LAFAYETTE SQUARE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / Credit
Abhay Patel is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Abhay served as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions at Butler Snow Advisory, where he led sell side, buyside and capital raise transactions for companies in the lower- and middle-market. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Abhay served as interim CEO and Board member for the Pelican Institute, where he led the organization through an executive transition and was primarily responsible for supporting Smart on Crime - a public-private partnership that led the passage of historic criminal justice reform legislation in Louisiana. Prior to that role, Abhay was a 2016 candidate for the United States Senate in Louisiana. Before his campaign, Abhay served as Vice President of Business Development for the New Orleans Business Alliance(NOLABA), where he led the firm's business retention, expansion and attraction platform.
Prior to entering the public sector, Abhay spent most of his career as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in New York. While there, he worked on transactions raising over $30 billion of debt and equity capital for leading U.S. companies and advised on several notable mergers and acquisitions. Abhay graduated from Louisiana State University and holds a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate of the Executive Office
Aishu Nallapillai is an Associate of the Executive Office of the holding company. Aishu helps the Chief of Staff oversee operations & strategic development both at the holding company and within the firm's divisions.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President on the Legal Team
Akofa Tsiagbe is a Vice President on the Legal team at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Akofa was an associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP in the bank finance group where she worked on leveraged finance transactions including cross-border acquisition financings and chaired the firm's global Black attorney inclusion network. Akofa spent six months on secondment at Citibank's office in London, where she covered the high yield desk.
A first generation Ghanaian-American, Akofa grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and holds a B.A. in Politics, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of San Francisco and a J.D. from Berkeley Law.
Akshay Yadav is an Associate at Lafayette Square. He has seven years of experience in building business intelligence reports and dashboards for clients in multiple industry domains and utilizes these skills to help organizations make insightful business decisions.
Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Akshay worked with InMoment, Inc. and Inautix Technologies.
Akshay holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics from the University of Pune and a Master of Science, Information System from the University of Utah.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Coordinator
- Business Development Coordinator / Strategy
Amber Willis is a Business Development Coordinator at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Amber served as an Executive Assistant at Greenspring Associates. Previously, she has held roles as Business Development Administrator at The Weinberg Group, Practice Administrator at Promontory Financial Group and Executive Assistant to a member of Congress.
Originally from Palm Springs, CA, Amber earned a Bachelor of Arts in Politics with a double minor in Philosophy and Theology.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Head of Client Audit / Credit
Andrea Felesky is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square with over twenty years of experience across financial accounting, transactions, and public offerings. Prior to joining Lafayette, she was a Senior Director at RSM US in the technical accounting consulting space. Previously, Andrea served as a Director at KPMG, LLP and spent a significant amount of her career in the Deal Advisory practice, focusing on the sell-side, buy-side, and IPO transactions with public and private companies as well as private equity. She began her career as an auditor at Deloitte in 1998.
Andrea received an MBA from the University of Chicago and participated in an overseas study program at SciencesPo in Paris France. She did her undergraduate studies at Youngstown State University where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Finance with honors from Youngstown State University. She holds a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) certification.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / Credit
Andrew Fejer is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square, focused on business development and origination in the Mountain States/Four Corners geography. He brings twenty years of experience in corporate and commercial banking, most recently, serving as Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking at HSBC where he managed complex, multi-product, multi-country client relationships ranging from middle market to large corporate. Prior to his time at HSBC, Andrew spent fourteen years as an Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase, managing all aspects of middle market companies in the Commercial Banking segment.
Originally from Budapest, Hungary, Andrew holds degrees in Literature and Economics from the University of Colorado.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate / Credit
Andrew Guido is a Senior Associate at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Andrew was an Associate with Jefferies LLC, where he focused on making principal debt investments in middle market companies.
Originally from Florham Park, NJ, Andrew holds a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Sociology from Georgetown University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets / Credit
Andy Phelps is a Managing Director and the Head of Capital Markets at Lafayette Square with over 25 years of experience in fixed income and structured finance markets. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Andy served as Senior Managing Director and Head of Structured Product Business Development at Black Diamond Capital Management where he was responsible for the development, structuring, and investor base of the U.S. and European CLO businesses.
