Calvin Terrell is founder and lead facilitator of Social Centric Institute; an organization he designed to provide education and training for all ages to enhance human interactions and global progress.  He is a former Assistant Director of the National Conference for Community Justice/Anytown USA Arizona Region.  He has taught for Upward Bound at Arizona State University and the Arizona National Guard's Freedom Academy. For the past twenty-five years, Calvin has lectured, trained, and lead comprehensive workshops for valuing diversity, equity, and justice building in schools, corporations, and civic organizations for thousands of adults, children, and youth throughout the United States. 

For his dedication to human rights, Calvin's been awarded with honors from faith, educational, civic, and activist organizations, as well as government institutions, including the city of Phoenix year 2000 Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. “Living the Dream” Award. The demand of his services prompted organizations such as Harpo Inc., Oprah Winfrey’s production company to contract Calvin to train executive producers, coach various members of the production team, and assist in their transition to the “O” network. He was also honored to be a contributing consultant in designing the Muhammed Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Most recently, the Obama Foundation sought Calvin’s collaboration with regards to community empowerment. 

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. Michael has also 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.

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. 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. 

Terrence Floyd is Vice President and Senior Social Impact Specialist at Wells Fargo specializing in philanthropic giving, community development, team member engagement and non-profit relationships. He is a Member of Wells Fargo Public Affairs group which focuses on 4 focus areas: housing affordability, financial health, small business growth and sustainability and environmental justice. Living in Connecticut overseeing the 6 New England states, he served on the boards of the CT Mortgage Bankers Association, Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, NHS of New Britain, NHS of New Haven, Partnership for Strong Communities, and the CT Fair Housing Center. He also serves on the LISC advisory board. Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. Living in Bristol Connecticut and has 2 lovely daughters. 

Mario J. Florez is a public health professional with over 25 years of experience in various fields including social services, real estate, and education. He has made it his life’s work and mission to serve vulnerable populations through direct services as well as strategy development and implementation of practice and policy across various sectors and disciplines.  Mario is currently the Senior Director of Community Benefits for UMass Memorial Health and was introduced to, and worked with LISC in his previous role as the Regional Director of Community Health and Well Being for Trinity Health of New England.   

Some of Mario's other roles have included Director of School Climate and Culture, Chief of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Learning, and Director of Equity and Inclusion.  His multi-sectoral experience brings a unique lens and perspective that informs his work through an equity and emotionally intelligent lens.  This adaptive leadership style is foundational to effecting social change to improve the quality of life for our populations that have been historically marginalized. 

Jim Horan, Senior Executive Director, leads LISC Connecticut’s work, including its longstanding focus on developing and preserving affordable housing and building the capacity of partners, particularly CDCs. LISC Connecticut’s strategic plan, adopted in 2020, also seeks to revitalize urban neighborhoods with partners, including anchor institutions, and build family income and wealth with a network of Financial Opportunity Centers. A commitment to racial equity underlies his goals. Prior to joining LISC in 2018, Jim served as Executive Director/CEO of the Connecticut Association for Human Services, a statewide antipoverty program that focuses heavily on the economic success of families. 

Before entering city government, Jim worked as associate director of the Connecticut Housing Coalition and as an attorney working on land use, affordable housing regulations and zoning at Robinson & Cole, a regional law firm. He earned his J.D. and Master of Planning from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelors of Arts in Government from Georgetown University. He has volunteered his time in a variety of capacities for Collaborative Center for Justice, the Association for Adult and Continuing Education, the Connecticut Asset Building Collaborative, and the Connecticut Center for School Change.

Lily Lopez is an experienced senior-level financial services, operations, and community relations professional with over two decades in banking and relationship management. With 30 years of experience in the private and public sectors, Lily is a Senior Vice President in Citi’s Community Investing and Development function, having joined the organization in 2000. In this role, Lily collaborates with Citi businesses to expand access to financial services by connecting Citi’s people, expertise, products and services to help expand equitable opportunities for all through initiatives aligned to Citi’s priorities. She accomplishes this by leveraging Citi’s unique platforms that create pathways to economic opportunity.  

Lily has served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Association for Human Services and Advancing CT Together and was a member of LISC Connecticut Local Advisory Council. Lily holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Post University. She resides in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she volunteers her time to support the local community. 

