Deputy Director of Policy and Programs

Ms. Davenport is the Deputy Director of Policy and Programs for the CDFI Fund, a position she has served in since April of 2003. In this capacity Ms. Davenport is responsible for the Fund’s programs serving community development financial institutions in addition to the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. Prior to her tenure as Deputy Director, Ms. Davenport served as the Program Manager for the NMTC Program since January of 2002.

Ms. Davenport has a broad background in housing and community development. She started her career in the field as an attorney with the congressionally mandated National Housing Partnership (NHP), which owned, managed and developed rental housing under a variety of government assistance programs. She worked as General Counsel for NHP during the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and FIRREA, and advocated for the housing industry on those pieces of legislation as well as on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit legislation. Ms. Davenport later became involved in asset management and acquisitions of rental properties, both market rate and assisted, from private owners and the RTC. As Executive Vice President, Ms. Davenport led the acquisition efforts on some 8,000 rental units.

In 1996 Ms. Davenport joined Fannie Mae as one of two Managing Directors to launch the American Communities Fund, to invest equity in hard to finance community revitalization transactions. She led investment teams on some $150 million of redevelopment investments in addition to assessing investment opportunities in numerous communities across the country. She established a consulting practice on community development and housing issues, including the New Markets Tax Credit. Ms. Davenport is a graduate of Michigan State University, and received her J.D. from California Western School of Law.