Yvonne Durbin leads the Capital Innovation Lab for the Strategic Investments (SI) group at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). In this capacity, Yvonne incubates innovative funds and programs that promote economic and community development across the United States. Yvonne leads the team efforts on new models for small business financing via SI’s Growth Capital initiatives.
Prior to joining LISC, Yvonne served as Program Director for The Governance Project, a nonprofit organization focused on incorporating community benefits and positive economic development into Opportunity Zone projects. Yvonne is a subject matter expert on Opportunity Zone tax incentives, speaking at multiple national conferences and providing direct technical assistance and consulting services to municipalities across the country. Before her national economic development work, Yvonne was the Global Finance Operations Lead for One Acre Fund. Based in Kigali, Rwanda, she managed a team of twenty and oversaw the accounts payable, compliance, and treasury functions across eight countries in east and southern Africa, enabling delivery of agricultural inputs to farmers with the goal of eliminating hunger for farmer families. During this time, she trained thousands of staff and streamlined payment processing for the organization. Yvonne also previously served as a Senior Compliance Associate at State Street Bank in Boston.
Yvonne received her Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Her areas of focus were International Finance and Banking and Development Economics. Yvonne holds a Bachelor’s in International Relations and German from The George Washington University, where she graduated summa cum laude. Yvonne now lives in Washington, D.C. where she spends evenings running and biking in Rock Creek Park and weekends rock climbing in nearby West Virginia.
