LISC Leadership

Michael T. Pugh became CEO of LISC in October 2023. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, with a particular focus on expanding access to capital for underserved families, businesses, and communities. He spent more than a decade at the Harlem-based Carver Federal Savings Bank, leading the nation’s largest publicly traded African American-operated bank, with more than $720 million in assets.

Earlier in his career, Michael was a senior vice president at Capital One, N.A., where he oversaw 75 banking centers and $3 billion in deposits in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. Prior to that, he was a senior vice president at Citizens Financial Group, leading retail banking in Michigan and Indiana and overseeing 67 banking centers.

A native of Detroit, Michael graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in health care administration. He first became interested in community finance and helping connect people with access to capital while working as a bank teller to support himself in college. In recent years, Michael has volunteered his time on boards and in organizational leadership positions, including with The New York Bankers Association, The Economic Club of New York, the Community Development Bankers Association, and the Society for Financial Education & Professional Development.

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Prior to joining LISC, Christina was the CFO of Working Solutions CDFI, a San Francisco Bay Area microlender. During her time at Working Solutions, she focused on the migration to a single treasury management platform, financial management report creation, debt consolidation, financial forecasting and the implementation of a risk assessment based asset management function.

Christina also spent over two years at the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) as Vice President for Finance & Capital Strategies. In this role, she served as a liaison and resource for LIIF’s banking and other lending relationships. She also oversaw the corporate budget process, financial forecasting, investment portfolio management, treasury services, and cash management.

Before LIIF, she spent ten years at LISC as Senior Vice President for Finance & Capital Strategies. Prior to joining the CDFI industry, Christina worked as a Policy Analyst at New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, completing her service in Zambia, Africa. Christina earned her B.S. in Biology from Duke University and her M.S. in Urban Policy and Management, with a concentration in Community Development Finance, from The New School in New York City.

Ruth Jones Nichols, Ph.D., a former senior housing official in the federal government with decades of community leadership experience, joined LISC as the Executive Vice President of Local and National Programs in July 2024. She oversees LISC’s 37 metro-area program offices, the national Rural LISC investment program and a dozen sector-specific LISC programs designed to fuel economic opportunity across the country.

Dr. Jones Nichols most recently served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), having previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for public engagement at HUD. In these roles, she worked as a strategist helping design and implement housing policies, while also collaborating with public, private and nonprofit stakeholders on programs that fuel healthy communities and expand quality housing across the country.

In addition to her federal leadership, Dr. Jones Nichols spent decades working at the local and national levels on critical issues related to housing, jobs, racial and gender equity, education and food access. Her leadership positions span high-impact organizations including Chief Movement Officer at Feeding America; President and CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore; Executive Director at the YWCA South Hampton Roads; Director of Resource Development at the District of Columbia Public Schools; and Deputy Director at Communities In Schools of the Nation’s Capital.

Dr. Jones Nichols also served as an international management consultant for 17 years supporting the efforts of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in Ghana and Haiti.

In addition to her significant professional accomplishments, Dr. Jones Nichols has volunteered her time on several boards, including the African American Cultural Center of Virginia, Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Hampton Roads Workforce Council and YMCA of South Hampton Roads. She has also been honored with numerous awards, like the Inside Business Top 40 Under 40 and Women in Business Achievement Awards; Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities; and the Golden Hanger Award from Dress for Success Hampton Roads.

Dr. Jones Nichols earned her Ph.D. in social work from Catholic University of America as well as a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania. She also has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the College of William and Mary.