Before Black Diamond, Andy was the Global Head of Syndicate for the Structured Credit and Solutions Group at Natixis where he was involved in variety of products including middle market CLOs and lending facilities, broadly-syndicated CLOs, esoteric asset-backed and real estate securitizations. Previously, Andy held securitization roles at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs and began his career at J.P. Morgan Investment Management.
Originally from Wisconsin, Andy holds a Bachelors of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also actively involved with the non-profit organization Domus Kids in Stamford, which assists young people facing diversity and empowers them to pursue their path to self-sufficiency.
Angelo is a VicePresident at Lafayette Square. Angelo leads modeling efforts at the holding company and within the firm's divisions. Prior to joining Lafayette, Angelo was a Director at Morgan Stanley in the Merchant Banking Division.
Anne Havard is aSenior Associate at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Anne was theSenior Policy Advisor at the Tennessee Department of Human Services, where she led public benefits reform efforts, spearheaded the distribution of pandemic recovery grants to the state's nonprofit sector, and managed strategic partnerships. She also served as a policy advisor in two mayoral administrations in Nashville, TN, where she led initiatives to increase financial empowerment and economic mobility in the city's low-income communities.
Anne began her career in the nonprofit sector, working in nonprofit management and homeless services.Anne has served on the boards of the Center for Nonprofit Management inNashville and Volunteer Tennessee. She is also a graduate of Nashville EmergingLeaders and the National League of Cities Equitable Economic DevelopmentFellowship.
Originally fromAtlanta, GA, Anne holds a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Studies andReligious Studies from Vanderbilt University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Co - Head of Community Impact
- Managing Director, Co - Head Community Impact
Antony Bugg-Levine is a Managing Director and Co-Head of Community Impact at Lafayette Square, with a focus on developing partnerships and impactful services that drive change for communities served by the firm. Antony is a pioneer within the modern impact investing movement, with over 25 years of industry experience.
Antony designed and led The Rockefeller Foundation's impact investing initiative and oversaw its Program Related Investments portfolio from 2007-2011. He convened the 2007 meeting that coined the phrase "impact investing" and in 2009, co-founded the Global Impact Investing Network. He also co-authored "Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference," the first book on impact investing, in 2011. Antony has spent the past 10 years as CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), one of the largest Community Development Financial Institutions in the United States.
Antony holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale, a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs and has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and named one of the 50 most powerful and influential people in the US nonprofit sector by Nonprofit Times in 2018-2020. He currently serves on the Boards of the Global Impact Investing Network and Community Connections for Youth.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President on the Technology Team
Anurag Roy is a Vice President on the Technology team at Lafayette Square. He brings over seven years of experience in product development with multiple industry domains. Prior to joining Lafayette, Anurag was an Assistant Vice President at Barclays Investment Bank.
Previously, he has held positions with Apex Supply Chain Technologies, University of Cincinnati, and Symphony Teleca.
Anurag holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Science from Pune University and a Master of Science, Information System from the University of Cincinnati.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director / Credit
Aquil Stinson is a Director at Lafayette Square. Aquil has over 15 years of experience working with middle market companies and small businesses. Prior to joining Lafayette, Aquil had a 13 year career with JP Morgan Chase. He was an integral member of the business development efforts in the JPMC Mid-Atlantic Commercial banking expansion. He further managed the origination efforts in the Northeast, Southeast and Central markets. As the first banker hired to lead business banking in Washington DC, he was able to build a book of business of over 40 names in under 3 years. Aquil has experience as a principal owner in 3 independent businesses in the field of commercial and residential real estate development and logistics. He began his early career at Goldman Sachs, as a salesperson on their fixed income desk.
Aquil currently serves on the board of Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF). WACIF's mission is to support inclusive entrepreneurship in Washington DC. Originally from Philadelphia, Aquil holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University with a major concentration in finance.
