Team

As co-director of the national Family Income & Wealth Building program, Laura leads LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® and Bridges to Career Opportunities work, with a focus on wealth building strategies—including access to safe and affordable financial products, building short- and long-term savings, and creating opportunities for credit-building through accessible, fairly-priced financial products—micro entrepreneurship, and FOC site’s role in creating pathways to asset building and homeownership.  Prior to joining LISC, Laura worked at Helen Keller International and has a breadth of experience in program design, non-profit capacity-building and grants management. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a master’s in public administration from New York University and is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

As co-director of the national Family Income & Wealth Building program, Katrin leads LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® and Bridges to Career Opportunities work, with a focus on program sustainability and innovations including employer partnership development, retention and advancement, digital skilling, and FOC site’s role in creating pathways to homeownership.  After starting her career in communications at PolicyLink, she joined LISC to help grow the FOC and Bridges models, then launched a $32M financial capability grant program at NeighborWorks America, and spent time in Rural LISC collaborating with local partners to expand workforce and asset building innovations in rural America before rejoining LISC’s national team in 2019.  Katrin earned a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and a master's degree in public administration from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College-City University of New York.

Lorena Avillaneda is a Houston native with over five years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She co-manages two Salesforce platforms for LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network, Business Development Organizations (BDO) Network, and the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) by providing ongoing system maintenance, customizations, custom reports & dashboards, and any other program data needs. In addition to this, she facilitates virtual trainings and provides technical assistance to users. Before LISC, Lorena worked at a former Financial Opportunity Center® site in Houston where she held roles as a Career Coach, Executive Assistant, and Program Support Specialist while acting as the back-up Salesforce Administrator for the agency-wide platform. Lorena earned a Bachelor of Science in human development and family studies from the University of Houston with a credential as a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP).

Candi provides oversight to grants management operations for the Family Income & Wealth Building (FIWB) and Economic Development teams. This includes grant financial management and administration including budgeting, compliance, reporting, grant processes design and implementation. Candi has over 15 years of experience working in public service and the nonprofit sector. She has a passion for community action and service. Candi holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.

Thomas Brande executes marketing campaigns for LISC’s Economic Development and Family Income & Wealth Building teams. 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.

Julia provides technical assistance, grants management and program support to LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® and Bridges to Career Opportunities networks, with a focus on workforce development and digital equity and inclusion. She currently leads LISC’s SNAP Employment & Training initiative that connects Financial Opportunity Center® sites to sustainable federal funding, ultimately building local capacity to better serve community members. Julia has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit and corporate responsibility, including direct service, program and grant management, capacity building and cross-sector partnerships. She holds a BA from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in public administration with a focus on Public and Nonprofit Performance Measurement from Rutgers University-Newark.

Jessica brings to LISC over a decade of experience in the public sector, serving the community at the local government level and was actively involved in the Ohio CSEA Directors’ Association for several years. Jessica has experience serving on local boards including as Program Chair of the Wood County ADAMHS Board and has prior experience working in community mental health.

In her current role, Jessica focuses on data analysis support to LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) partners and co-manages our client relationship management (CRM) system in Salesforce. This includes utilizing raw data sets to derive valuable insights that contribute to data-driven decision making and enhance the organization’s network evaluation efforts.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Social Work degree from Eastern Michigan University. She resides in her hometown of Bowling Green, Ohio. 

Ana supports both the Family Income & Wealth Building (FIWB) team and Economic Development work by providing a range of administrative, grants management, and reporting functions. She also provides general operational support and technical assistance. Ana brings her experience with Salesforce and her background working in public service and the nonprofit sector to this role. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and is a lifelong New Yorker.

Valerie joined LISC’s Family Income & Wealth Building Team in June 2022 to increase equitable access to safe, affordable financial products for people living in underserved communities. She first joined LISC Toledo in January 2014 to establish and grow the city’s network of Financial Opportunity Center® partners. During her tenure with the Toledo office, she also provided capacity building and technical assistance to local non-profit and grassroots organizations, spearheaded local policy initiatives leading to a moratorium on new payday lenders in the city and partnered with statewide coalitions to effect Payday Lending Reform in Ohio.

Valerie is an attorney licensed in Ohio, a Housing Development Finance Professional, and a Board Certified Coach with over 20 years of experience serving in government and nonprofit positions. She completed her undergraduate studies in her hometown of Murray, Kentucky at Murray State University. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Toledo College of Law. She currently resides in Toledo, Ohio with her husband, Judge Joseph V. McNamara, and their merry band of four-legged family members.

Sandylane provides technical assistance, grants management and program support to LISC’s network of Financial Opportunity Centers® and Bridges to Career Opportunities programs specializing in financial products, housing and micro-entrepreneurship. With over 15 years of combined strategic and management experience, she joined the team from the LISC Houston where she acted as Program Officer providing support to the FOC Network and overseeing the Wells Fargo WORTH BIPOC Homeownership initiative. Sandylane is a Retired Army Veteran. She spent 11 years serving in the logistics operations field. Sandylane holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science in Business Occupations and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on Management & Leadership from Texas A&M University-Central Texas. She is a Doctor of Business Administration candidate from Prairie View A&M University. Sandylane is passionate about volunteering with various philanthropic organizations, especially those focused on closing the racial wealth gap.

Carolina has over 14 years of experience working in nonprofit in the Chicago area, including in grants management, data evaluation, contract regulations, fiscal management, programmatic design, and CRM administration. Carolina supports multiple LISC national programs including the Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network, Business Development Organizations (BDO) Network, and the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) as the Salesforce System Administrator managing over 750 users.  In addition, Carolina provides the FOC network with technical assistance and model implementation support. Carolina holds a dual bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in finance and management and is a Certified Salesforce Administrator.

Talia manages projects and grants focused on workforce development programming, capacity building and technical assistance initiatives for LISC’s Family Income & Wealth Building program. She also collaborates closely with team members and leadership to develop and raise funds for new initiatives and innovations, fostering the growth and support of LISC's FOC partner network in alignment with the organization's mission. Talia started her career as a first-grade teacher and has a decade of non-profit experience, primarily in skills training and workforce advancement. Talia holds a Bachelor's degree in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Texas at Austin and currently resides in her hometown of San Antonio.