Team

Bill leads national programs supporting inclusive economic development efforts in LISC’s 38+ local programs by investing in people, places, and businesses. Bill has been with LISC since 2005, initially serving as LISC Indianapolis’ Executive Director, later as Program Vice President, and ultimately as Senior Vice President for Economic Development charged with the development of a cohesive national program structure. Under Bill’s leadership, LISC deployed over $230 million in pandemic relief funds to disadvantaged entrepreneurs, and previously led the investment of over $240 million to leverage $1 billion of investment in the core urban neighborhoods of Indianapolis. Prior to that, Bill was President of Southeast Neighborhood Development, Inc. (SEND) for 14 years, overseeing the comprehensive revitalization of the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis, and he also served as a Main Street manager. Bill has developed and co-manages a social venture building workforce homeownership opportunities, serves on the boards of several non-profits, and holds an undergraduate degree from Cedarville University and a master’s from Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning.

Read a portion of Bill’s publications here. 

Elizabeth Demetriou is a certified planner with 18 years of economic development experience serving as a facilitator for sustainable change. As the National Director of Economic Development at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) she directs two national programs (Market – Places and Small Business) and leads place-based economic development and small business initiatives that advance inclusive economic growth in communities across the country. She is charged with embedding economic development within LISC by developing systems to improve the delivery of services, piloting new programs, scaling successful initiatives, and ensuring economic development is integrated into LISC’s full range of products, services, and programs. Prior to joining LISC, Elizabeth served as Deputy Director at NY Empire State Development Corporation (ESD) and held several positions at the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) ending her tenure as Deputy Director. She has a Master’s of Urban Planning from Hunter College (CUNY) and is on the board of SBIDC and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA), where she also serves as Vice President and Secretary. 

Sarah Adams is an artist at heart and brings an artist’s vulnerability and dedication to her work at LISC. She’s inspired by connections—across teams, in relationships with donors, and with local ecosystems. In her role as Senior Economic Development Program Officer, Sarah brings people and programs together to provide flexible capital to Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Women, LGTBQIA, Veteran, and other entrepreneurs in underinvested communities. Most recently, she managed an $85 million grant program to support small businesses and drive systems transformation during this era of social and environmental change. Prior to joining LISC, Sarah supported small businesses and communities in both the private and non-profit sectors. Most recently she supported Habitat for Humanity’s local and international affordable housing projects, disaster recovery, and political advocacy work. Sarah lives in historic Hillsborough, NC with her family, and lots of plants and books. As a surfer and a sailor, she travels the world searching for waves and wind.

As an Economic Development Program Officer, Destiny is responsible for supporting a wide range of small business and business development organizations support initiatives; focusing on helping partners strengthen their services to support Black, Indigenous and People of Color, women, and veteran entrepreneurs and building inclusive small business ecosystems in communities across the country. Prior to joining LISC, Destiny worked as an Economic Development Specialist in Southern Maryland supporting economic development, business engagement, community development and entrepreneurial ecosystem building initiatives. Destiny is passionate about relationship building and being a community convener and connector. Destiny holds a master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thomas executes marketing campaigns for LISC’s inclusive economic development programs. This includes managing the website, newsletters, social media, client stories, and other promotional content. Thomas has over eight years of experience as a communications professional, serving at non-profit organizations on the local, regional and international levels. He is passionate about magnifying the voices of community members and creating a more equitable society through his work. Most recently, he acted as Marketing and Communications Manager at Phipps Neighborhoods, a community development organization based in the South Bronx. Thomas holds a Bachelor’s in Peace and Justice Studies and a Master’s in Public Communications from Fordham University. He currently lives in Queens, New York with his family.

Andrea Devening manages LISC’s Market-Places portfolio, place-based economic development initiatives designed to advance inclusive economic growth in communities across the country. Andrea has eleven years of experience working in multiple spheres of economic development, most recently managing GO Virginia, a statewide economic development initiative focused on creating jobs and diversifying regional economies at Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Andrea served in many roles at Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) before ending her tenure as Deputy Director and Acting Executive Director. Earlier in her career, Andrea spent seven years in the field of refugee resettlement in Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Andrea Devening is driven to strengthen underserved communities and passionate about inclusive economic growth. Andrea has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Mary Washington College and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute. Andrea is a lover of all things art, culture and nature and lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and their two children and chihuahua.