Babu is a Director at Lafayette Square. Babu has over 18 years of technology experience with 14 years in financial services industry. Prior to joining Lafayette, Babu served as Senior Vice President in global market data technology services at Bank Of America Merrill Lynch. There he played a senior architect role for firm-wide distribution and large scale integration of high volume and latency sensitive market data for realtime trading, analytics and risk metrics. Prior to that he worked at Goldman Sachs a as Senior Technology Analyst in market data technology integration services. Babu started his career as an engineer at Honeywell in realtime distributed process control systems for Industrial Automation prior to joining Goldman Sachs in 2006.
Originally from Madurai, India, Babu holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Bharathidasan University, India and a Master's degree in Computer Science specializing in Data Science from University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Bart Winokur was the Chairman and CEO of the international law firm Dechert LLC for 15 years and is currently a Partner. Mr. Winokur is currently Vice Chair of the Board of Cornell University. He is also a Trustee and past Chairman of the Board at Brandeis University. He also is on the National Board of the Posse Foundation a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / Credit
Blair Badham is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Blair served as Managing Director, Mergers and Acquisitions at Butler Snow Advisory. During his time at Butler Snow Advisory, he led sell side, buyside and capital raise transactions for privately owned and closely held businesses. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Blair managed the market launch and business development activities of EBSCO Capital, the investment division of EBSCO Industries. Headquartered in Birmingham, EBSCO Industries is a privately held conglomerate comprised of over 20 businesses and more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue. Before his role at EBSCO Capital, Blair served in multiple capacities for Jemison Metals, a Birmingham-based steel service center, including strategic planning, cultivating new territories, implementing software-based supply chain management tools, and developing and managing relationships with Fortune 500 industrial conglomerates. Blair began his career in commercial banking, and spent five years with First Commercial Bank's commercial and industrial lending team, where he managed numerous middle market relationships for the bank.
Blair earned a B.S. from the University of Alabama in 2003 and an M.B.A., with honors, from Samford University's Brock School of Business in 2009. He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham and serves as treasurer for his church.
Bobby Patnaik serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Lafayette Square leading all technology initiatives within the firm. Bobby has 20+ years of industry experience with 14 years in financial services industry. Prior to joining Lafayette, Bobby worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) as the global head of Institutional/Fund reporting and reference data technology. Before that he spent several years developing and leading middle and back office technologies for GSAM. Bobby began his career working for several technology and telecommunication companies like AT&T and Verizon before joining Goldman Sachs in 2006. At Goldman, Bobby was part of the recruiting team focusing on hiring from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He also spent time mentoring women in engineering at Goldman Sachs. Outside of work Bobby loves to run, hike and watching Cricket.
Originally from a small town Keonjhar in the state of Orissa in India, he holds a Bachelors in Commerce/Accounting from Utkal University, India and Master of Science in Computer Science from University of North Dakota.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / Credit
Britt Stackhouse is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square, focused on business development and origination in the Southeast region on behalf of the LS Credit platform. He brings 20 years of experience in wealth management, investment banking and private credit roles. Prior to joining Lafayette, Britt served as Managing Director for Lampert Debt Advisors, a debt structuring, placement, and strategic advisory firm working with privately held middle market Companies located along the Gulf Coast and across the Southeastern United States. Previously, he spent time with CapitalSource (now PacWest Bank), Nations Equipment Finance (now SLR Capital Partners), and SunTrust Bank (now Truist) in Atlanta, GA. Britt has advised hundreds of clients and companies facing decisions involving transitional capital as a key driver of business and economic growth.
Originally from Pensacola, FL, Britt grew up assisting with the management of his family's third generation ice manufacturing business, People's Crystal Ice Company, until it was sold to the largest distributor of packaged ice products in the US. Britt holds a BA in Economics from the University of Georgia, in Athens, GA.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Investor Relations
- Vice President, Investor Relations / Strategy
Britten Harte is a Vice President, Investor Relations-Impact Specialist at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Britten served as a Director with Cohen & Steers in the Global Marketing and Product Solutions team where she was responsible for product information, marketing and ESG initiatives.
