More News

Lisa Hall recalls her late father, civil rights leader Sampson Green Jr., taking her to demonstrations and meetings when she was growing up in Baltimore.

"Nothing happened as far as violence," said Hall, who was recently named president and CEO of Calvert Foundation. The Bethesda nonprofit lends money to build and renovate affordable homes and other projects to combat poverty in neighborhoods worldwide.

The early exposure to issues such as civil rights and economic justice made quite an impression. To this day, Hall calls her father, who also was a social worker, and her mother — retired schoolteacher and Baltimore resident Lorraine Green — her greatest inspirations.

"Their examples of hard work and personal social responsibility inspired me to find work that contributes to the greater good," said Hall, 45. "Economic justice is something I feel very passionate about."

Hall, who joined the foundation as chief lending officer in 2005, had been interim CEO since August. That's when Shari Berenbach, who had led Calvert Foundation since 1997, left to head the microfinance division of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

As the organization's board searched for a new leader, the directors realized they didn't have to look far, said D. Wayne Silby, board co-chairman and a foundation co-founder. "We concluded that the best candidate for this job came from within," he said. "I have full confidence in Lisa."

Hall's nearly 25 years of industry experience includes posts with the Clinton administration, Fannie Mae, JP Morgan Chase and Travelers Insurance. That range of employers prepared her well for her present position, she said.

"This job is a culmination of my previous experience," Hall said.

After earning a bachelor's in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Hall worked for Chase, arranging loans for small urban development projects in low-income neighborhoods in New York City. Following a stint with Travelers in multi-family real estate finance, she applied for the master's in business administration program at Harvard University.

"On my application, I said I wanted to work for a nonprofit," Hall said. "It is probably more common now to say that on an application than it was 20 years ago. I think that helped get me in Harvard."

With her master's in hand, Hall took on lending and policy posts at T. Rowe Price, the Enterprise Foundation and Fannie Mae. In 1999, she joined the Clinton administration as a senior policy adviser at the National Economic Council. She chaired the working group for Clinton's New Markets Initiative, which resulted in legislation and a tax credit program to encourage private investment in low-income areas.

Since Hall became leader of the lending division at Calvert Foundation in 2005, its portfolio has more than doubled to $190 million. No investor has ever lost money since the foundation's current programs were launched in 1995, even in the depths of the Great Recession, Hall said.

The foundation is independent from the Calvert Group of Bethesda, which formed the nonprofit in 1988 in collaboration with the Ford, MacArthur and Mott foundations. Calvert Group started in 1976 and has more than $14 billion in assets. It provides mutual funds that it says invest in socially and environmentally responsible companies.

The stellar investment record is due largely to Calvert Foundation's excellent reputation and committed investors, Hall said. "Our investors want to invest in projects for the social good," she said.

The foundation's investments have helped create more than 500,000 jobs for low-income workers, built or rehabilitated about 20,000 affordable homes and financed some 27,000 nonprofit facilities and enterprises, according to its website.

The organization has added more than 10 employees in the past year to reach about 50. Most of those are in Bethesda.

Hall keeps busy in community work, serving on the boards of numerous other nonprofits. Those include Mentors in Washington, D.C., the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities of Coral Gables, Fla., and ROC USA of Concord, N.H.

Leaders of those organizations sing Hall's praises.

"She's an outstanding contributor, with contacts and insight. She fulfills her role with integrity and commitment," said Paul Bradley, president of ROC USA, which helps resident corporations buy manufactured home communities from private owners. "Her knowledge of banking, finance and social enterprise has been particularly helpful."

Hall lives in Washington with her husband, Randolph Hall, and daughter. She enjoys cooking with her daughter and is involved in her Girl Scout troop. She also enjoys attending cultural events and was board president of the nonprofit Cultural Development Corp. in Washington.

Hall plans to embark on a listening tour in Maryland and nationwide, meeting with Calvert Foundation borrowers such as nonprofit leaders to hear about their needs and ideas. She also will work on a multi-year strategic plan to shape the group's future.

"Our mission is so important," she said. "I feel really honored to lead Calvert Foundation."

kshay@gazette.net