Deborah La Franchi is the Co-founder, CEO/President, and Board Chair for SCF. She is responsible for organizational oversight across all activity levels and defining and implementing its strategic direction.
She is also the Founder/CEO of Strategic Development Solutions (SDS; 2001), a national leader in impact investing–managing both market-rate and below-market funds. SDS invests in emerging lower-income communities–ranging from urban to rural–in need of economic and community development. Ms. La Franchi has built SDS’ platform that supports $825 million of impact assets: National New Markets Fund ($477M); Develop Michigan Real Estate Fund ($60M); American South Real Estate Fund ($55M); and, $358M of third-party impact funds. Ms. La Franchi structures each fund, leads the fundraising, oversees the managers of each fund/division, provides the strategic direction for SDS’ platform, and she participates on each fund’s Investment Committee. SDS was recently named, for the second consecutive year, as an ImpactAssets 50 manager – a top 50 impact manager in the US. She co-authored the DBL Handbook (Ford Foundation sponsor) and regularly speaks at investment and impact conferences. Prior, working for Mayor Riordan and serving as his Asst. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development (Los Angeles, CA, 1995-1999), she spearheaded the launch and became inaugural CEO of Genesis LA, which launched the Genesis Family of Funds (1999-2001). Ms. La Franchi has a BA in Political Science and History, an MBA from UCLA, an MPP from Georgetown and she has a Series 65.