LIIF Experts in the Spotlight at 2025 OFN Conference 

Last week, over 2,200 CDFI industry experts that included the Low Income Investment Fund and other organizations descended on Washington, D.C. from every corner of the country for the 41st Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Conference, the premier annual convening of leaders in community development and mission-driven finance.  

Arriving at a moment of uncertainty for the industry, amid the ongoing government shutdown and larger economic turbulence, this year’s OFN Conference was particularly significant — and LIIF was proud to have staff present to connect with their industry peers and cultivate their expertise through conference programming. Additionally, LIIF experts featured prominently in panel sessions and events across all three days of the highly watched convening.  

Kicking off the week, LIIF’s Vice President, Impact Capital Initiatives Eliisa Frazier and Impact Capital Initiatives Officer Monica Magalhaes joined peer professionals Emilie Linick and Karina Vadillo of REDF Impact Investing Fund (RIIF) on the panel, “Attention on Retention: A Conversation on What Keeps Staff Engaged.” 

In this StoryCorps-style conversation, the four team members from various community development financial institutions (CDFIs), each with differing roles and lengths of tenure, interviewed one another and explored what drives retention on their teams. From creating space for autonomy and entrepreneurial spirit, to aligning on work-life balance expectations and nurturing individual voices, Eliisa and Monica shed light on their workplace insights and best practices to inform attendees how to make a difference at their own organizations. 

Later in the afternoon, LIIF ECE Director, San Francisco Liz Winograd, helped lead “Financing Nature to Strengthen Communities,” a deep-dive session into how CDFIs can integrate nature into their core framework of community development. She was joined by fellow experts from Healthy Resilient People and Places, LISC Jacksonville, Children and Nature Network, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  
 

Recognizing parks, green schoolyards, trails and natural infrastructure as essential assets that support health, resilience and economic well-being, Liz and her co-panelists highlighted promising investment models, including nature connection efforts that LIIF has pioneered. The session closed with Liz leading a hands-on technical assistance workshop focused on how CDFIs and mission-driven lenders can begin investing in nature-based community infrastructure.  

Heading into day two of the conference, Wednesday’s morning panel sessions once again featured Eliisa Frazier, who appeared alongside experts from OFN, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, MassMututal Foundation and Allies for Community Business for the session, “Innovating Capital Flows: Exploring the Next Generation of CDFI Solutions.” 

Together, they spotlighted forward-looking ideas from the OFN Innovation Initiative, highlighted promising new innovations developed by their respective organizations and shared how these ideas might evolve into actionable solutions.  

Following lunch, conference attendees headed into afternoon sessions, which included LIIF National Programs Director Bryan Woll on the panel, “Equity-Like Capital as a Tool for Community-Led Development,” moderated by Olivia Barrow-Strauss of JPMorganChase. 

Accompanied by leaders from Forest Forward and LIFT JAX, Bryan discussed the development of the innovative Equity with a Twist (EQT) debt model created by LIIF 10 years ago, with support from JPMorganChase. LIIF designed this unique financing tool as a model of long-term investments in community organizations pursuing complex, multisector neighborhood revitalization plans. To date, the EQT has provided $12.4 million in highly flexible, unsecured, patient capital to organizations across the country, enabling them to act quickly, adapt to changing conditions and strengthen their capacity.

The morning of the conference’s final day, LIIF ECE Vice President, Advisory and State Policy Shelly Masur drew from her deep well of experience in early care and education (ECE) at the panel, “Activating the Ecosystem for Early Childhood Education Supply Building and Stabilization.” Together with leading experts from LISC, IFF, Kresge Foundation and the National Association of Counties, Shelly discussed how CDFIs like LIIF are uniquely positioned to support and strengthen ECE projects amid urgent capacity and sustainability challenges. 

As conference attendees convened in the international ballroom of the Washington Hilton for the conclusion of the 2025 OFN Conference, Eliisa Frazier was once again center stage as the moderator of a closing plenary panel discussion with two powerhouse leaders in the CDFI movement: founding President and CEO Janie Barerra of LiftFund; and founding President and CEO Anne Haines of DreamSpring. Together, they reflected on their early experiences at the outset of the CDFI industry, the lessons each has learned along the way, and the wisdom to impart to their peers as they chart the path forward.  
 

While the conference is now over, LIIF stands alongside its OFN peers and partners in reaffirming our shared commitment to the principles of community development finance and mission-driven lending. We’ll see you again next year and, in the meantime, hope that Eliisa gets some well-deserved rest.