Meet the Team
MICHA JOSEPHY
Executive Director; Boston, Massachusetts
As Executive Director, Micha is responsible for executive leadership, program development, capitalization, and operations. He first joined CFNE in 2010 as a Program Manager, helping raise grant and loan capital, managing compliance reporting, and new program development. Micha first joined the co-op movement as an Oberlin Student Cooperative Association member and later coordinated the development of Boston Community Cooperative’s first housing co-op. He has a background in nonprofit financial management and community organizing, and holds a BA in environmental studies from Oberlin College and an MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. He has also participated in the Opportunity Finance Network’s leadership training program.
DORIAN GREGORY
Deputy Executive Director; Northampton, Massachusetts.
As Deputy Director, Dorian partners with the executive director to achieve CFNE’s mission and vision, supports finance and administration, and directs CFNE’s lending activities, Dorian joined CFNE in 2014 as a loan and outreach officer. A CPA with almost 20 years in public accounting, including as a senior manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, she provided finance, audit, governance, and business advisory services to a variety of companies in industries as diverse as higher education and health services, manufacturing, transportation, and technology. Her lifelong dedication to social and economic justice has driven her work on environmental and renewable energy campaigns, community organizing with a low-income and poor peoples’ rights organization, and as a battered women’s shelter hotline volunteer and board member. Dorian obtained a BA in Mathematics and Philosophy from George Mason University, her MA in Philosophy from SUNY at Stony Brook, and concentrated accounting studies at the UMass-Amherst Isenberg School of Management.
TIFFANY BROWNING
Loan Administrator and Bookkeeper; Bangor, Maine.
As Loan Administrator and Bookkeeper, Tiffany supports our lending team in closing and servicing loans, portfolio maintenance, and maintains the funds’ bookkeeping practices. Based in Maine, Tiffany has worked in the banking industry, and prior to joining CFNE served as Loan Administrator for a non-profit, CDFI mortgage and small business lender. She holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration – Accounting from the University of Maine – Augusta.
MAGGIE COHN
Loan & Outreach Officer; Roxbury, Massachusetts
Maggie joined CFNE in 2010 as a loan and outreach officer covering Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts. Maggie previously served as executive director for various local non-profits, including Mission Hill Main Streets, where she worked with business owners and local residents to bring in new independent businesses and to strengthen and improve the commercial district. She also led a two-year planning initiative for the Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness, involving a broad array of community organizations, institutions and municipal agencies. In the 1990s, she worked at Red Sun Press, a worker-controlled commercial print shop in Jamaica Plain. Developing a lasting interest in community development, she left Red Sun to pursue a degree in Community Economic Development. Maggie currently serves on the boards of the Back of the Hill Community Development Corporation and the Cooperative Development Institute. She holds a B.A. from UMass Boston in Studio Arts and a Master’s Degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University.
MAGGIE MAIORANA
Program Associate; Auburn, Maine
Maggie joined CFNE’s Learning Team in May of 2022 to help groups navigate the cooperative ecosystem, support our Co-op Navigator Fellowship, and bring additional capacity to the inner-workings of our team. Living in the Lewiston/Auburn community of Maine, she has invested her time in place-based solutions through teaching, community organizing, farming, and facilitation. All with a focus on social and racial justice. Before joining the CFNE team, Maggie ran a regional youth-led program. Through this work she supported young people in their interactions with the criminal justice system, mediated dialogues, facilitated support circles as well as circles to address conflict, and led facilitation trainings. Maggie is dedicated to economic justice in Maine and beyond, with a particular emphasis on accessibility for communities that have been historically disinvested from. Maggie holds a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, a Maine K-8 Teaching Certificate, and a post-baccalaureate in Fine Art from Burren College of Art.
CAROLYN EDSELL-VETTER
Program Director; Boston, Massachusetts
Carolyn joined CFNE in March 2019. As the Cooperative Business Support Officer, she works with Spanish- and English-speaking applicants and borrowers to assess project feasibility and connect with culturally-appropriate technical assistance resources. Carolyn came to CFNE after 19 years with A Yard & A Half Landscaping near Boston, MA, where she led their conversion to a worker-owned co-op and served as co-CEO from 2014-2019. Carolyn serves on the board of the Cooperative Development Institute, and has been involved in co-ops since living in a cooperative house in college. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Cornell University and an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School. Carolyn, her partner Jesse, and their two boys enjoy running, dancing, and growing ridiculous amounts of food in their small urban garden. The daughter of a Cuban immigrant, Carolyn is particularly interested in using cooperatives to create social and economic justice for immigrants, BIPOC, and others who have faced structural barriers to bringing businesses to scale.
REBECCA FLETCHER
Loan & Outreach Officer; Northampton, Massachusetts
Rebecca comes with 14 years nonprofit experience at Equity Trust, Inc., where she guided multi-year projects to keep farms in the food system. She worked with farmers, land trusts, and communities to protect the on-going affordability and use of these farms, with a focus on helping groups to use innovative ownership structures for land and housing, to spread the benefits of ownership and access more broadly and equitably. For five of her Equity Trust years, Rebecca provided management for the Equity Trust Fund, a $3.5 Million revolving community loan fund making loans to farmers, affordable housing groups, and nonprofit organizations. Along with five other individuals, Rebecca was also a core organizer in the effort to launch Grow Food Northampton, a food security and sustainable agriculture nonprofit. She served on the founding board and as Treasurer through the fledgling nonprofit’s thunderous 6-month capital campaign to raise the funds to acquire the 121 acres of prime agricultural land that became the Northampton Community Farm. Rebecca’s work has given her a deep appreciation for how the capacity of community-controlled enterprises is often limited by access to affordable capital.
