Justin Copeland (he/him) leads Loan Servicing at NFF, overseeing loan administration and operations, leveraging systems and data to support equitable, community-focused lending. He ensures the smooth operation of the full loan lifecycle, including onboarding, billing, payment processing, and delinquency management, through close collaboration with underwriting, closing, and finance teams. Justin is also committed to delivering a superior client experience, designing servicing processes that help meet the needs of historically under-resourced borrowers.
Justin has built his career at the intersection of financial operations and social impact, developing deep expertise in process improvement, relationship management, and data analytics. Before joining NFF, he served as Managing Director of Loan Administration at Reinvestment Fund, where he led a major servicing system overhaul, strengthened internal controls, and streamlined month-end close operations. He is known for his mission-driven leadership, creative problem-solving, and dedication to building systems that scale with impact and integrity.
Erangi leads Environmental Finance at NFF, applying financial solutions to support environmentally positive outcomes that uplift local communities. Her work includes funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and leveraging NFF’s expertise to support nonprofit organizations committed to environmental protection and stewardship.
Prior to joining NFF, Erangi spent almost a decade at New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC), one of the country’s first local green banks. In her role as Director of Business Development, Erangi led origination and transaction execution for projects including energy storage, electric vehicle charging, clean energy generation and energy efficiency technologies.
Previously, Erangi was a Vice President at Citigroup, where she held roles in Project Finance (focused primarily on renewable energy), Corporate and Investment Banking, and Credit Risk Management. Erangi graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics.
Edward (he/him) helps to drive NFF’s strategic engagement and relationship-building strategy in our New York market with a mission focus of strengthening the nonprofit sector’s financial capacity and pathways to capital. Edward has over 20+ years of varied experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. This includes being part of JPMorgan Chase’s Corporate Responsibility Community Engagement team where he helped to oversee local nonprofit stakeholder engagement strategy in New York and New Jersey; serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Business Programs at the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) where he oversaw programs designed to remove entrepreneurship barriers faced by women, NYCHA residents, worker cooperatives, and longstanding businesses fearing displacement; and guiding government and legislative initiatives as Director of Policy for the New York City program of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Edward holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Urban Studies from Fordham University and a Master’s in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from the Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment.
Dorothy Jones (she/her) is a senior strategist and trusted advisor with two decades of experience helping mission-driven organizations navigate complexity, sharpen their strategy, and scale their impact. As Vice President of Consulting at Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), Dorothy leads, grows, and supports NFF’s consulting practice.
Dorothy’s career has been grounded in an unwavering belief in the power of proximate leadership and the importance of centering community wisdom in driving systems change. She is deeply passionate about advancing racial equity, economic mobility, and community well-being. She brings deep expertise in strategic planning, organizational design, leadership development, and practice building.
Her professional experience includes senior roles at The Bridgespan Group and Deloitte, as well as leadership positions in the nonprofit sector. Dorothy holds a JD from NYU School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Harvard University and is a certified executive and leadership coach.
As a Senior Director of Operations & IT, Alissa steers NFF’s internal ecosystem with a sharp eye for systems, processes, and people—turning complex challenges into streamlined solutions. A certified Project Management Professional (PMP), she’s our go-to strategist for projects big and small—balancing technical know-how with strategy alignment. Alissa is the administrator of platforms and systems that support NFF’s business, in addition, she is architect and manager of NFFs internal knowledge base, Mission Control. Alissa and her team manage multiple org-wide projects including NFF’s annual Employee Experience Survey. She supports the employee experience through the design and implementation of thoughtful new hire onboarding. Whether she’s shaping a project scope or working on systems infrastructure behind the scenes, her fingerprints are on nearly every corner of NFF’s internal operations. Alissa holds a Bachelor of Science in business and economics and a Master of Science in international development. When not in the office, you can often find Alissa birdwatching or planning her next roadtrip.
Bhavani Daryanani serves as NFF’s Chief Financial Officer, leading the Finance function and overseeing strategic financial planning, policies, accounting, and reporting. With more than 20 years of experience in finance, she leverages financial strategies and innovation to advance economic and social change. Her passion for impact investing and commitment to addressing inequities in housing, education, healthcare, and wealth creation align deeply with NFF’s mission.
