Michael Swack, a faculty member at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy and Paul College of Business and Economics, and the Director of the Carsey School’s Center for Impact Finance, was recently appointed by President Joe Biden to the U.S. Community Development Advisory Board. Swack was one of nine members named to the board, which advises the Director of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
The CDFI Fund focuses on encouraging economic growth and opportunity in distressed and underserved communities by investing federal dollars alongside private capital. The 15-member advisory board includes nine private citizens appointed by the President, along with the Secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Treasury, and the administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Swack, a longtime leader and innovator in the CDFI field, directs and founded the annual Financial Innovations Roundtable, a collaboration of the Carsey School and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. He’s a founding member of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). In 2019, he received the OFN’s Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award – the CDFI industry’s highest individual honor.
Swack’s appointment marks the first time he’ll serve on the CDFI Fund Advisory Board.
“Serving on this Board will provide me the opportunity work with leaders from across the field of community development finance. I’ll have the ability to explore how to better expand access for capital for the people and communities that need it most.”
“Serving on this Board will provide me the opportunity work with leaders from across the field of community development finance,” said Swack. “I’ll have the ability to explore how to better expand access for capital for the people and communities that need it most.”
Michael Ettlinger, Director of the Carsey School, said, “We are delighted that Michael Swack will be able to extend the work he does at the Carsey School, addressing inequities in access to finance, as an advisor to the tremendously important work of the CDFI fund.”
Deborah Merrill-Sands, Dean of Paul College, said, "Michael is well-deserving of this appointment that recognizes his years of work and impact in the field of community development finance and the trust President Biden has in his expertise to help guide policy at the highest level.”
About the Carsey School of Public Policy: The Carsey School is nationally recognized for research, policy education, and bringing people together for thoughtful dialogue to address important societal challenges. To its core, the Carsey School is about making positive change and bringing about a more sustainable future.
About the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics: Paul College is one of the best business schools in the nation. In a recent national ranking the college was the #20 most recommended business school by recent alumni. As a community, the college excites, engages and empowers students to think critically and globally, apply knowledge analytically, make decisions ethically and communicate ideas persuasively. Through rigorous academics coupled with real-world, experience-based learning, students build the confidence, knowledge, skills and persistence they need to lead, forge meaningful lives and excel in careers.