CHRIS LINDER
Loan & Outreach Officer; Hampden, Maine
Chris joined CFNE in 2021 and supports current and potential borrowers, providing technical assistance, administration of the loan portfolio, and marketing the Fund in Maine. Chris joins us after directing MaineStream Finance, a nonprofit lender/CDFI focusing on mortgage and small business lending. He has also led teams providing technical assistance on enterprise development, product development, social performance, and digital finance in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Chris was introduced to microfinance and cooperative finance as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa. He also served in various team and leadership roles in commercial banking and consulting to secure financing for healthcare institutions and other nonprofits along the US East Coast. Chris holds a BA in business administration and economics from Rhodes College (Memphis, TN) and an MBA from Babson College/Olin (Wellesley, MA).
VIKAS MANGIPUDI
Loan & Outreach Officer; Burlington, Vermont
Vikas joined CFNE in January 2022 to support the growth of cooperatives in Vermont and New Hampshire. He was born and raised in Nashua, NH before landing in the Burlington, VT area. He has lived in a housing co-op, been involved in starting multiple real estate cooperatives, and worked at a large employee-owned (ESOP) software company in addition to having served as the treasurer of the Vermont Solidarity Investing Club. His educational background includes studying Statistics and Sociology at Boston University as well as Accounting at CCV and Champlain College.
JOE MARRAFFINO
Loan & Outreach Officer; Ithaca, New York
Joe joined the Cooperative Fund in 2021 to support cooperative lending in New York State. He previously coordinated the Workers to Owners program for the Democracy at Work Institute, convening a national collaborative of 35+ cooperative developers working to transition small businesses to democratic employee ownership. Prior to that he was the Finance Manager for consumer-owned GreenStar Food Co-op in Ithaca, a $20m business with 3 locations and more than 12,000 members. Joe’s formative years with the cooperative model were spent walking to 4am shifts in the fog as a worker-owner at Arizmendi Bakery in San Francisco, and as cooperative entrepreneur launching new bakeries for the Arizmendi Association of Cooperatives, which now has more than 200 worker-owners. He has a master’s degree in Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Communities from the New College of California.
JOHAN MATTHEWS
Ecosystem Strategy Manager; Schenectady, New York
In this role, Johan facilitates the development of equitable co-op ecosystems in emerging communities across the northeast. He also provides culturally informed technical assistance to ensure that communities traditionally excluded from economic investment can engage in cooperative enterprise. Johan joins CFNE after over a decade of collaborating with local leaders and institutions to design and implement community-based economic engagement strategies. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from SUNY at Buffalo, a Certificate of Graduate Study in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Rockefeller College, as well as an M.S. in Strategic Design and Management from The Parsons School of Design Strategies.
JOSIE SHAGWERT
Capital and Culture Manager; Providence, Rhode Island
In her role as Capital and Culture Manager Josie supports CFNE’s investor and donor management, cultivation, and relations; resource mobilization, including investments, charitable donations and grants; and organizational culture (HR). For over 20 years Josie has specialized in strengthening the operational and financial capacity of organizations with a social, economic, or racial justice mission. Her previous roles include Director of Development for an environmental justice organization in Worcester, MA, and Executive Director for a worker and immigrant justice organization in Central Falls, RI. In 2019 she returned to the U.S. after five years in the Middle East serving as Director of Development for a Syrian-led peace building and women’s empowerment organization.
LISKA WILSON
Communications Director; Albany, New York
Liska joined CFNE in November 2022. In her role as Communications Director she manages CFNE’s communications strategy, marketing, and branding. She is a seasoned communications professional with expertise in entrepreneurship, brand development, and community building, with a degree in Marketing and Management. Based in Albany, NY, Liska founded She’s a Boss, a non-profit that supports the career and business development of Black and Brown women. She has worked as a consultant on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communications; as a co-owner of Busy Day, offering business services; and as a free-lance marketing consultant and brand coach. She will draw on her more than ten-year career as a communications consultant and entrepreneur to deepen CFNE’s communications work.
STEVE BORLA
Director of Finance and Administration; Hartford, Connecticut
Steve joined CFNE in April 2023 as Director of Finance and Administration. In this role, he is responsible for providing finance and administrative leadership to support CFNE’s growth. Steve has a background in nonprofit management and organizing for racial and economic justice. He earned a BA in Philosophy from Fairfield University, and has participated in the Opportunity Finance Network’s leadership program. He currently serves on the boards of A Better Way Foundation, Geez Magazine, and Communitas, Inc. Prior to joining CFNE, he served 14 years at the Hartford Community Loan Fund in various capacities, including 9 years as COO. Steve lives in Connecticut with his family where he experiments with growing and foraging and looks forward to daily walks to the gym.
KARLA TORRES
Co-op Coach; Queens, New York
Karla’s dedication to economic justice finds a home at CFNE, where her purpose and passions converge. She is enthusiastic about continuing to support economic justice through CFNE’s vision and mission. As Co-op Coach, Karla will provides 1:1 and group coaching and education, with a focus on Spanish-speaking cooperators and emerging co-op entrepreneurs throughout the northeast. In addition to her work at CFNE, Karla continues to work actively with Visit Rico, an organization committed to providing support and education to farmers in Puerto Rico. Karla holds a BA in Modern Languages, along with studies in Theater and Online Business Development.