She has held senior leadership roles including Interim CFO at Capital for Change, COO at the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Managing Director at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and senior positions at Deutsche Bank and MetLife Real Estate Investors. A former professor at New York University, Bhavani values teaching and embraces lifelong learning as a cornerstone of her work and leadership.
Kareem Thomas is Chief Credit Officer for Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), where he leads organizational credit risk, asset management, and loan administration – supporting mission-driven investments that strengthen communities nationwide. In this role, Kareem leverages his deep expertise in credit, community lending, and asset management to drive equitable access to capital for nonprofits and communities in need. He supports the lending team in the structuring and negotiation of transactions and oversees NFF’s loan portfolio performance and asset quality.
Kareem most recently served as Chief Credit and Lending Administration Officer at Reinvestment Fund. Previously, he held leadership roles in finance and banking, including serving as Chief Financial Officer for a national literacy solutions company and leading commercial lending, portfolio management, and small business banking regions at Wells Fargo, Citizens Bank, and Citibank.
Kareem is deeply passionate about advancing social, educational, and economic outcomes in historically marginalized communities. He is a Board Member for Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School and Utility Emergency Services Fund in Philadelphia and is a past Board Member of the American Red Cross, Mastery Charter School Foundation, and Urban Affairs Coalition. He is Chairperson of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations – the official Civil Rights Agency of the City of Philadelphia.
Jina Paik (she/her) heads NFF’s Learning & Impact department, which leads the adoption of learning practices and impact measurement across the organization. Since its formation in 2021, she’s overseen the development of NFF’s theory of change, advanced impact measurement to support the strategic plan, launched new learning protocols, and created an organization-wide learning culture framework. Prior to this role, Jina was a senior consultant and head of knowledge management within NFF’s Consulting team, where she worked directly with philanthropies, nonprofits and boards on strategic financial management.
Jina is a committed partner with New York City advocacy and capacity-building groups to support reforms within the social sector and serves on nonprofit finance committees and boards, such as DanceNYC and the Association of Nonprofit Specialists. She received the NYC Human Services Council’s Next Generation Leader and has contributed to publications such The Nonprofit Quarterly, Crain’s New York, New York Nonprofit Press, and Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Social Currency blog.
Prior to joining NFF in 2008, Jina worked at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Helene Fuld Health Trust, and the TCC Group. Jina holds a Master of Science in urban policy analysis and management from the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School, and a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University. She lives in Long Island with her family, two dogs, and eight guitars.
Sherr is part of NFF’s consulting practice, where she collaborates closely with members of her consulting team and other client-oriented NFF departments, to support nonprofit leaders, funders and social sector advocates understand the role of finance in sustaining their vision, mission and strategy. For over a decade, Sherr has worked closely with social sector leaders to reframe challenges through deep dive consulting, financial coaching, and facilitated conversations around financial viability in the face of change. Sherr has also helped to expand financial literacy by delivering topical workshops on core financial management topics, including budgeting, cash flow, and scenario planning – with the underlying belief that finance plays a supporting role to mission, rather than the reverse. Her work at NFF has spanned multiple sectors and regions.
Prior to joining NFF, Sherr worked abroad and in the international development field, where her responsibilities included program management and delivery. Sherr holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and a degree in religion from Middlebury College.
Kristine Alvarez (she/her) is a Senior Director in the Consulting Department at NFF, bringing over 20 years of experience in strengthening financial management practices across the nonprofit sector. Grounded in a deep commitment to community service and a clear understanding of the operational challenges nonprofits face, Kristine is known for her ability to translate complex financial concepts into practical, mission-driven strategies that help organizations grow and succeed.
At NFF, Kristine provides strategic financial guidance to nonprofit leaders and philanthropic funders, leads group financial trainings, and contributes to sector-wide thought leadership. She is a co-author of NFF’s influential 2015 report, Overcoming Financial Barriers to Expanding High-Quality Early Care & Education (read here: https://nff.org/blog/overcoming-barriers-expanding-high-quality-early-care-and-education), which continues to shape conversations and practices in the field.
Kristine previously served as Communications Director at City Year Philadelphia, business planning advisor for social enterprise ventures, and grassroots organizer for congressional campaigns. She holds a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University, Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP) credential through Fiscal Management Associates.
