WACIF expands board leadership with four dynamic leaders across operations, law, finance, and executive search. 

Washington, DC – February 2026 — The Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF) is proud to announce the appointment of four new members to its 2026 Board of Directors: Joanne Irby, Lauren J. Buckner, Esq., Sebastian Marotta, and Iris Drayton Spann. Each brings deep expertise across operations, law, finance, governance, and executive leadership, strengthening WACIF’s mission to increase access to capital and opportunity for underinvested entrepreneurs in the Washington, DC region. 

“We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished leaders to WACIF’s Board,” said Shannan Herbert, Chief Executive Officer of WACIF. “Their collective experience across sectors will help guide our strategy, deepen our impact, and ensure we continue building a more equitable local economy.” 

Joanne Irby – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneirby/ Joanne Irby is All Voting is Local’s Chief Operating Officer, charged with overseeing the operational, legal, and financial health of the organization, in service to its mission of advancing free and fair elections at the state and local level. 

Joanne brings more than two decades of operations and organizational development experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.  She co-founded the boutique public affairs agency Hummingbird Advantage, focusing her work on organizational design and culture. She served as COO of the national public affairs firm Raben, providing vision and leadership to business operations, talent management, strategic planning, and client service delivery. Joanne was also COO of Prosperity Now, a nonprofit leader in the financial opportunity space, where she stewarded the organization through a comprehensive strategic planning process, and transformed its talent management function, recruiting and nurturing a diverse, high performing team. 

Earlier in her career, Joanne served in a range of HR roles across sectors, supporting and eventually leading the full lifecycle of HR functions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell, and holds executive education certificates from MIT and the Kennedy School. 

Lauren Buckner – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-buckner22/ Lauren J. Buckner, Esq. is a business, corporate governance, and real estate development attorney with nearly 20 years of experience advising small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofit organizations, developers, and public entities across the public and private sectors. Her work spans corporate governance, business formation and compliance, contract drafting and negotiation, and complex real estate and finance transactions. 

Lauren previously served as an Assistant Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where she represented the Department of Housing and Community Development in the disposition of abandoned, blighted, and vacant properties, supporting affordable housing and mixed-use redevelopment initiatives throughout the District. 

She is the Founder and CEO of Buckner Consulting, a legal and business consulting firm focused on helping organizations build strong legal foundations and align strategy with sustainable growth. While serving a broad range of clients and industries, Lauren is particularly committed to expanding access to high-quality legal and strategic support for female-owned and underserved businesses. 

Sebastian Morotta – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-marotta-85837a53/ Sebastian Marotta is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Covington & Burling LLP, where he advises public and private companies on a broad range of corporate and securities matters. He represents clients across industries, with particular experience in the financial services, life sciences, and technology sectors. His transactional practice includes mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures, and a variety of capital markets matters, including registered offerings, private placements, and other financing transactions. In addition to his transactional work, Sebastian regularly counsels companies on corporate governance and securities law issues.

Sebastian is committed to pro bono service. His recent pro bono engagements include advising multiple nonprofit organizations on corporate and governance matters and representing CFBancCorporation in its merger of equals with Broadway Financial Corporation, which created the largest Black‑led Minority Depository Institution in the United States.

Sebastian received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and his A.B. from Princeton University in 2016.

Iris Drayton Spann – https://www.linkedin.com/in/iris-drayton-spann/ Iris serves as a Managing Director at Stanton Chase in Washington, D.C. and has experience serving for-profit, NGOs, associations, financial institutions and nonprofit organizations with executive level, commercial and public media executive placements. 

Prior to joining Stanton Chase, Iris was Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer at WETA TV. While at WETA, Iris addressed all aspects of human capital strategy and operations including talent development; employee relations; culture-building; innovation; and alignment with WETA’s mission and strategic direction. 

Iris has a master’s from George Washington University and a bachelor’s from Howard University and holds certifications from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Institute for Diversity. She is a member of the National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC); a former board chair of New Endeavors by Women; a current board member of Public Media Women in Leadership (PMWL) Group; and the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) Women’s Leadership Forum. Iris is also an ambassador member of Mercer’s Women’s Executive Leadership (WEL) Group. 

In 2021, DCA Live honored Iris as one of the HR Leaders of the Year (DC area). Iris was featured as one of the Top 10 Most Influential D&I Leaders of the Year 2022, by CIO Views Magazine. She was presented with the President’s Award for Service from the National Black MBA Association, DC Chapter, at their annual gala in late 2024. Most recently, the Washington, DC Chapter of the National Black MBA Association honored Iris and Stanton Chase DC with the 2025 Corporate of the Year Award at their annual chapter gala.  Iris is also a sought-after executive coach, leadership and engagement speaker and panelist. 

About Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF) 

Established in 1987, the Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s mission is to increase equity and economic opportunity in underserved communities in the Washington, DC area by investing knowledge, social, and financial capital in low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. Our mission is driven by three strategic pillars: inclusive entrepreneurship, community wealth building, and equitable economic development, and is fulfilled by providing access to capital products and services, and capacity building technical assistance to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. WACIF has been continuously certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) since 1996, making the organization one of the nation’s first CDFIs. 

Media Contact: 

For more information about WACIF and its programs, please contact: 
Kaelyn Green 
Director of Communications 
+1 202-964-5875