Since earning his doctorate from Cornell University in 1980 (where his dissertation focused on residential mobility patterns in New York City), James has presided over a program that has grown from a small housing rehabilitation organization to a sophisticated housing development corporation that concentrates on neighborhood stabilization, resident leadership training, community organizing, affordable housing production, historic preservation, and homebuyer education programs. He is currently the Executive Director of four separately incorporated 501(c)(3) organizations on the NHS of New Haven campus. Jim has taught courses that focused on homeownership and homebuyer education and counseling.  He is personally committed to green building practices and environmental sustainability. Jim describes himself as a political junky that enjoys time with family and friends, playing trivia, and discovering different music.

Linda Fecteau is a Business Advisor dedicated to helping early childhood education and Child Care programs enhance their business practices. As a founder and former owner of a multi-site early childhood education operation, Linda now uses her expertise to consult with other Child Care programs and small businesses. Linda assists centers as they develop and implement fiscal policies and practices that save time and money. She is also the lead instructor for Administration and Supervision of Early Childhood Programs for Charter Oak State College. 

Her prior experiences include Quality Advising for the CT Afterschool Network, leading the Family Enhancement Department at LEARN, The Regional Educational Service Center, and serving as the Executive Director of two Non-Profit Youth organizations. 

Linda holds a Masters in Management from Albertus Magnus College and a BA from Norwich University. She is a trained Quality Advisor through the National Institute on Out of School Time and a graduate of the Georgetown University Leadership Institute. She is the Chairman of East Lyme Youth Services Commission and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, camping, and walking on the beach. 

Andrea Pereira was the Executive Director of LISC in Connecticut from 1998 – 2018. Under her leadership, LISC expanded from Hartford to create the Connecticut Statewide LISC program. Ms. Pereira managed robust programs of community development financing capacity-building and public policy that served urban communities and small towns alike. She was responsible for building and growing strong partnerships with community, public and private organizations, and collaborating to build a strong toolkit for community development and affordable housing. This toolkit included innovative programs such as Housing Connections, the Hartford Neighborhood Development Support Collaborative, the Fairfield County Collaborative Fund for Affordable Housing, Come Home to Downtown, Building for Health, a statewide fund for Transit-Oriented Development and a multi-million dollar portfolio of investment. Ms. Pereira has a BA in Urban Studies from Trinity College and an MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University. 

Angela Berry is the Office Manager and Assistant Program Officer for the LISC office. Ms. Berry manages the purchasing, payments, reporting, event planning, information technology, facility management, and onboarding process of new hires.  She also manages the AmeriCorps program for the LISC CT office.  Ms. Berry joined LISC in 2001. She previously worked in the insurance industry and has knowledge of nonprofit management and community development. Ms. Berry is active in her church, as a Sunday School teacher and licensed missionary and has her Bachelor of Theology degree. She plans and coordinates women’s meetings which feature expert speakers on health and wellness and other topics related to women. 

Debi Martin is a Program Officer for LISC Connecticut having worked with the program for 29 years. Over that span, she has fostered solid, lasting relationships across Connecticut’s community development sector and with LISC staff locally and across the country.  She works closely with the Executive Director on budgeting and overall financial oversight and serves as the liaison between local and national staff around internal operations. Debi currently leads community engagement efforts for the program. 

For the past 18 years of her career Lesley was a Senior Program Officer who managed the Connecticut Statewide LISC programs and provided technical assistance and investments for local groups in Connecticut’s cities, suburban and rural communities.  Prior to joining LISC in 2002, she worked for 14 years as a housing developer for New Samaritan; was the Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services in Stamford for 12 years, revitalizing the city’s West Side and South End neighborhoods; and began her career working for NeighborWorks and spent 4 years developing Neighborhood Housing Services in New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford and Stamford. 

Ms. Higgins-Biddle earned Masters and PhD degrees from Yale University and a BA from Beloit College.  A published author, she has over 45 years of experience in nonprofit housing and community development in Connecticut.  Recent volunteer affiliations include serving on the board of directors of Discovering Amistad, Inc., on the Town of Bethany’s Affordable Housing Committee and on numerous committees of the New Haven Friends Meeting (Quaker).   

For over 40 years, Mary Kay Garrow has held various leadership positions in the areas of community development, nonprofit management, minority job training, municipal governance, business development and capacity building, as well as solar energy, energy conservation, affordable housing finance, and transit-oriented development. She served as a Senior Program Officer for the Hartford LISC Program for 15 years.  Beginning in 2003, Mary Kay managed the Hartford Neighborhood Development Support Collaborative and shortly thereafter took on both capacity building and lending responsibilities. Mary Kay takes enormous pride in the incredible work of LISC’s talented community development corporations and was honored to partner with them during her tenure at LISC.  She holds an undergraduate degree from Marquette University and a graduate degree in Urban Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.