Chris Miller, Chief Financial Officer of Three Roots Capital, will bring his community development finance experience to a new role as the Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, commonly known as the CDFI Fund.
Grady Vanderhoofven, President and CEO of 3Roots, says this move is encouraging for the entire industry of financial professionals working in community development finance to create jobs, affordable housing, and financial opportunity in low and moderate income areas throughout the United States.
“As someone who’s spent the last decade working at a CDFI and leading our institution’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, Chris has uncommon experience and perspective to bring to the CDFI Fund. He has been an incredible asset for our business and the communities we serve,” said Vanderhoofven. “He is an excellent addition for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, for our industry, and for our country. I could not be more proud of Chris or more hopeful for the CDFI industry.”
Unlike many CDFIs, 3Roots does not require grant support to sustain its operations, and that experience helps inform Miller’s perspective on access to capital for underserved, low-income areas. Since joining 3Roots as CFO in 2016, Miller has played a pivotal role in shaping 3Roots’ financial strategy and helping bring transformative projects to life in the neighborhoods that need them most. His work at 3Roots spanned everything from overseeing complex financial operations to supporting client companies with transaction structuring, cash flow modeling, capital-raising preparation, and leading the institution’s NMTC program, a major driver of economic impact that has created more than 1,600 jobs in the past three years—all in severely distressed communities.
Miller’s last day at 3Roots was Friday, August 21, and he was announced by the CDFI Fund as the Director on Tuesday, August 25.