Washington, D.C. (March 22, 2023) – The Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) today announced that Wacif Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Harold B. Pettigrew, Jr. is transitioning from Wacif to become CEO of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), bringing his lifelong commitment to community and economic development to a national platform. Harold will join OFN in June and, in the weeks ahead, Wacif’s Board of Directors will name an interim CEO to lead the organization during the national search for a permanent CEO.
“I am deeply proud of all that the Wacif team and our partners have accomplished in the last seven years,” said Pettigrew. “As Wacif continues to advance its 2030 vision of impact – investing $100 million in our communities, reaching 5,000 entrepreneurs with advisory services, and helping entrepreneurs create and retain 100,000 local jobs – a new CEO will be building on a strong foundation alongside a talented team. I am excited to bring our local momentum to the national stage and help organizations like Wacif across the country scale their impact in local communities.”
“Harold has served Wacif with distinction and built an organization well-positioned to continue scaling its impact,” said Nancy Stark, Chair of Wacif’s Board of Directors. “While it is bittersweet to see Harold step down as Wacif’s CEO, it is inspiring to see him step up to national leadership. The entire Board and staff thank him for his service and leadership.”
Pettigrew’s leadership has seen Wacif scale its impact across the region and positioned the organization to continue growing its impact long-term. In the last seven years, Wacif has deployed more than $70 million, provided advisory services to over 3,000 entrepreneurs, and helped entrepreneurs create or retain more than 22,000 local jobs. Wacif was key to the regional pandemic recovery efforts, and supported the resilience of licensed childcare providers in Washington, D.C. During this period, Wacif has been honored for its impact by: being named the D.C. Nonprofit Organization of the Year (2019) by the DC Chamber of Commerce, winning a public private partnership award from the Washington Business Journal (2020), being featured (twice) by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the region’s best community nonprofits (2017, 2020), and being celebrated as one the country’s best nonprofit places to work (2022).
Pettigrew’s career reflects a personal, lifelong commitment to equity and economic opportunity. A native Washingtonian, DC Public Schools alum (McKinley Tech), and Ward 7 resident, Harold has spent his career in economic development, leading public and private sector organizations. Harold previously served as Director of Entrepreneurship at Prosperity Now, an advisor to National League of Cities and the World Bank, the Director of the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development, and Administrator for Business and Licensing at the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Harold was appointed by President Biden to serve on the CDFI Fund’s Community Development Advisory Board, is a Board Director for the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) and the Meyer Foundation, sits on the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Community Investment Council, and is an Aspen Institute Finance Leaders Fellow.
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About the Washington Area Community Investment Fund
The Washington Area Community Investment Fund, Inc. (Wacif) is one of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area’s leading Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) focused on small business development. Wacif’s mission is to increase equity and economic opportunity in underserved communities in the Washington, D.C. area by investing knowledge, social, and financial capital in low-and-moderate-income entrepreneurs. To learn more about Wacif’s mission, visit www.wacif.org.