduce these regional community champions to ensure Advance California is increasing the flow of capital to underserved and overlooked communities and creating inclusive economic opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs.
Thank you to our seven returning members:
Vanessa Cadena, VP senior branch manager at Pacific Premier Bank in La Costa/Carlsbad, with over 13 years of banking experience, serves on MAAC’s governing board of directors, its Finance Committee, the MAAC Community Charter School (MCCS)’s Education Advisory Committee, and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s Membership Committee.
Amanda Cheyney, a client advisor at the CA Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC), brings over 15 years of experience within the intersection of workforce, economic, and community development. She serves on the Community Health Improvement Partners (CHIP) board and participates in Leadership North County hosted at CSU San Marcos.
Juan Carlos Hernandez, CEO of California Southern SBDC, has over 30 years of experience in banking, including consumer, business, and commercial real estate lending. He previously served as chief credit officer at Accion San Diego (now known as Accessity) and president of the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Christie Marcella, COO at Connect, previously served as the executive director of the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and the economic development manager for the City of Carlsbad. A first-generation American, she is passionate about inclusive economic development and transportation and its role in supporting thriving communities.
Bill Ponder, director of community engagement and programs at the Burnham Center for Community Advancement, is a native San Diegan with 30 years of higher education experience and a retired university vice president. He serves as chair of the San Diego Community College District’s Trustee Advisory Council.
Wes Quach, also a native San Diegan, is the director of the Alliance Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted by the Asian Business Association San Diego. He serves on the boards of the Convoy District Partnership and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.
Jonathan Yackley is the deputy executive director/VP of Rise Up Industries, which provides the only reentry program in San Diego County specifically focused on the subset of the formerly incarcerated who grew up in street gangs. He previously worked with Homeboy Industries and founded an Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) startup, now run by its first employee.
We also thank outgoing members Flora Barron and J.R. Gregory Tolver for their service.
We thank outgoing members Alex Galicia, Natasha Salgado, Colin Santulli, Shreya Sasaki, and Alexis Villanueva for their service.
The committee members are dedicating their time and expertise to making sure that California small businesses and nonprofits have access to education, health, and wealth via inclusive lending practices.
Although the AAC does not have the authority to make investment decisions on behalf of Mission Driven Finance, they support us in identifying partnerships and businesses, as well as guiding us on how to properly approach the small business and nonprofit communities across the state.
As a social enterprise and certified B Corporation, we are excited to see the innovation and change this committee will ensure we create. We are doubling down on our mission to make it easier to invest in the community with this added structure of transparency and accountability with the help of these community champions.
Learn more about getting financing from Advance California. If you know any small businesses or nonprofits looking for capital to help them scale and grow, refer them to us!
