The Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for Florida’s CRAs
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Bayshore 1
Learn about the Community Reinvestment Act and how city and county Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) can partner with banks to meet community development needs. Examples of economic development, small business support, affordable housing as well as revitalization and stabilization will be discussed. The session will include a presentation and exercise in identifying bank Community Reinvestment Act opportunities. You will leave with a general knowledge of the Act and understanding about how rede- velopment areas can use their plan goals and objectives to partner on your projects.
Speakers: April A. Atkins, AICP, Community Affairs Specialist, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Lisa Anne Mifflin, NBE, CRCM, Southern District Community Affairs Officer, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
April A. Atkins, ACIP is a Community Affairs Specialist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) covering the North and Central Florida markets for the Atlanta FDIC Region. She is responsible for educating insured financial institution representatives, municipal entities and community-based organizations on community reinvestment opportunities. She facilitates partnerships between financial institutions and community-based organizations to promote community and economic development in communities of low wealth. She has also worked on temporary assignments with Minority Depository Institutions, and fair lending.
April has been a part-time lecturer at Georgia Institute of Technology in the building construction program, where she developed and taught courses in residential development policy and finance. She has also served in various urban planning, community and government affairs roles with the Office of the CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia; DeKalb County Board of Commissioners; the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing; the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association; and the City of Marietta, Georgia.
A native of the Florida panhandle, April received her bachelor’s from the University of Florida and her master’s from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds a professional certificate in community economic development from NeighborWorks America and in community development finance from Opportunity Finance Network and the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy. She is a graduate of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Mentor Program, Leadership DeKalb Class of 2012, and LEAD Atlanta Class of 2011. She served as a co-chair and member of the FDIC’s Chairman’s Diversity Advisory Council and co-chair for the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2015. In 2017, she was honored to receive the Shirley Taylor-Prakelt Award from the Florida Community Development Association, in recognition of her professional excellence and support of community and economic development.
In 2019, April was selected to participate in an executive leadership program with the Graduate School USA, a leading provider of professional development and training courses for the federal government and the private sector. April is also an appointed planning commissioner in DeKalb County, Georgia, and she volunteers with LEAD Atlanta, and Out of Darkness, an anti-trafficking ministry in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a member of Ray of Hope Christian Church.
Lisa Anne Mifflin Lisa provides CRA training, technical assistance and community development resources to banks, OCC examiners and other stakeholders in Florida, Oklahoma and NE Texas. Lisa also leads and participates in CRA examinations for banks throughout the country. She began her career with the OCC as a safety and soundness examiner; later specializing in anti-money laundering, consumer protection and CRA. She has also served in other capacities in the OCC including college recruiting, new examiner training and assignments in Large Bank Supervision, Compliance/CRA Policy and Problem Bank Supervision in Washington, D.C. Ms. Mifflin is a speaker for industry conferences and an instructor for OCC CRA workshops for examiners and bank directors. She also represents the OCC on the advisory board for the Hillsborough County Schools Academy of Finance, a program that provides financial education, job shadowing and financial internships to high school students. Lisa is a graduate of the University of South
Florida (USF) with a Master of Public Administration, Bachelor of Science in Finance, and Certificate in Urban Studies. In 2017, Lisa completed the USF Community Real Estate Development program.