Our Team
The Driving Force Behind Our Clients' Success
Meet the Team
Carrie Sanders
Founder, CEO
Carrie has spent 15 years focused on community development finance. Prior to forming Hope Community Capital, Carrie was the Director of Lending and the Director of Structured Community Finance for a statewide Community Development Financial Institution where she managed the organization’s community development consulting practice, providing consulting to mission-based organizations to access the capital for high impact projects. She also managed the development of the organization’s successful New Markets Tax Credit program. Carrie has also worked as a senior consultant for a national accounting firm. In this role, Carrie assisted nonprofit organizations, and community development entities with raising and deploying a variety of economic development and affordable housing financing tools including New Markets Tax Credits (“NMTC”), Low-income Housing Tax Credits, tax incremental financing, and HUD grants and loans. Carrie worked at the City of Kansas City, Missouri as part of the City’s development finance division where she was an integral part of a team responsible for conducting front end financial analysis of economic development projects seeking public subsidy including TIF and brownfield remediation financing. While at the City of Kansas City, Carrie developed the City’s NMTC program and led the City’s efforts to apply for and win its first allocation of $40 million. Carrie’s career also includes experience in strategic planning for nonprofit community development organizations, public housing program evaluation, affordable housing finance with a particular focus on re-entry housing, and economic impact analysis. Carrie is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she earned her graduate degree in City Planning with a focus on community and economic development finance. Carrie is on faculty at Edgewood College’s Social Innovation & Sustainability Leadership Graduate Program and the School of Business where she lectures on topics of sustainable community development and social innovation.
Annabel Kuhn
communications & marketing intern
Annabel is a current undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Economics, Community & Organizational Development and Sustainability. Her primary interests lie in strategic communication, research and evaluation, fundraising & development, and measuring impact specifically within mission-driven organizations. During her time in Madison, she has worked on a Communication Plan Portfolio with Affordable Dental Care, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring hope, health, and opportunity by providing quality dental care to the uninsured and underinsured across Wisconsin. Additionally, she serves as the Captain and Fundraising Chair of the Club Field Hockey Team at UW-Madison, along with being on the Engagement Committee of the Wisconsin Admissions Volunteers (WAV). She is passionate about the connection between community engagement and quality of life, and hopes to be continuously invovled with initiatives that strive to create more equitable, thriving communities.
Christopher Malehorn
MANAGING DIRECTOR, CAPITAL MARKETS & IMPACT FINANCE
Christopher has spent more than 25 years focused on the community bank sector, developing a blend of expertise in public and private equity investments, valuation and capital raising, and merger and acquisition transactions. Before his position as Managing Director of Capital Markets & Impact Finance at Hope Community Capital, Chris was Vice President at a national Community Development Financial Institution, where he was head of the investing business line that provided equity and debt capital to mission-focused organizations. Chris led capital raising, fund formation, equity portfolio management, and strategic initiatives in this role. Chris has also worked as an investment banker as head of the financial institutions group vertical at Esposito Securities and at Ryan Beck/Stifel in the financial institutions group, completing over 35 capital raising and M&A community bank transactions for more than $6 billion in transaction value. Chris began his career as a corporate securities paralegal, where he completed over 70 capital-raising and M&A community bank and technology company transactions for more than $4 billion in transaction value. Chris graduated from Marymount University, earning his Master of Business Administration with honors and a concentration in finance. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from McDaniel College.
Corrie Beula Kovacs
Funding Advisory Consultant
Corrie has a strong background in entrepreneurship, storytelling, and consulting. While previously a performer who ultimately ran her own performance training studio, she has successfully balanced business management, program development and implementation, and strategic planning in her quest for growth. With experience working at multiple CDFIs, Corrie’s work with disadvantaged and tribal communities has provided opportunities to clients and organizations that led to transformative change in their lives and the lives of their communities. She is passionate about the power of relationships, experiences, and stories to create meaningful and lasting change. Corrie holds an EDFP (Economic Development Finance Professional) Certification from Grow America, earned an MBA through the University of the People, and is always interested in learning new things. In her free time, Corrie enjoys walking, biking, dogs, reading, watching baseball, and volunteering for various community causes.
Dave Porterfield
community development consultant - affordable housing
Dave has decades of professional experience in a wide range of community and economic development activities, including multifamily and single-family development, designing and operating financing programs, including both debt and equity resources. Dave has provided technical assistance to nonprofit organizations and state and local government agencies to design programs to address complex community and social challenges. He has extensive experience in designing and operating housing and financing programs for special needs populations, including people with disabilities, those experiencing homelessness and military veterans. His accomplishments include the development of over 3,000 units of multifamily rental and owner-occupied housing, the development of mixed-use commercial real estate, and the creation and support of specialized nonprofit housing organizations. Dave has served on a variety of government policy committees and is currently the Chairperson of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s Community Advisory Council.
Kristeen Reynolds
Open Access Fellow
Kristeen is a Texas certified public accountant and the CEO and founder of DrinKicks. DrinKicks is a CPG company that repurposes food waste and recycled materials into sustainable shoes. DrinKicks also has a strong emphasis on educating consumers about the power of the circular economy. Kristeen was named the 2023 Entrepreneur of the year by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She earned a Bachelors and Masters of Accounting from Lamar University. She is active in her community and serves on the Lamar University College of Business Young Professionals Board, the Reaud Honors College Alumni Advisory Board, and the Ron Brown National Leaders Network Council. Kristeen is an emerging real estate developer and working to bring the first 3D printed subdivision to her hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. She also owns a sports marketing company, real estate investment company, and serves as an advisor to various startups.
Joseph Dokken
CONTRACT Analyst
As a Contract Analyst for HCC, Joseph works with impact-driven organizations to help them identify, raise, structure and close community development finance solutions. A recent graduate, in college Joseph worked for a well-established venture capital firm where he focused on Commercial Real-Estate deals and related activities. He has experience leading inbound investment pre-qualification and due diligence, working closely with portfolio companies to assist in investor relations, audit documentation, research, and content strategy. Joseph graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Miles Launspach
Community Development Finance Consultant
Sierra Johnson
Senior Consultant/NMTC Practice Leader
Sierra Johnson brings more than 10 years of experience in the academic, nonprofit, and government sectors. She is a skilled facilitator, evaluator, and researcher with extensive experience in managing projects spanning a range of issues, including food insecurity, grassroots advocacy, and mixed-use real estate development. Prior to her position with Hope Community Capital, Sierra worked as a consultant for Sort Sol Group LLC, a leading consultancy focused on collective impact and social justice, where she strengthened social sector organizations by providing guidance on business modeling, collaboration, facilitation, governance, leadership, organizational effectiveness, strategy, and team development. Before working with Sort Sol Group, Sierra was the Agency Coordinator at Second Harvest Foodbank in Southern Wisconsin, liaising with community partners in 16 counties. Sierra is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer where she served in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Before completing her service as a Rural Development Advisor with Peace Corps, Sierra worked at the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service in St. Paul, MN, studying the fate and transport of pesticides and fungicides in agricultural soils and commercial turf. Sierra holds her bachelor’s degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
Careers
Hope Community Capital is dedicated to uplifting a diversity of thought and talent to disrupt how localities, cities, and states have been traditionally developed. We attract highly skilled employees, contractors, and subject matter experts to work with our clients and their beneficiaries.
Studies have shown women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications described. We encourage you to explore our job openings if our work speaks to you, even if you don’t think you check all the boxes.