Previously, she spent five years working in Asia. Britten was a Research Analyst on the investor relations and marketing distribution team with BTG Pactual in Hong Kong and facilitated investment dialogue between American and Chinese companies and supported government relations at the American Chamber of Commerce in China. She began her career as a paralegal with Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Britten holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University. She is fluent in Spanish, intermediate Portuguese and continues her lifelong journey learning Mandarin.
Caitlin McLaughlin is the Chief People Officer at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Caitlin served as Executive Vice President and Talent Strategy Executive for the PNC Financial Services Group with overall responsibility for PNC's enterprise talent strategy.
Previously, Caitlin served as Managing Director focused on global campus recruiting and program management at Citigroup and held a number of roles within the organization and its predecessor companies, Salomon Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers.
Caitlin is a member of the executive committee of Vibrant Pittsburgh, The Forte Foundation and Carlow University. She is also a member of the board of directors of Partner4Work. She chairs the Talent Attraction and Retention Committee for the Allegheny Conference for Community Development. She holds a B.A. in Political Communications from the University of Pittsburgh.
Job Titles:
- Head of Investor Relations
- Managing Director
- Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations / Strategy
Caitlin Mixter is a Managing Director and the Head of Investor Relations at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Caitlin served as Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations at Brightwood Capital Advisors, where she was responsible for the development, marketing, and distribution of Brightwood's products and overseeing the firm's institutional and consultant relationships with corporate pensions, insurance, endowments and foundations, family offices and high net worth individuals.
Before joining Brightwood, Caitlin was part of the Global Business Development team at GoldenTree Asset Management, a credit-focused alternative asset manager. Previously, Caitlin held investment roles at GSO Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management. Caitlin started her career in Investment Banking-Leveraged Finance at Barclays Capital.
Caitlin has previously served on the Board of Trustees for Camp Onaway for Girls as well as the Caron Foundation New York Advisory Board.
Originally from Houston, TX, Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / Credit
- Member of the Board
Caleb Hsieh is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. He brings over 20 years of experience in investment banking and credit investing roles. Prior to joining Lafyette, Caleb served as Managing Director for Centerboard Securities, a strategic capital advisory firm.
Previously, Caleb spent 9 years with Macquarie Group, where he was a Managing Director in the firm's credit investing Credit Markets Division unit focused on specialty finance and lender finance as well as a Managing Director in the firm's Leveraged Finance Group and Financial Sponsors Group. Caleb started his career at JP Morgan and has held roles at UBS and Bank of America Securities in financial sponsors and leverages finance roles. Throughout his career, Caleb has completed over 80 lead managed transactions, representing over $55 billion in capital across several industry verticals.
Caleb is a Board Member and has been actively involved with JobsFirstNYC. JobsFirstNYC is a nonprofit intermediary organization and a champion for the workforce needs of out-of-school, out-of-work young adults in New York City.
Originally from Cleveland, OH, Caleb holds BS Management, BS Accountancy, BA Chemistry degrees and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director / Strategy
Casey Woo is a Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to Lafayette, Casey worked at Brightwood Capital Advisors both as an underwriter of direct investment opportunities and as a portfolio manager, facilitating both in/ out-of-court restructurings of existing portfolio companies. Casey began her career in the Leveraged Finance Credit Risk team at Barclays Capital.
Casey currently serves as a team lead for Minds Matter, a non-profit organization helping low-income, high-performing high school students pursue higher education, and sits on the Advancement Committee of her high school alma mater, Northfield Mount Hermon.
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Casey holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting with a minor in East Asian Studies from the New York University Stern School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate / Strategy
Cedric Rhodes is aSenior Associate at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Cedric was a Capital Development Associate for Agriculture Capital, a San Francisco-based Private Equity firm focused on investing in and operating vertically integrated and regeneratively-managed permanent crop businesses. Before his work at Agriculture Capital, Cedric worked at BTG Pactual's Timberland InvestmentGroup, where he focused on product development, transactions, and investor relations.
