Our Team
1 team. 8 languages including: Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, French, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole (plus dog talk)
Gerardo Espinoza
Executive Director
Gerardo has served as Executive Director of LEAF for the last nine years, spearheading the Fund’s growth at the national level and developing financing and technical assistance programs for small businesses in Massachusetts. Gerardo joined LEAF after spending many years in the commercial banking and investment management field. For 10 years Gerardo was Vice President at First National Bank of Chicago, and 15 years in investment management in the positions of Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President with Baring Asset Management and John Hancock funds. Gerardo serves as an advisory member of the annual Federal Reserve's Financial Innovations Roundtable, a member of the Boston Federal Reserve's Working Group on Wealth Inequality, and a board member of the Food Coop Initiative, the Boston Industrial Development Financing Authority, and Third Sector New England. He has a master’s degree in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Virginia Berman
Communications & Outreach Director
Virginia joined LEAF in 2021 after twenty years of developing the worker-cooperative, Equal Exchange, which became a global fair trade food leader. She is helping tell LEAF's story so it reaches the small businesses that need LEAF's services. She holds a Master of Science from The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Agriculture Food and Environment at Tufts, and a BA from Bates College.
Juniper
Chief Enjoyment Officer/ Dog
Amy Brown
Loan Associate
Amy joined LEAF as a Loan Associate, in 2021 bringing 15 years of experience in office administration and business analysis. Before joining LEAF, Amy spent 10 years at Fidelity’s Retirement Services Company as a project manager. She received a BA in International Studies from Macalester College and completed graduate coursework in Resource Economics & Policy at the University of Maine. After completing her undergraduate program, she served for three years as an agricultural volunteer with the Peace Corps in the Shaba region of Zaire.
Fatiha Ainane
Senior Financial Analyst
Fatiha Ainane joined LEAF's Elevate Small Business lending and technical assistance team in 2023. For 10 years of experience including Lending Director with the national CDFI, Accion. As Lending Director, she helped underserved small business owners access capital and technical assistance. Fatiha holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Northeastern University. She enjoys spending her free time volunteering for local organizations such as the YWCA in Malden, ACEDONE, Main Street JP, and the American Association of Arab Women.
Jordan Browne
Financial Analyst
Jordan joined the LEAF team in 2023 to support the Elevate Small Business Program and Uplift Procure. Prior to LEAF, Jordan worked in data analytics at the Greater Boston Food Bank and in project finance for commercial solar PV assets at Ameresco. Jordan graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mathematical Economics from MIT.
Amine Benali
CFA, Managing Director, Strategy & Development
Amine is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and brings deep experience in investment analysis and management. He joined LEAF after 19 years as an investment analyst and portfolio manager of Emerging Markets and Global Natural Resources. He was an equity analyst at Baring Asset Management, as Senior Research Officer at John Hancock Advisors, and as Managing Director at Manulife Asset Management. He has co-managed equity portfolios with up to $1.8 billion in AUM. Amine has devoted himself academically and professionally to development economics. He is also an entrepreneurship Lecturer at Northeastern University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in Economics from Boston University.
Josh Glickenhaus
Director, California/ Senior Loan Officer
Josh joined LEAF in 2019. Josh manages LEAF's financing activities in California. Josh is committed to growing LEAF's portfolio of loans to cooperative enterprises, scaling its social impact while maintaining strong financial performance. Before LEAF he worked in the community development finance sector in Philadelphia, including lending to small businesses and analyzing CDFIs as investment opportunities. He has a BA from Swarthmore College and an MA from Rutgers University in City and Regional Planning.
Christopher Hunter
Director of Advisory Services
Chris joined the LEAF team in 2017 to support the growth of the Elevate Small Business program for Massachusetts. Chris graduated with a degree in Business Analytics and Operations Research from MIT. He uses his finance and economics background to lead LEAF's Technical Assistance Program.
Rebecca Lin
Systems & Operations Coordinator
Rebecca manages LEAF’s general operations and data systems. Rebecca tracks LEAF's clients’ progress and measures the impact of LEAF's and their work. Before joining LEAF, she started a branch of the micro-enterprise Threads of Hope and interned with Artistri Sud, an NGO that provides business coaching to artisans in the developing world. Rebecca graduated from McGill University with a BA in Economics and Social Entrepreneurship.
