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Lisa Herrera

Sr. Director of Affordable Housing

Lisa Herrera joined Raza Development Fund in 2023 as the Senior Director of Affordable Housing.  She is responsible for leading the RDF’s national Affordable Housing Finance practice, expanding its housing outreach and impact investment efforts, managing a pipeline of prospective affordable housing investments, and structuring and closing investments.

She brings over 20 years of experience in community development finance, and most recently served as Managing Director for 3 Diamond Development, a Chicago based affordable housing developer with a focus on rural affordable housing.  Prior to this position, Lisa served as Senior Commercial Real Estate Director on the Community Development Lending and Investment team at Fifth Third Bank.  She covered a 10-state territory creating relationships with affordable housing developers and community development corporations within the southeast region of the U.S.  She has dedicated most of her career to the Community Development industry and on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) banking teams that create impacts in the Affordable Housing and Economic Development arena.

Lisa began her career in banking while working as a successful CRA residential mortgage lender at Northern Trust Bank before shifting her sights on commercial real estate.  She was integral in leading former MB Financial Bank’s New Markets Tax Credit and low-income housing tax credit lending initiatives, in addition to focusing on increasing the bank’s community partnerships throughout the Chicago area and surrounding communities.  Her expertise is in the application of layered, public and private financing in the affordable housing industry, which includes federal low-income housing tax credits, housing bonds, grants and other forms of subordinate finance.  She has closed over $500 million in debt on affordable housing and economic development projects and played a significant role in the creation of 5000+ affordable housing units.

Lisa has enjoyed a lifetime of traveling and is a lifelong Chicagoan residing in the Logan Square community with her husband and two kids.

Accomplishments:

  • Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Illinois University
  • Master of Business Administration in Finance and International Marketing from DePaul University
  • Serves on Board of Directors, executive committee member and loan committee member for the Chicago Community Loan Fund
  • Serves on Board of Directors for Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
  • Serves on Board of Directors for Chicago Housing Trust, appointed by the Mayor of Chicago
  • Serves as Treasurer on Executive Committee for The Family School, an interfaith religion education program
Phone 602-417-1400
Raza Development Fund (RDF) is the largest national, Latino-focused nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Driven by a mission to close wealth and opportunity gaps in Latino and other under-resourced communities across the United States, RDF provides responsible and attainable financial solutions to community-based organizations focused on health, education, affordable housing, climate resilience, homeownership, and entrepreneurship. RDF was founded in 1999 as a support organization to UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy nonprofit, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza. As a testament to its exceptional financial strength and impact, RDF stands out as one of the few CDFIs with a prestigious AA- S&P rating. Since its inception, RDF has invested more than $1.3 billion across 38 states, leveraging over $6 billion in additional capital.
In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of the Treasury policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Submit a complaint of discrimination, by mail to U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity , 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20220, (202) 622-1160 (phone), (202) 622-0367 (fax), or email crcomplaints@treasury.gov (email).

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