Cedric graduated from Middlebury College and holds a BA in International Studies.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director & Co - Head of Community Solar
- Managing Director, Renewables
Chris King is a Managing Director & Co-Head of Community Solar at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, Christopher was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs as a member of the Renewable Power Group where he led investments focused on various community solar markets. During his time at Goldman, Christopher worked to help acquire 1GW of assets at various stages of development. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Christopher worked at Cypress Creek Renewables (Cypress) in Corporate Finance and project M&A activities. While at Cypress, Chris worked on teams that helped develop, construct, commission and acquire over 1GW of solar assets. Before his career in renewables, Christopher was a strategy consultant with Deloitte in London.
Chris holds a BS from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director / Credit
Chris Carlucci is a Director at Lafayette Square, with a decade of experience focused on private credit and equity investments. Prior to joining Lafayette, Chris was a Director at Brightwood Capital Advisors, where he was responsible for fully managing a $1B portfolio of over 30 investments with responsibilities including underwriting and executing new investments, managing ongoing portfolio company relationships, leading restructuring efforts across underperforming investments, and serving on the Board of Directors of multiple companies. He started his career at Citigroup in Middle Market Banking.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Managing Director
- Managing Director of Finance
Christopher Shakal is Managing Director of Finance at Lafayette Square. Christopher has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, with a proficiency in building, innovating and managing operational infrastructures. Prior to joining Lafayette, Christopher served as Chief Financial Officer of TPRV Capital, as well as the Chief Compliance Officer in the early stages of the firm's operations.
Previously, Christopher has served a Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for several credit and multi-strategy asset management businesses. He spent several years in the product control group at Deutsche Bank. Christopher began his career as an auditor with KPMG.
Christopher is a member of and has served on the Finance committee of the SYMA association, which focuses on the betterment of the lives and educational standards of the Syrian and Lebanese community.
Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Christopher holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University with a concentration in Public Accounting. He is a New York State Certified Public Accountant.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Vera Institute of Justice
Damien Dwin is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lafayette Square, a commercially scaled investment platform built for and enhanced by a commitment to impact. Founded in November 2020, Lafayette Square deploys long-term capital alongside impactful services to local communities across the U.S. through its credit, real estate, and renewables divisions. The firm seeks to make positive social and economic impact in underserved communities. By increasing access to economic opportunity, we can build a more inclusive American economy.
Previously, Damien served as Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brightwood Capital Advisors from its founding in 2010 to October 2020.
Damien began his career as a trader with Goldman Sachs, New York & London, there earning the Michael P. Mortara Award for Innovation. He then further developed his investment expertise working for Credit Suisse, where he was the Co-Founder and Head of the North American Special Opportunities business until 2010. At Credit Suisse, Damien also served on the Vice President Selection Committee and led the Fixed Income Division Credit Training Program.
He is an active thought leader on mass incarceration, economic inclusion, racial justice and representation, and the use of purpose and profit for good. He has written for Entrepreneur and Inc.com.
A committed philanthropist, Damien currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for Vera Institute of Justice. He also serves on the non-profit boards of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Studio Museum in Harlem, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Woodberry Forest School, and Boys' Club of New York.
Damien received a B.S./B.A. from Georgetown University where he later served two terms on the Board of Regents.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President / Real Estate
- Vice President of Real Estate
David A. Williams is a Vice President of Real Estate, Impact and Partnerships at Lafayette Square. Previously he served as the Director of Policy Outreach at Opportunity Insights, a research and public policy lab based at Harvard University dedicated to using big data to improve upward mobility in America. He supported research and evidence-based policy change by creating and leading partnerships with communities across the country, including a regional economic opportunity initiative in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Creating Moves to Opportunity, a national housing mobility initiative.
