LIIF Staff Converges in Atlanta for Convening 

In early September, LIIF staff from every corner of the country gathered in Atlanta, Georgia for the 2025 All-Staff Convening, which afforded an opportunity to come together, reflect on our shared achievements and collaborate on the future of our work.  

For four days, LIIF team members from across LIIF’s five regional offices converged at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in the heart of downtown Atlanta for a jam-packed schedule of insightful discussions, team-building activities, affordable housing and child care project site visits, and presentations from LIIF’s industry-leading community development financing experts. 

While Firewood Events led the logistical event planning ahead of the Convening, the week’s full suite of programming was borne out of a collaborative effort among staff. LIIF’s People Services Team, namely Emiley Charley, Shikha Nischal, Renee Watkins, Dianne Sta Maria and Nijsha Laverty, supported with setup and preparations for staff arrivals; special kudos to Emiley Charley, Rachel Bluestein and the Programs Team for coordinating project site visits; Christine Malone served as point person for LIIF University educational sessions; while Dan Diaz, Shikha Nischal and Stephane Ako oversaw the awards ceremony. CEO Daniel Nissenbaum provided executive oversight and helped ensure a smooth and efficient planning process. 

Kicking the week off, CEO Daniel Nissenbaum and President Kimberly Latimer-Nelligan welcomed the staff assembled in Atlanta, reflecting on collective triumphs over the previous year and offering an inspirational vision of the future for the organization. 

Following remarks, Rena Henderson Mason, Founder and CEO of Bold Agenda, facilitated Tuesday morning’s opening programming. That included a welcome message from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who expressed his appreciation for the many development projects LIIF has helped capitalize in underserved communities across the city.  

Building off the 2025 Convening’s Lift Team LIIF theme, staff gathered in the Peachtree Ballroom for a series of engaging presentations and workshops focused on strengthening team connections and charting LIIF’s future direction as an innovative and leading community development financial institution (CDFI). Teams from across the organization provided updates on a variety of cross-department initiatives and highlights from the previous fiscal year, which were followed by a thought-provoking leadership panel on how LIIF is rising to achieve its mission in the years ahead.  

Staff leaders Senior Vice President, Chief Lending Officer Maygen Moore, Senior Vice President, Chief Business Operations Officer Christina Shiwbalak, Vice President, ECE Government Contracts and Operations Tiffany Mobley, Vice President, Finance and Controller Paul Wetterholm and Deputy Director of Development  Ahmar Qadir discussed how LIIF can be best positioned to embrace change, push bold ideas and continue to drive all-the-greater impact by streamlining processes. 

Following the panel, staff members separated into breakout groups for ideation sessions focused on strategic planning and collaborative efforts to coordinate across departments and geographic regions. 

Fanning out across the city, LIIF team members split up to get a firsthand look at a few of the many affordable housing, child care and community facilities projects that LIIF has helped bring to life throughout Metro Atlanta. 

One group ventured out to southwest Atlanta to tour East Point’s Ethos Classical, an independent charter school for which LIIF provided a $6.35 million acquisition loan that allowed them to purchase their building. Founder Emily Castillo León has previously spoken about the power of this investment, saying that “LIIF’s acquisition loan was transformational. They did cartwheels to make this deal a reality by being open-minded and flexible. (…) We now have stability. Permanence. Community ownership. That matters to our families.” 

Later, the group visited the site of The Proctor, a visionary mixed-income, mixed-use affordable housing development in the historic English Avenue neighborhood. LIIF’s $4.5 million acquisition loan and $400,000 predevelopment loan to the project are testaments to our commitment to creating lasting, quality affordable housing for Atlanta’s low-income residents. 

Another group had the opportunity to see Sweet Auburn’s mixed-income The Front Porch on Auburn housing/small business development that’s been described as Atlanta’s “premiere equity project.” The $37-million project has the distinction of being the first “catalytic project” in this historic Atlanta neighborhood in nearly two decades, and features 33 co-living, dormitory-style units with 67 beds, 78% of which are affordable housing for households earning 60% or less of the area median income (AMI).

After a bustling afternoon of project site visits, it was time to Lift Team LIIF by celebrating the standout achievements of our colleagues at Tuesday evening’s LIIF Awards ceremony and dinner. In keeping with our core values, these awards recognize the milestones and outstanding achievements of departmental teams and individuals who embody LIIF’s mission and commitment to excellence.  

Among the award recipients were Vice President, Southeast Region LaToya Kyle and Vice President, Credit Officer Ivan Levi, both of whom received the distinguished CEO Award in recognition of their myriad contributions toward LIIF’s mission to create pathways of opportunity for low-income people and communities. 
 
Full List of Recipients & Awards: 

The landscape of community development finance is constantly shifting and evolving, and so must we. Wednesday morning, department teams met separately to discuss strategic planning, align on priorities and identify opportunities for cross-team collaboration over the course of the next year.  

Later in the afternoon, LIIF staff deepened their knowledge and skillsets by enrolling in “LIIF University.” Across multiple sessions designed to broaden their expertise through collaborative learning, staff attended educational workshops led by their colleagues in courses like “Fundamentals of Affordable Housing 2.0” and “Building Innovative ECE Programs.” 

As the programming and festivities drew to a close on Thursday, staff members prepared to part ways in Atlanta after an energetic week of collaboration and professional growth. Now reenergized, Team LIIF is better equipped than ever to rise to the moment and remain steadfast to its mission.