Washington, D.C. – Martin Eakes, chief executive officer of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), today announced that Seema Agnani has joined the board of directors of the nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy advocacy organization that works to promote financial fairness and economic opportunity for all, end predatory lending and close the racial wealth gap.
Ms. Agnani is chief executive officer of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), a coalition of more than 160 community-based organizations working in low-income Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities across the country.
Ms. Agnani brings more than 25 years of leadership in community development, capacity building and immigrant rights. Previously, she was founder and executive director of Chhaya CDC in New York City, guiding the organization through the aftermath of 9/11 and the Great Recession. In 2023, she was appointed to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund Community Development Advisory Board and previously served on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Community Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of AAPI Civic Engagement Fund.
“I am honored to join CRL’s board of directors,” said Agnani. “Throughout my career, I have worked alongside community-based organizations to expand opportunities for immigrant and low-income families. CRL’s mission to end predatory lending and promote financial fairness directly aligns with this work, and I look forward to contributing to its efforts to create a more inclusive financial marketplace.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Seema to CRL’s board,” said Eakes. “Her decades of leadership in housing and community development will help strengthen CRL’s work to ensure a fair and inclusive financial marketplace that creates opportunities for all families.”
CRL and National CAPACD have long partnered to advance economic justice, most notably co-leading a multiyear campaign for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Section 1071 rule, which requires small business lenders to collect and report lending data (similar to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) to ensure greater transparency and fair access to credit for underserved small business owners.
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Press Contact: Alfred King alfred.king@responsiblelending.org