David served as a senior advisor to the Mayor of Detroit where he was a member of the Mayor's economic development team, managing large-scale real estate and community revitalization projects, neighborhood planning initiatives, and policies related to economic mobility, land use, and equitable development. He has also served as an affordable housing and community development attorney and a non-profit management consultant.
David received an AB from Harvard College and a JD from Harvard Law School where he served as President of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, focusing on anti-foreclosure and anti-eviction law and policy.
David serves on the board of directors of Up for Growth and StriveTogether. He also serves as a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute and an advisor to High Opportunity Neighborhood Partners, a real estate firm dedicated to breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty by providing homes to low-income families in high opportunity neighborhoods.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Legal
- Managing Director, Legal / Credit
David Kraut is a Managing Director of Legal at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, David was a Managing Director and Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs, where he served as general counsel to multiple asset management businesses, including the Imprint impact investing and Petershill GP stakes businesses. Previously, David practiced corporate law at Debevoise & Plimpton and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and clerked for the Honorable Victor Marrero in the Southern District of New York.
David earned a BA, cum laude, in Ethics, Politics and Economics, and International Studies from Yale University and a JD from New York University School of Law in 2000, where he served as senior notes editor and executive board member of the Law Review. He currently serves as an Advisory Board Member of Hot Bread Kitchen Incubates, an incubator for small food businesses that provides access to affordable kitchen space, training, customers, and networks.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate / Credit
Dean Hoxholli is a Senior Associate at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Dean was an Investment Banking Associate at Capstone Headwaters where he provided merger and acquisition transaction advisory services to lower middle market and middle market companies and entrepreneurs.
Previously, he served as a Vice President at Valuation Research Corporation where he was a member of the company's portfolio valuation practice focused on valuing illiquid debt and equity securities in private companies for BDC's, private credit funds, pension funds and large institutional asset managers.
Originally from Fairfield, New Jersey, Dean holds a B.S. in global business studies and an MBA with a concentration in finance from William Paterson University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Co - Head Community Impact
Don Baylor is the Managing Director and the Co-Head of Community Impact at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Don served as a Senior Program Officer at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he oversaw the Foundation's portfolio.
Previously, he held roles as Senior Associate with the Urban Institute in Washington, DC where he focused on expanding economic opportunity through JPMorgan Chase, Citi, McArthur and Gates Foundation projects across the US and as Director of OpportunityTexas at Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities) in Austin. Don was a founding member for RAISE Texas, Texas Match the Promise Foundation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board.
Prior to that, he served as legislative and political Director at New York ACORN where he organized campaigns and advanced state and local legislation to curb predatory lending, broaden financial inclusion and expand access to affordable housing in New York. Don began his career as a Senior Consultant at KPMG's State and Local Government Practice, where he performed management and performance audits for school districts, state agencies, and municipal governments.
Originally from Texas, Don holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and M.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently serves as co-chair of the Asset Funders Network Board of Directors, serves on the boards of SaverLife and Equal Measure.
Doug Ebanks is the Chief of Staff at Lafayette Square. Doug oversees operations & strategic development both at the holding company and within the firm's divisions. Prior to Lafayette, Doug worked for Brightwood Capital Advisors as an investment professional, underwriting direct investments in lower middle-market borrowers. Outside of work, Doug is an athlete with 1st XV rugby honors for the University of Exeter and continues to play for New York Athletic Club.
Originally from Chatham, UK, he holds a BA in Economics with proficiency in Mandarin, and an MSc in Financial Analysis and Fund Management both from the University of Exeter.
Job Titles:
- Vice President / Credit
- Vice President on the Credit Finance Team
Dylan Cutinha is a Vice President on the Credit finance team at Lafayette Square. Dylan brings over ten years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, he worked as an Associate Vice President within Fund Management at The Carlyle Group from August 2015 to September 2021, focusing on publicly traded and private BDCs, and other private credit products.
Dylan previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers covering various alternative investment products. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Rutgers University.
