As CEO of ICIC, Steve leads a dynamic and growing team of professionals dedicated to achieving economic prosperity in America’s inner cities. Steve is focused on setting ICIC’s strategic direction, leading the organization through a period of rapid growth and extending ICIC’s national visibility and brand. He directs ICIC’s efforts to ... Read More

Howard Wial is Senior Vice President and Director of Research at ICIC. A specialist in urban and regional economic development, he is responsible for designing and overseeing a research agenda to promote the revitalization of economically depressed communities. Howard has extensive experience as an economist and economic policy advisor. He has ... Read More

Oksana Bondar serves as ICIC’s Chief Financial Officer and is the lead on finance and accounting.  She also oversees ICIC’s human resources administration, IT and office management. Oksana has ten years of experience in the nonprofit sector.  Prior to joining ICIC, she served as director of finance and operations at the ... Read More

As senior director of urban business initiatives, Sonia manages ICIC’s partnership with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and Santander Bank’s Cultivate Small Business programs. Prior to joining ICIC, Sonia worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC, World Bank Group) driving business development and knowledge management programs. With a passion for growing the ... Read More

As a Director on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) team, Diego plays an important role in ICCC’s cohort management, including the development of recruitment strategies, designing internal team goals, analyzing recruitment channels, and cultivating relationships with inner city CEOs across the U.S. Before joining ICIC, Diego worked as a Registered Representative ... Read More

Liz Pugh serves as the director of development, overseeing the implementation of ICIC’s fundraising and alumni relations strategy. She is responsible for maintaining ongoing relationships with ICIC’s current partners, as well as a cultivating new prospects to support our expanding thought and practice leadership. Prior to joining ICIC, Liz worked in nonprofit ... Read More

Jacqueline serves as ICIC’S Director of Talent and Culture. Born and raised in Boston, Jacqueline grew up in Roxbury where the ICIC office is located. She has worked in local non-profits for the majority of her career, and is very familiar with the diverse culture in the area. Jacqueline has both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in ... Read More

As a Senior Associate of the Inner City Capital Connections program, Michael Shore is responsible for assisting in the development of the program’s scope, strategy, content, and data. He is also responsible for building coalitions in local markets with civic, not for profit and corporate stakeholders. Prior to ICIC, Mike was ... Read More

As Deputy Director, Kelsey Ray’s primary focus is the implementation of the outreach, recruitment, application and selection processes for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Prior to ICIC, Kelsey worked for Nokia within the project management and business management departments. Before that, Kelsey worked as the Country Director of Business Development for ... Read More

Anna Marie Cruz serves as the Western Regional Manager on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) team, cultivating relationships with entrepreneurship ecosystem leaders, liaising with funding partners, and recruiting small business owners for the ICCC program. Prior to joining ICIC, Anna Marie Cruz was a community loan officer for leading mission-based ... Read More

As executive assistant to the CEO and administrative manager, Sarah Levis Desmond is responsible for managing the calendar of the CEO, travel arrangements and correspondence of the executive team. Sarah also assists with managing special projects and events at ICIC. Prior to joining ICIC, Sarah worked in the Office of the ... Read More

As an Analyst on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses team, Danielle focuses on the implementation of the program’s outreach, recruitment, application, and selection processes. Prior to ICIC, Danielle worked on the PR team at CTP, a Boston-based marketing agency, where she created strategies and identified industry trends to generate media ... Read More

As Office Manager of ICIC, Ryan oversees the day to day operations of the organization while maintaining the IT needs of the office. Prior to ICIC Ryan worked for Rocky Mountain Youth Corps as a spike crew member, maintaining hiking trails in the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico. Additionally, during his ... Read More

As an Analyst on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses team, Monica focuses on the implementation of the program’s outreach, recruitment, application, and selection processes. Prior to working at ICIC, Monica worked in the environmental sector, including a 2-month field research project in Costa Rica where she developed a directed research project ... Read More

As an urban business initiatives senior associate, Nicaela Chinnaswamy’s primary focus is the implementation of the outreach, recruitment, application and selection processes for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Prior to ICIC, Nicaela worked on statewide and congressional political campaigns in Massachusetts where she implemented and analyzed polling data to direct campaign staff and ... Read More

As an analyst on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses team, Kaitlyn focuses on the implementation of the program’s outreach, recruitment, and selection processes. Prior to ICIC, Kaitlyn worked for Ararat Jewelers helping the company re-develop their website, business, and media strategy, and for Mercy Corps as a Business Development Intern. Kaitlyn ... Read More

