A 15-year veteran of banking, finance and capital markets transactions, Debbi Hurd Baptist was the founding president and CEO of the first community development bank in the nation’s capital.
Prior to her death on November 6, 2000, Ms. Baptist served as one of City First’s organizing directors and shareholders, making an indelible imprint on the inaugural business planning, structuring and capitalization of the bank. Prior to joining City First, Ms. Baptist served for six years as a director of community development investments in the Multifamily Division at Freddie Mac, where she was responsible for the development and management of housing tax credits and other mortgage products to increase the purchase volume of affordable rental housing. Under her leadership, the tax credit portfolio grew from $50 million to over $1 billion, providing capital to 1500 projects nationwide. She served on the board of Christmas in April USA, the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders, Homes for America, and TRM Copy Center Corporation.
Ms. Hurd held a B.A. in Economics from Smith College, a Master’s in Urban Design and Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and an MBA in finance from George Washington University.