New Jersey Community Capital on Thursday said Lyneir Richardson joined the organization’s board of directors. Richardson is currently an assistant professor at Rutgers University, where he leads the Business School’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.
NJCC also announced additional NJCC board member appointments to specific committees.
“Lyneir brings a wealth of knowledge in equitable investing and program acceleration that will support NJCC through continued expansion and community impact. I’m confident that Lyneir’s expertise and experience working in diverse communities will play a critical role in the strategic guidance of our work to advance inclusive economic growth,” Bernel Hall, CEO and president of New Jersey Community Capital, said. “As the new board officers start their term, I want to thank our 2021-2022 board chair, Alle Ries, for her dedication and commitment to NJCC. Alle’s leadership set an excellent example for our next group of officers, and I’m appreciative of all her efforts.”
“I’m thrilled to join Bernel Hall and New Jersey Community Capital’s board of directors to support the organization’s mission and contribute to its dynamic and effective programs and services,” Richardson said. “There’s always more to be done to make communities in New Jersey and beyond more equitable and accessible, and I’m eager to play a role in that work on this board.”
Richardson joins seven existing board members, including executives from JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock Alternative Investors, Wells Fargo, M&T Bank, Hudson County Economic Development Corp. and St. Joseph’s Carpenter Society of Camden.
Evan Weiss, CEO and president of the Newark Alliance, was also added as a board member in June 2022.
The 2022-2023 board officers include Gregg B. Gunselman as chair, Michelle Richardson as vice chair, Maria Vizcarrondo as secretary and Ladell Robbins as treasurer.
The Audit Committee will be chaired by Pilar Hogan Closkey, Corporate Governance by Vizcarrondo, Credit Committee by Phillip D. Woolfolk and the Finance Committee by Robbins.
Prior to joining Rutgers, Richardson co-founded the Chicago TREND Corp., a social enterprise funded by prestigious impact investors to stimulate urban retail development. To date, Chicago TREND has invested $17 million-plus to strengthen commercial corridors and owns four community shopping centers. Also, Richardson served as CEO of Brick City Development Corp., where he had overall responsibility for real estate development, small business services and business attraction in Newark. Before Brick City, he was vice president of Urban Development at General Growth Properties Inc., where he led the national initiative to bring quality shopping centers to ethnic neighborhoods in large U.S. cities.