Lara Crawford serves as the Staff Accountant. Lara performs a variety of duties supporting the CFO special projects and managing general accounting and financial processes of the organization. Prior to joining ICIC, Lara led business recruitment and attraction for several large cities throughout the U.S. specifically, Boston, MA and Houston and Austin, TX. ... Read More

As a senior research analyst at ICIC, Peter utilizes academic and applied practice to support and lead a number of research and advisory projects. A skilled data and survey analyst Peter assists with the ongoing management and operationalization of ICIC’s Inner City 100 alumni database, identifying and disseminating core insights ... Read More

As a Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Team, Dustin is responsible for cultivating relationships with business owners from across the country.  Dustin Farris joins ICIC after a year of service as an AmeriCorps member at CityYear, working in a 4th grade classroom at the Mather Elementary School ... Read More

As Senior Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Team, Natalie partners with key stakeholders to identify and recruit businesses for the ICCC programs in Baltimore, San Diego, St. Louis, and Houston. She manages the webinar component of the ICCC program by identifying topics, securing speakers, and scheduling webinars. ... Read More

As the Communications Associate, Julie works closely with senior leadership to develop ICIC’s brand by supporting the organization’s robust dissemination and engagement initiatives. Prior to joining ICIC, Julie helped develop and build a startup within BCG Digital Ventures in San Francisco, where she managed communications for the entrepreneur in residence program. ... Read More

As Senior Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Team, Nadia partners with key stakeholders to identify and recruit businesses for the ICCC programs in Sacramento, CA, Stockton, CA, and Portland, OR. In addition, Nadia manages the One-on-One Coaching component of the ICCC program by leading efforts around ... Read More

In her role as Senior Associate, Vi plays a critical role in a variety of existing and new initiatives within ICIC. They include managing recruitment for Inner City 100, spearheading organization-wide continuous improvement efforts, and supporting the organization’s transition to Salesforce and undertaking of special projects. Prior this position, she ... Read More

In her role as an urban business initiatives Senior Associate, Maggie works on implementation and organization of both the Inner City 100 and Santander Cultivate Small Business programs. Her focus includes the application and selection process, and the organizing and planning of events for both programs within ICIC. Prior to joining ... Read More

As an Analyst on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses team, Chris focuses on the implementation of the program’s outreach, recruitment, application, and selection processes. Prior to ICIC Chris worked as a business to government sales development representative at ClearGov, a Massachusetts based software company. There he aided the company’s outreach ... Read More

As Lead Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) team, Marynee is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders to recruit business owners for the ICCC programs in Hartford, CT, Chicago, and Memphis. In addition, Marynee oversees all ICCC-related communication, including managing ICCC social media channels. In addition ... Read More

As a Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Team, Amber is responsible for building relationships with inner city CEOs and members of the small business community across the country. Prior to joining ICIC, Amber worked as an Executive Assistant for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico, a ... Read More

As a Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Team, Derek is responsible for building relationships with inner city CEOs and members of the small business community across the country. Prior to joining ICIC, Derek worked as a Research Associate for Nockamixon Impact Development, an early stage social impact consultancy.  ... Read More

Chris brings a diverse skillset and background in academic research, local government policy, and socioeconomic data analysis to ICIC. As a senior research analyst, Chris primarily engages on projects relating to economic development and cluster growth and provides support in the form of qualitative and quantitative analysis of inner city ... Read More

As the Individual Giving Analyst, Callan serves the Development team through the maintenance and expansion of the individual giving program. In addition, she manages the annual appeals process, acknowledges and tracks gifts, and provides support to the Executive team’s fundraising efforts. Prior to ICIC, Callan worked as a project intern for ... Read More

Alejandro is the Corporate and Foundation Associate at ICIC, charged with overseeing the cultivation and stewardship of relationships with key investors. In addition, he develops fundraising strategies, crafts grant proposals, manages contract obligations, and maintains ICIC’s CRM database. Prior to ICIC, Alejandro worked at IBA – Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion ... Read More

As a Program Coordinator on the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) Team, Maria is responsible for building relationships with inner city CEOs and members of small business communities across the country. Prior to joining ICIC, Maria interned at Graduate Women International (GWI) in Geneva, Switzerland. GWI is a non-governmental organization working to ... Read More

Prior to joining the ICCC team, Indhira worked with local artists to build their brands and gain exposure in their communities, through social media consulting as well as photography and styling services. Indhira discovered her passion for helping small businesses thrive when she was introduced to a local fashion designer ... Read More

As a senior analyst on the Research and Advisory team, Devon is a key contributor to ICIC’s foundational research on inner cities, including work on the definition of an inner city and on inner cities’ economic and social conditions. Working with Census data and GIS mapping tools, Devon applies expertise ... Read More