Steve Saltzman joined the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund as President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2021. An 18-year veteran of the Community Development Financial Institution industry, Steve is passionate about connecting underserved people with equitable financing and protecting them from predatory lending.
Under his leadership, the Community Loan Fund has grown both its balance sheet and scope, experiencing the highest impact and strongest financial sustainability of its 40-year history. Since June 2021, assets have grown by 18 percent to more than $200 million.
The organization has expanded into Vermont and improved impact and visibility in Northern New Hampshire through the acquisition of Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC). Steve’s experience and expertise in sustainable food systems attracted the USDA to tap the Community Loan Fund to administer $190 million in grants to help strengthen local meat and poultry processing systems nationwide.
Other notable achievements include positioning the Community Loan Fund as a significant player in the clean energy space and strengthening its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Steve is also focused on changing federal housing finance policy to strengthen Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Duty to Serve requirements in the manufactured housing space.
Steve serves on several boards focused on food system justice and climate resiliency, including Fresh Future Farm, a nationally acclaimed urban farm and grocery in Charleston, S.C. He also served for six years as an advisory board member for the Kresge Foundation’s innovative racial-equity focused FreshLo (Fresh, Local and Equitable) program and is an expert panel member for America’s Healthy Food Finance Initiative.
Locally, Steve serves on the Center for Impact Advisory Board at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy. He is also on the board of the Foundation for Healthy Communities and the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits’ Policy Committee.
Prior to joining the organization, Steve was Chief Executive Officer of the Climb Fund, a nonprofit CDFI headquartered in Charleston, S.C. While there, he helped the organization more than double its portfolio and established new lending sectors in affordable housing and the Latinx community. Under Steve, the organization significantly increased its investments in Black-owned businesses and created a loan fund specifically to serve those that employed workers from neighborhoods with the country’s highest eviction rates.
Before taking leadership of the Climb Fund, Steve worked at the Self-Help Credit Union for 12 years, where he created and led its food system finance sector and directed its Charter School Loan Fund.
An avid outdoorsman, Steve is on a mission to climb all 48 of the Granite State’s mountains taller than 4,000 feet. The Concord, N.H., resident also loves biking the state’s roads, mountains, and motorcycle tracks, and spoiling his lovable collie, Madeleine.
Steve holds an M.A. from the University of Virginia and a B.A. from Duke University.