As LISC’s Program Officer for Economic Development, Emilio will be focusing on the development and expansion of LISC’s national network of Business Development Organizations (BDO). Most recently, he acted as Community Development Officer at LISC NY and was responsible for developing and implementing a portfolio of economic development and small business support programs and capacity-building initiatives. Prior to joining LISC, Emilio held positions as Project Manager at Navillus Contracting in New York City and as a Social Media Adviser and Latin America Correspondent at Politics Unmasked in Washington, D.C. He is an active participant in LISC affinity groups working to advance the organization’s DEIJ practices, including the Black and African-American Affinity Group and the Comunidades Affinity Group. Emilio holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Development from George Washington University.

Akilah manages the day-to-day development and implementation of corporate partnerships that diversify their procurement processes. She has over 18 years of service in the public sector, including eight years as a supply chain and certified diversity, equity and inclusion professional. Prior to joining LISC, Akilah served as the Business Equity Manager at the Port of Houston Authority where she served as the subject-matter expert and liaison to a network of individuals and local, state, and national organizations regarding small, diverse and women-owned business enterprise programs. Her acumen in economic inclusion, community partnership, and diverse-owned small business programming earned her the opportunity to serve on various boards and committees including a mayoral appointment to Commissioner for the City of Houston’s Office of Business Opportunity, and advisory councils for the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, and Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance. Her passion is cultivating business culture and working with community-based organizations to contribute to the development of the diverse-and women-owned business community actively and positively across the country.

As Assistant Program Officer, Kanika provides project management, technical assistance and coordination to support LISC’s Supplier Diversity program. Through her empathy and passion for helping to improve the lives of people in underinvested communities, Kanika has more than seven years of experience in non-profits, managing multiple grant-funded programs for underserved communities. Her grants management experience has focused on financial health and capacity-building programs for diverse- and women-owned businesses.  Kanika joins LISC after serving as Training Coordinator for Port Houston, where she established the first capacity-building training program for small, diverse- and women-owned businesses.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and resides in Houston, TX.

As the national team’s Program Assistant, Dejah helps coordinate the integration and expansion of LISC’s economic development programs. Raised in the Bronx, NYC, she studied urban institutions and cultural dynamics and received a bachelor’s of arts in Metropolitan Studies from NYU before continuing on to earn a Masters of Urban Planning degree at NYU Wagner. During her studies, Dejah held internships at the Waterfront Alliance in NYC where she helped with the organization’s fundraising programs and assisted with the coordination of their annual Waterfront Conference. Additionally, she worked on the Real Estate & Planning team for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership working with local government to develop plans for the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Cari supports LISC’s Market-Places programs through arts + culture initiatives and co-leads the Economic Development team’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) work. Prior to joining the Economic Development team in her current role, she spent two years studying community development in the Cleveland area through her graduate journey as a National Urban Fellow. Additionally, Cari previously supported façade improvement grants with LISC Indianapolis as an Assistant Program Officer. Her career is rooted in community organizing and has spent several years working with a congregation-based network in Pinellas County, FL advocating for affordable health care for historically disinvested communities. Cari received her bachelor’s from the School of Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and her Master’s in Policy Management from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. She is based in Indianapolis’ west side neighborhood of Haughville.

Armando is a formally and informally trained organizer, facilitator, and capacity builder. He is energized by empowering communities and building transformative relationships with his peers. Having established and led industrial land use and commercial tenant advocacy campaigns while working with the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development in New York, he is passionate about coalition building, economic justice, and creating robust policy foundations for equitable economic development. As an alum of the Center for Community Leadership and the Forefront Fellow of the Urban Design Forum, Armando is most comfortable when blending the complexities of program and policy design with the immediate needs of marginalized populations.