Edith Cooper and her daughter, Jordan Taylor, are founders of Medley, a company that harnesses the power of small groups to help people grow personally and professionally. Ms. Cooper served as Executive Vice President, Global Head, Human Capital Management of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from March 2008 to December 2017 and, prior to that, she held various leadership positions in Goldman Sachs' Securities Division from 1996 to 2008. Ms. Cooper began her career in derivative sales at Bankers Trust and Morgan Stanley. Ms. Cooper is a graduate of Harvard College and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director / Strategy
Elisabeth Bothwell is a Director at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Elisabeth was a Managing Director at Semper Capital Management where she oversaw the firm's communication strategy, client service and distribution efforts.
Previously, Elisabeth led the Investor Relations effort at Structured Portfolio Management ("SPM"), was the Director of Investor Relations at Axonic Capital and has held roles at McKinsey & Company, Scout Capital and Cravath, and Swaine & Moore.
Originally from Riverside, Connecticut, Elisabeth earned a B.A., cum laude, from Northwestern University and holds an M.A. from Columbia University.
Eric Piazza is a Vice President at Lafayette Square, supporting all technology initiatives across the firm. Eric has over 14 years of financial services and manufacturing experience. Prior to joining Lafayette, Eric was a Vice President with Goldman Sachs' Consumer and Wealth Management Division leading cross-organizational customer experience and process digitization initiatives. Eric began his career working with automotive manufacturers such as Toyota and Delphi Packard.
He was a part of the Firmwide Black Network at Goldman Sachs, focused on convening leading thinkers to share insights and ideas on issues of importance to the firm's black community. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, he holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Managing Director / Strategy
- Managing Director on the Distribution Team
Fernando Lamas is a Managing Director on the Distribution Team at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Fernando was Partner at Ohana Real Estate Investors, a private equity firm focused on investing in equity and credit opportunities within the hospitality space.
Previously, he was a Managing Partner at BTG Pactual, a diversified global investment platform, where he served as the Global Head of Distribution for the Asset Management Division. Fernando led all the business development activities, resided on the firm's Asset Management Committee, managed key strategic relationships globally, and oversaw the launch of numerous investment verticals.
Prior to joining BTG Pactual in 2010, Fernando was a senior Managing Director and Partner at BSE Management where he was in charge of business development and marketing. Fernando also served as Executive Director in the Prime Services Division at UBS Investment Bank and also served as Vice President in the Private Client Services Division at Credit Suisse First Boston (formerly Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette).
Fernando holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tulane University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Executive Chairman
Frank Raines is a Co-Founder and the Executive Chairman of XappMedia and Bespoken two companies which specialize, respectively, in interactive conversational audio application development and testing. Mr. Raines is the retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fannie Mae, and a former Partner of Lazard Freres & Co. He has served as a director of six Fortune 100 companies. Mr. Raines also served as White House Budget Director in the Clinton Administration; earlier he served as Associate Director for Economics and Government in the White House budget office, and as Assistant Director of the White House domestic policy staff, in the Carter Administration. Mr. Raines is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and attended Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Sales and Trading at Morgan Stanley
Mr. Van Amson is Managing Director of Sales and Trading management and administration in the Institutional Equity Division of Morgan Stanley, where he has served for thirty years. Mr. Van Amson also serves as Head of the Firm's North American Analyst and Associate Advising and Development Program. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Van Amson was Vice President - Senior International Trader at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Van Amson is a graduate of Columbia University and the Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate in Human Resources
Giovanna Fasitta is an Associate in Human Resources at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Giovanna worked as a mental health clinician for incarcerated and justice involved individuals at local and federal institutions focusing on weekly individual and group counseling, career-oriented workshops, and other reintegration-focused services. Previously, Giovanna served as an academic advisor at New York University working with undergraduate and graduate students primarily in the Nursing programs.
Ignacio de Osma Gadea is a Senior Associate at Lafayette Square on the Technology team. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ignacio was a Software Developer at Goldman Sachs, where he focused on building strategic solutions to automate and streamline reports for Goldman Sach's Asset Management (GSAM) division.
