LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center by Lendistry ("The Center") announced today that Tunua Thrash-Ntuk will take the helm as the organization's inaugural CEO & President. Tunua brings with her extensive experience in leading community development strategies in California. Under Tunua's leadership, The Center will adopt a coordinated national strategy, expanding the nonprofit's footprint just as record numbers of small businesses are joining the marketplace. She also intends to build out a stronger community development ecosystem of opportunity at the national level.
"I am elated to join The Center to expand and advance its mission to help underserved small business owners access the capital and resources they need to thrive in this economy, and to ensure that the communities in which they do business are great places too," says Thrash-Ntuk. "I'm eager to position The Center as a national leader in equitable solutions that support and empower diverse businesses that are the backbone of our communities."
Through access to education, technical assistance, one-on-one coaching, and targeted support programs like the Los Angeles County Small Business Resiliency Program and Metrolink Small Business Partnership Program, The Center has helped over 10,000 underserved small business owners in California succeed.
Tunua comes to The Center after serving as Senior Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation in Los Angeles (LISC LA), where she is widely regarded as a regional and Statewide Leader on issues of affordable housing, economic development, small business capital access and programs that offer alternatives to incarceration. She recently received the California Black Women's Collective's "Trail Blazer Hall of Fame Award" for her leadership and was one of Stratiscope's LA 2021 Impact Makers to Watch and earned the Wells Fargo Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Award from Los Angeles Business Journal.
While at LISC, Tunua successfully expanded LISC LA's housing, small business and lending programs and deepened its commitment to racial equity by bridging gaps in wealth and opportunity for Greater Los Angeles families and businesses. Prior to LISC, Tunua served as Executive Director of West Angeles Community Development Corporation and currently serves as a board member or advisory board member to many entities. Ms. Thrash-Ntuk holds a BA from UC Berkeley and a Master's in City Planning from MIT.
"We have worked with Tunua on multiple projects and seen her vast success," says Everett K. Sands, CEO of Lendistry. "Our team can barely contain our excitement to join forces with such a dynamic and innovative leader."
"We are looking forward to this next phase of our growth and know that Tunua will help lead us into the future to grow alongside Lendistry," adds Constance Anderson, The Center's Market President.
With Tunua Thrash-Ntuk as its CEO & President, The Center will evolve from an impactful partner for underserved small businesses in the largest state economy, to helping small business owners and the communities in which they do business grow and thrive nationwide.
About The Center by Lendistry
The Center by Lendistry is a nonprofit organization that provides education, technical assistance and resources to help small businesses located in underserved communities of low-to-moderate income achieve their dreams. At The Center, small business owners gain access to courses to grow their business skills and receive unique solutions through one-on-one meetings with expert business advisors. A member organization in the South Los Angeles CDFI Consortium, The Center actively supported the underserved small business community through the pandemic with the Los Angeles County Small Business Resiliency Program, collaborated with Metrolink to prepare small business owners to compete for procurement contracts, and assisted clients through the application process for the California Relief Grant as a referral partner. The Center is the non-profit affiliate of Lendistry, a minority-led, technology-enabled small business and commercial real estate lender providing economic opportunities and progressive growth for underserved urban and rural small business borrowers and their communities.
Press contact: ben.douglas@thecenterbylendistry.org
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Image 1: Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, CEO & President of The Center by Lendistry
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