Season 2

Episode Description. Real-estate developers as a class have a less than stellar reputation across much of the United States. You generally don’t become a villainous Hollywood archetype by accident, and it’s small-wonder given the countless stories of harmful gentrification where members of marginalized communities are pushed out to make way for a more profitable type of resident. However, many areas left behind by our unequal economic system are in need of some kind of revitalization. The question remains, then: can development be done right? For a new perspective on the issue, Renegade Capital turns to long-time, Virginia-based developer David McCormack on his approach to the practice that attempts to prioritize playing to community strengths.

About Dave.
With roots in the music world, David McCormack is president of Waukeshaw Development, Inc., a leader in historic tax credit development in many challenging markets across Southside Virginia. He specializes in reuse and revitalization projects, including, the revitalization of a six-block neighborhood in Petersburg, Virginia; the repurposing of historic schools in many  Virginia towns and counties, including Bedford, Cape Charles, and Roanoke; and numerous historic warehouses across the state. In the course of his work, David reevaluates the communities and people that have been left behind by mainstream capital, seeking to develop areas by leveraging their pre-existing strengths.

Episode Description. Despite what Hollywood teaches us, technology is not an objective bystander to history. Quite the opposite. Technology imbibes the attitude and biases of the human beings and systems that create it, and in the financial world, this means that Wall Street fintech (financial technology) absorbs the classic Wall Street mentality and biases for making “objective” financial decisions. This of course doesn’t bode well for the small businesses and underserved communities on Main Street who are feeling the squeeze from COVID and a market logic that capitalizes on players who are already ‘winning’ the game. As smaller, supposedly ‘good’ capital providers like CDFIs adopt more advanced platforms to serve their users, is there any hope they can avoid these built-in biases? On this episode of Renegade Capital, we talk to David Taliaferro (pronounced ‘tah-liv-er’) who co-founded a lending platform that aims to accomplish exactly that.

About David. David Taliaferro (pronounced ‘tah-liv-er’) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lenderfit, a software platform that makes it easier for Lenders to work with small business loan applicants. Prior to Lenderfit he was a Principal at Access Ventures, creating and implementing access to capital solutions with innovative risk mitigation strategies. In January of 2014, he became a Fellow with the non-profit organization called Kiva which facilitates crowdfunded micro-loans for entrepreneurs in the United States and around the world. David’s chief goal in his work is helping to increase access to equitable capital for entrepreneurs across the nation, which he accomplishes by offering a better class of tech platform for those who need it.

Episode Description. Initially billed as a tool to give individual donors more control over their giving activity and accelerate charity, Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) have become controversial in the world of philanthropy. On top of the generous tax-savings these funds provide their donors, how, where, or even if the money gets distributed faces next to no official scrutiny, leading to charges that DAFs are more stealth-vehicles for wealthy patrons to dodge the IRS than legitimate charitable enterprises. On this episode of Renegade Capital, we invite Kat Taylor to discuss the problems with DAFs and the legislation currently on the table that aims to reform them. 

About Kat. Having lived through the tumultuous 1960s, Kat Taylor vividly remembers that era’s struggles for justice and equality. Those fights against bigotry and brutality remain unresolved to this day, and Kat is committed to being an ally against the exploitative economies that undermine the American dream for so many. Through her office, she works in service of restoring social, racial, and gender justice and environmental well-being for an equitable and inclusive world by championing legislation in her home state of California. Currently, she serves as Co-Founder and Board Chair of Beneficial State Bank, a Community Development Financial Institution and certified B Corporation that makes banking more accessible to underserved communities in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner – and aims to change the banking system for good. Kat is also a member of the Initiative to Accelerate Charitable Giving, a coalition advocating for common-sense reforms to get more resources into the hands of working charities faster.

Episode Description. Senator Jennifer McClellan shares her experience navigating the intersection of government and economy in Virginia and beyond.  While an influx of capital presents a momentous opportunity for local communities, the public sector must play a role in building sustainable, inclusive economies.  The co-hosts ask the big questions of Senator McClellan:  With interest in “investing for good” on the rise, how can government policy play a role? How can our elected representatives help make this happen?

About Senator Jennifer McClellan. Growing up as the child of community leaders and educators, Jenn McClellan has always felt a calling to public service to strengthen her community and ensure that every Virginian has an opportunity to succeed. She brought those values, passion and commitment to justice to the Virginia legislature, representing the greater Richmond area. She served in the House of Delegates from 2006-2017 and has served in the Senate since 2017. Jenn has earned a reputation as an effective, constituent services-oriented legislator.  She’s been a driving force for progressive change in Virginia, leading the passage of landmark laws to invest in education, grow small business, expand health care access, ban discrimination, safeguard workers’ rights, civil rights, and voting rights, reform the criminal justice system, protect a woman’s right to choose, and tackle climate change. As Chair of the Virginia Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission, Jenn promotes Dr. King’s legacy and continues his work, particularly racial healing, economic and social justice, and community engagement. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, leading legislative efforts for civil rights and equity.  As the first House member to be pregnant while in office, she has been a fierce protector of women’s reproductive rights, children, and families. 

