Jeannine has been the chief executive officer of the Community Development Bankers Association, the national trade association of the community development bank sector, since its founding in 2001. As the voice and champion of the industry, CDBA educates policymakers and stakeholders about the importance of the sector and the needs of the low- and moderate-income communities they serve. It helps members build capacity and provide solutions so they can better serve their communities.
Jeannine leads CDBA's policy and advocacy efforts and has been an instrumental force in shaping the community development finance sector since Congress created community development financial institutions in 1994. Through her stewardship, CDBA’s steady voice has been a driving force behind the growth of CDFIs and minority depository institutions and has been a leading ally in supporting their mission to bring capital to underserved communities.
Jeannine is also CEO of Partners for the Common Good, a loan fund certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a community development financial institution. Partners operates primarily as a national CDFI intermediary that finances affordable housing and community facilities. Under Jeannine's leadership, Partners established the CDFI industry’s first national loan participation network and now works with more than 70 CDFI lending partners to advance underserved communities.
Partners and CDBA are separately governed but share the same mission, work together in pursuit of common goals, and often speak in a unified voice.
Jeannine served for more than six years as a senior member at the Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which became the nation's leading investor and funder of community-based financial intermediaries and traditional banks and thrifts engaged in community development finance activities. Jeannine was a leader in designing and implementing fund programs and establishing the systems for its operations.
She joined the CDFI Fund after serving as a senior policy advisor for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. During her five years with the committee, she played a key role in drafting many of the laws that currently govern the Department of Housing and Urban Development's programs, as well as monitoring and providing oversight of federal regulatory agencies that administer laws affecting the availability of credit in underserved markets.
Jeannine received a master's degree in urban planning from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and her undergraduate degree from Aquinas College.
