Southwest Georgia United announced today that Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and the Citi Foundation has selected Robert B. Cooke, Executive Director of Southwest Georgia United, as one of six senior community development financial institution (CDFI) executives who will participate in the second annual Citi Leadership Program for Opportunity Finance.   

Developed by CDFIs for CDFIs, the unique industry-wide initiative launched in 2014 and prepares participants to lead transformational change, ensures strong leadership at all levels of the industry, and promotes leaders that represent the diverse communities that CDFIs serve. Six senior executives and 42 mid-career and emerging professionals were selected to participate in the program during 2015. 

Robert Cooke graduated from Dougherty High School in Albany, Georgia. He earned a BA degree from Birmingham Southern College, a cum laude MBA degree from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and worked in a number of government and nonprofit organizations in Alabama. He returned to South Georgia in 2000 to become Executive Director of Southwest Georgia United, a CDFI and community development corporation, where he has assisted local efforts to reduce the persistent poverty in rural Georgia.

During his tenure with the organization, Southwest Georgia United assets have increased from less than $250,000 to more than $8.2 million. By successfully applying for funds from federal agencies and the State of Georgia, the organization has brought more than $50 million into local communities and leveraged more than $150 million in private funding. It has worked with local governments and housing authorities to purchase, maintain, and rehabilitate more than 200 local rental units and owner-occupied single family homes.  Working with local banks, the organization has loaned more than $16 million to Georgia businesses and home owners for business and microenterprise projects, affordable housing finance, and community facilities. Southwest Georgia United operates a 55,000 square foot business development center in Vienna and operates a variety of human service programs, including Empowerment Pathways YouthBuild program, Salt of the Earth after school program, and housing counseling services.

"I am honored that my Board of Directors and President chose to nominate me for participation in the Citi Leadership Program for Opportunity Finance," said Mr. Cooke. "My selection for the program will provide opportunities for me to meet and work with some of the most creative and engaged CDFI leaders from across the United States. Southwest Georgia United has been successful because of the support it has received from local communities. I look forward to bringing new ideas and new possibilities back and to helping the communities to turn ideas into reality."

Mr. Cooke is the only representative of Georgia in a group of emerging, mid-career, and executive level professionals from CDFIs in 20 states and the District of Columbia. These participants represent many CDFI types and focus areas, including affordable housing finance, business and microenterprise, community facilities, and consumer finance. (Visit ofn.org  to see the full list of participants.)

“The first year of the Citi Leadership Program was a resounding success, and we look forward to working with this next group of professionals,” said Mark Pinsky, President and CEO of OFN. “OFN welcomes these leaders to the program. Across the board, each selected participant demonstrates commitment to leading structural and systemic change in the opportunity finance industry. We are thankful for the Citi Foundation’s longstanding support of CDFIs and its dedication to developing talent, which will enable the industry to continue to raise the bar in how we serve low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged communities.”

The 2015 cohort will meet four times over eleven months and follow a curriculum that OFN developed with the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.

“When we have a strong roster of talented and dedicated professionals leading the CDFI industry, we have the potential to create a much deeper impact in the low-income communities that CDFIs serve,” said Brandee McHale, Chief Operating Officer of the Citi Foundation. “This program enables individuals at all levels of their careers to create a road map for personal and professional success while thinking strategically about how to influence the opportunity finance industry for generations to come.”