Power Station

John Holdsclaw, Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs, National Cooperative Bank, refers to himself as an "accidental banker." In this episode, we discuss his evolution from community economic development advocate to champion for housing and small business cooperatives. At Capital Impact Partners, a national nonprofit, John advocated for federal policies that invest in low-income and communities of color. He became a trusted voice on Capitol Hill for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which provide capital grants and equity investments in affordable housing and small businesses. Now at NCB, formed by an act of Congress in 1978 to support the growth of worker-owned cooperatives, John is a champion for mission-related investments in high-quality nonprofit CDFIs. As he explains, "our mission is in our DNA." John explains how CDFIs fill in where traditional financial services are lacking and our nation's racial wealth gap seems intractable. We talk about staying the course in a challengin