Originally from Lima, Peru, Ignacio holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Computer Science with a minor in Economics from Northwestern University. Outside of work, Ignacio loves to play squash, soccer and run.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Legal
Ileana Stone is a Managing Director of Legal at Lafayette Square. Ileana has over three decades of experience advising corporations, private equity and venture capital funds on portfolio company investments, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. Prior to joining Lafayette, Ileana was the Associate General Counsel at Bank of America supporting the Global Principal Investments group for over seventeen years, which deploys capital worldwide in private equity, mezzanine and strategic transactions through equity financings, fund commitments, and acquisitions. During her tenure, assets under management were as high as $14Bn across over 1,200 investments. Ileana began her legal career at Katten Muchin Rosenman and prior to that was part of the mergers and acquisitions group of Ernst & Young.
Originally from Northbrook, IL, Ileana holds a B.B.A., Accounting and an M.P.A. with a specialty in Taxation from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Portfolio Management / Credit
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate / Strategy
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- Project Manager / Strategy
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate / Strategy
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head of Liabilities
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- Managing Director, Impact Credit / Credit
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Portfolio Services / Credit
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- Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications / Strategy
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- Chairman and CEO of FS Investments
Michael Forman is Chairman and CEO of FS Investments and has been leading the company since it was founded in 2007. Prior to co-founding FS Investments, Mr. Forman had a successful career as a corporate and securities lawyer and serial entrepreneur. Mr. Forman devotes a substantial amount of his time to civic endeavors and serves on a number of charitable boards.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Capricorn Investment Group
Michaela Edwards is a Partner at Capricorn Investment Group, one of the largest mission-aligned investment firms in the world. Prior to joining Capricorn in 2019, she spent nine years as a Senior Portfolio Manager with Norges Bank Investment Management, the sovereign wealth fund of Norway, where she lead the external global environmental portfolio. Before joining Norges, Michaela worked as a research analyst for Russell Investments in London and New York. She started her career on the trading desk of DNB in Oslo. She is a graduate of Cass Business School in London and Oslo University College. She is a CFA charter holder.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Head of Strategy
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Real Estate / Real Estate
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- CEO and Co - Founder of Nia Tero
- Director at First Eagle Holdings, Inc
Peter A. Seligmann is the CEO and co-founder of Nia Tero, a joint venture of the Emerson Collective, the MacArthur Foundation, the Mulago Foundation and Conservation International. Nia Tero works alongside Indigenous peoples and local communities in securing their rights, cultures, and well-being through agreements that secure the vitality of their oceans and lands. Peter is also the Chairman of the Board, and former CEO, of Conservation International (CI), a global nonprofit organization he co-founded in 1987.
Peter is also a Director at First Eagle Holdings, Inc. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the board of the Mulago Foundation, and served on the Coca-Cola Company's International Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2014. Peter was also named to the Enterprise for the America's Board by President Clinton in 2000.
Peter holds a Master of Science in Forestry and Environmental Science from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology from Rutgers University. Peter has Honorary Doctorates in Science from Michigan State University and Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / Credit
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- Senior Associate / Strategy
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- Chief Investment Officer of Schusterman Family Interests LLC
- Chief Investment Officer, Schusterman Family
Sender Cohen is Chief Investment Officer of Schusterman Family Interests LLC, the investment office for the Schusterman family, as well as for the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. Previously, Mr. Cohen was the President of Soros Capital, and prior to that he was the Director of Research and Head of External Allocations at Soros Fund Management. Mr. Cohen is a trustee of Yeshiva University and the co-founder of the Natan Fund. Mr. Cohen is a graduate of Yeshiva University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer, Credit / Credit
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- Director, Real Estate Acquisitions & Strategy / Real Estate
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- Senior Associate / Strategy
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- Managing Director, Head of Distribution / Strategy
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- Managing Director, Head of Loan Operations / Credit
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Foundation
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- Content Strategist / Strategy
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate / Credit