Episode Description. Many of us have stories of attending conferences and feeling like the voices on stage resemble something like a one-note choir. Underrepresentation of women and people of color continues to be a problem throughout financial services, and it often feels painfully evident at professional gatherings and conferences. To try and change this, Sonya Dreizler and Liv Gagnon founded CHOIR, the first diversity certification for financial conferences. This week, Sonya and Liv join Renegade Capital to share why they believe increasing representation is important and how CHOIR is meant to help. 

About Choir. Choir (www.hellochoir.com) is the financial industry’s first conference diversity certification and a diversity-tech platform focused on amplifying the voices of women, non-binary people, and people of color.  

About the Guests.
Sonya is an author and speaker, and an outspoken advocate for racial and gender equity in financial services. She has a 20 year history in the field, including as a Broker Dealer & RIA executive.

Liv is a media relations specialist, public relations consultant, and branding expert who has helped dozens of companies launch into the public eye with a focus on social values.

Episode Description. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, we saw a significant rise in commitments to investing in Black communities and businesses. Now, two years later, where do those commitments stand? Did the CDFIs, corporates, banks, and philanthropies ever back up their promises?  In Episode 7 we talk with Robert E. James, II, President & CEO of Carver Financial Corporation about what he’s seen as head of one of only 19 Black-owned banks in the US, as well as what is needed for sustainable future investments.

About Robert. Robert leverages his experiences in banking, law, real estate development, and consulting to provide the building blocks to financial freedom at Carver Financial Corporation, and its main operating subsidiary, Carver State Bank in Savannah, GA. Robert, who was recently named to his current role with the holding company, has led the 95-year-old bank to several accomplishments over his fifteen-year tenure. This includes making Carver the first community bank in Georgia to ever win an allocation of federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), which they have done twice in the past four years. Since October 2020, he has served as Chairman of the National Bankers Association, the leading advocacy group for the nation’s minority banks. Also a board member of the Community Development Bankers Association and National Black Bank Foundation, Robert is a sought-after Congressional hearing witness, speaker, and panelist. He also serves on the  FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Community Banking and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council. 

Episode Description. When investors turn to rural America, they often bring assumptions about life and communities there, both positive and negative. These assumptions, no matter how well intentioned, can sometimes result in the wrong type of investment for that community, or even no investment at all. In this episode Renegade Capital is joined by two experienced Appalachian investors,  Stephanie Randolph, Deputy Director of the Cassiopeia Foundation and Sara Morgan, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Fahe. Stephanie and Sara share why successfully investing in rural America means listening to the people who live there and determining solutions grounded in their existing strengths and needs.

About Sara. Sara Morgan has worked for nearly thirty years to improve the economic strength of Appalachia. She is an expert in financing housing, infrastructure, community facilities, nonprofits, and community development. Ms. Morgan has been with Fahe for 20 years and recently led two successful applications to the CDFI Bond Guarantee program, resulting in $60M coming to Appalachia and raising $50M from the USDA Community Facilities Relending Program for communities of persistent poverty.  She serves on the Boards of Invest Appalachia, Homeownership Council of America, as well as the Freddie Mac Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the Fannie Mae Rural Duty To Serve Advisory Council, and the Steering Committee of Homeownership Alliance.

About Stephanie. Stephanie Randolph is Deputy Director of the Cassiopeia Foundation, formerly Blue Moon Fund, an innovative philanthropic investment vehicle that seeks to achieve its programmatic priorities solely through impact investing vehicles. In her role at Cassiopeia, Stephanie works to strategically identify investment opportunities that will advance the environmental and social impacts, as defined by the founding family, while producing non-extractive financial returns.  Stephanie is also the President of Invest Appalachia and currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Appalachia Funders Network. 

Episode Description. How do the different pieces of impact finance all come together in the actual experience of small businesses? And when it’s time for the rubber to meet the road, are entrepreneurs receiving support that is truly helpful, or just extractive? Gabby Goodwin founded GaBBY Bows with her mom, Rozalynn, when she was just 7, and has since achieved incredible success and notoriety. In this episode Gabby and Rozalynn share with us their experience navigating the discrepancy that can come between public support and actual collaboration.

About Gabby and Rozalyn. Fifteen-year-old Gabby is the CEO of Confidence. At the age of seven, she and her mom Rozalynn solved the age-old problem of disappearing hair barrettes by inventing GaBBY Bows, the first, patented and non-slip Double-Face Double-Snap Barrette. 

GaBBY Bows, along with their full line of plant-based girls’ natural hair styling products that reduce detangling time and tears and maintain moisture for days, and girls’ salon remove stress from the styling process so moms, dads and girls can bond over beauty. The company launched and began selling barrettes through its online store at gabbybows.com in February 2014. The mother-daughter duo has since filled online orders to all 50 states in the U.S. and in thirteen countries. 

Gabby became a six-figure entrepreneur by the sixth grade and has been featured in major national media outlets. In 2015 she was named South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the youngest to ever receive this award. The children’s book Gabby Invents the Perfect Hair Bow chronicles Gabby’s entrepreneurial journey. Gabby manages or is engaged in all aspects of the business, from inventory to speaking at schools and business conferences and sales taxes to writing thank you notes to every customer who orders products online. 

Rozalynn also serves as Vice President for Engagement and a lobbyist for the SC Hospital Association, is a Liberty Fellow and manages the career of her husband Comedian Mike Goodwin.