Carol Ann McAuliffe
Chief Financial Officer
Carol Ann McAuliffe has over 30 years of experience in the Financial Services and Non-Profit sectors, including serving as Vice President at Fidelity Investments where she led accounting, operations, and mutual fund valuation. Before joining LEAF, Carol Ann was the CFO and Director of Strategy at Project Hope Boston, where she led a high-performing finance team responsible for a wide array of functions including analyzing financial reports, budgeting, and managing payroll and vendor payments. Carol Ann holds a MBA from Boston University and a BS from Boston College.
Matthew Pires
Financial Analyst
Matt joins LEAF as a financial analyst after a decade working as a structural engineer. He uses his quantitative and problem solving skills to support LEAF’s Elevate Small Business Program. Matt served as Director and Chairperson of the board of FSILG Cooperative, Inc from 2012 to 2019. He also is a small business owner in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Matt graduated from MIT with a M.Eng in Structural Engineering and S.B. in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Alan Singer
Director, Healthy Food Financing / Senior Loan Officer
Alan joins LEAF after working almost twenty years at the Franklin County CDC in Greenfield, MA as Lending Director. Before that, Alan worked for years on Wall Street as a Fixed Income Investment Analyst. Alan is both formally credit trained by a major commercial bank and has also worked as senior credit officer for what is now Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Alan holds both his undergraduate degree in Economics and Spanish and MBA from Rutgers University.
James Louney
Consultant, Investor Accounting
James Louney, CPA, was LEAF's CFO for 12 years. He transitioned to become a part-time consultant for LEAF supporting the CFO and with LEAF's investor accounting. Before LEAF James worked with Deloitte in the United States and Europe. He is a graduate of Boston College with a degree in Accounting.
José Luis Rojas Villarreal
Chief Lending Officer
José Luis started with LEAF in 2019. He co-manages the fund with Gerardo, and leads the Mass Food Trust Program. Before joining LEAF Jose Luis was a Community Investment Lending Officer at Boston Private Bank and the Community Group Manager at Mass Growth Capital, providing credit to small businesses located in disadvantaged communities of Massachusetts. Before that José Luis was the head of lending at Root Capital which focused on financing small and growing rural businesses in Latin America and Africa. He has a master’s degree in Economic Development and International Finance from Columbia University and a BA in Economics and International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. José Luis is bilingual in English and Spanish, proficient in French, and has some knowledge of Portuguese. He currently serves on the Cambridge School Committee.
Mary Wong
Director, Affordable Housing / Senior Loan Officer
Mary joined LEAF in 2023 and is focused on developing and managing LEAF’s financing activities for community land trusts. As part of this effort, she helps implement and administer the City of Boston’s revolving loan fund for the Greater Boston Community Land Trust Network. She joins LEAF after twenty years in the investment management industry. She began her career on Wall Street with Citicorp / Salomon Smith Barney as an equity analyst covering emerging markets. From there she was a portfolio manager covering international markets at Loomis Sayles and FL Putnam Asset Management. She holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and two master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Julie Cecere
Senior Accountant
Julie Cecere joined LEAF in 2023 with 10 years of accounting experience. She was a senior accountant at Project Hope, a Boston-based non-profit. Before that, she worked as an accountant for software companies in Cambridge, MA. Julie holds a Graduate Degree in Accounting from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Science from Keene State College.
LEAF Board of Directors
LEAF operates under the guidance of an eleven-member board of directors. Each member has substantial experience with cooperatives, community development, banking, and finance.
Amine Benali
LEAF
Christopher Hunter
LEAF
Damilola Odetola
National Cooperative Bank
Dr. Christina Clamp
Author, Cooperative Educator, SNHU
Terry Lewis
LIA Advisors
Alex Pyle
Sheehan, Phinney, Baas & Green P.A.
Gerardo Espinoza
LEAF
Conor McFarland
LEAF
Kerwin Tesdell
Community Development Venture Capital Alliance
David Hammer
The ICA Group
Shelly Miller
The ICA Group