Congratulations to our Community Fund Manager Maggie Parker! The Opportunity Finance Network selected Maggie for its inaugural Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Opportunity Fellows leadership class. The innovative program is intended to train a diverse group of CDFI leaders to spark transformation and address inequities in access to capital in underserved communities.
The Opportunity Fellows program selected 25 program participants in three categories based on different levels of leadership experience: Executive Leaders, Mid-Career Leaders and Emerging Leaders. Parker was selected for the Emerging Leaders group. More than 100 applications were submitted for the prestigious program.
“TREC Community Fund is the youngest CDFI initiative represented in the Opportunity Fellows program, and our inclusion speaks to the high caliber of Maggie Parker’s talent, knowledge and leadership,” said Linda McMahon, TREC president and CEO. “Within a short timeframe, Maggie’s efforts have elevated our national recognition in the CDFI industry. We are so proud of Maggie for this recognition, and I’m confident her involvement in the Opportunity Fellows program will enable her to further enhance the fund’s community impact.”
Maggie and the other Opportunity Fellows participants began the program March 7 in Birmingham, Alabama, with an emphasis on developing the skills and perspective to create transformational change and innovation toward the vision of opportunity for all; facilitate greater equity and inclusion for racially and ethnically diverse communities; and lead innovation and change within organizations, communities and the CDFI industry. The program is sponsored by BBVA Compass.
“We could not be more proud of this leadership program, and of these participants,” said BBVA Compass Director of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Reymundo Ocañas. “We know that by investing in their future, we’re investing in the future of all of our communities. These are the leaders of organizations who put capital to work directly in low- to moderate-income communities. The idea is to arm them with the tools and skills they need to flourish in this impactful field of community-oriented finance.”
As manager of TREC Community Fund, Parker helps provide access to capital for several initiatives designed to revitalize underserved Dallas-area communities. Her efforts include funding loans for Recipe Oak Cliff, an enterprise that is bringing healthy food options and entrepreneurial opportunities to South Dallas, and for the completion of Hatcher Station Village, an 8-acre, transit-oriented development that now provides a 44,000-square-foot medical facility to this medically underserved neighborhood.
Since its inception in 2011, TREC Community Fund has committed funding to 12 CDFI loans totaling more than $2.6 million. These loans have supported the development or rehabilitation of 145,000 square feet of community facilities to serve 58,000 adults and 400 children annually, along with the development of 21,000 square feet of commercial real estate, development of 25 single family homes and the rehabilitation of 14 multifamily housing units.
Parker earned her bachelor’s in Urban Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and her master’s in Public Administration and City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Maggie Parker Selected for Inaugural CDFI Opportunity Fellows Program
