Featuring Expert Insights from Allison Kelly, CEO of ICA and Bob Starzynski, Chief Business Development Officer at Innovation Works.
What makes a community-focused investment successful—and how do different funds define and pursue that success?
Join us for a candid conversation on Wednesday, July 30st at 2pm EST with two longtime leaders in community development venture capital: Allison Kelly, CEO of ICA, and Bob Starzynski, Chief Business Development Officer at Innovation Works. Moderated by Kerwin Tesdell, President of CDVCA, this session will explore standout success stories and case studies, high-level takeaways, and the lessons that have shaped their investment strategies over time.
Allison and Bob will each share a case study from their work, reflecting on the mix of capital, technical support, and relationships that helped those companies grow. They’ll also speak to how their organizations’ models and missions inform how they build pipelines, structure deals, and define long-term impact.
This webinar is part of CDVCA’s ongoing series to highlight real-world insights from the field—and to deepen our shared understanding of what it takes to build thriving businesses in underserved, low income, and rural communities.
Featured Funds:
ICA Fund
ICA Fund accelerates great businesses through mentoring and investments to catalyze value in local markets and create community wealth. We believe in entrepreneurs’ power to shape the future — and we are here to prove that investing in businesses like yours drives both financial and social returns. By growing the value of your business, you’re creating more vibrant, resilient communities with local jobs and shared wealth. To learn more, visit: https://www.ica.fund/
Innovation Works
Innovation Works’ mission is to invest in the people and businesses that drive innovation and propel Southwestern PA’s economic growth. Our portfolio spans key sectors of strength in the Pittsburgh region including robotics, artificial intelligence, medical devices, retail technologies, enterprise software and others. To learn more, visit: https://www.innovationworks.org/
CDVCA The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) is the network of the community development venture capital (CDVC) industry. CDVCA builds the capacity of the community development venture capital impact investment industry by providing education and networking opportunities, developing best practices, and supporting positive public policy. CDVCA also manages over $350 million, including the $45 million Puerto Rico Fund for Growth, the $46 million Innovate NY Fund, smaller funds focused on Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, and Mississippi, as well as national pools of capital. To learn more, visit: www.cdvca.org
Meet the Speakers
As CEO, Allison Kelly is responsible for ICA’s strategic direction, oversight, and leadership of day-to-day operations. Allison grew ICA’s asset base 4x to 24 million in 4 years, more than doubled the organization’s revenues, and launched ICA’s nationwide propagation strategy. Before joining ICA, Kelly was Head of Strategy & Innovation at CDC Small Business Finance where she brought over $40 million in impact investments. Kelly also spent seven years in leadership positions at Pacific Community Ventures. She serves on the Board of the CDFI Coalition and Mal Warwick DonorDigital. She earned an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Bob Starzynski serves as the Chief Business Development Officer and Treasurer at Innovation Works, one of the nation’s most active early-stage investors. Since 2001, he has led the development of multiple accelerators, manufacturing initiatives, venture funds, and youth entrepreneurship programs. Bob oversees fundraising, strategic partnerships, and advocacy for economic development policy at the state and federal levels. He brings 30+ years of experience, including a decade in media as a reporter and startup founder. Bob has served on numerous nonprofit and economic development boards and holds a degree in political science and economics from North Carolina State University.
Kerwin Tesdell is president of the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA), which promotes the availability of startup and growth risk capital for businesses that create good jobs, productive wealth, and entrepreneurial capacity to advance the livelihoods of low-income people and the economies of distressed communities. CDVCA builds the capacity of the community development venture capital impact investment industry by providing education and networking opportunities, developing best practices, and supporting positive public policy. CDVCA manages $320 million, including the $45 million Puerto Rico Fund for Growth, the $46 million Innovate NY Fund, smaller funds focused on Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, and Mississippi, as well as national pools of capital. Kerwin has been an adjunct professor at New York University for more than 25 years, teaching Social Venture Capital at the Stern School of Business and Community Development Law at the School of Law.
Prior to joining CDVCA, Kerwin was a program officer at the Ford Foundation, where he had primary responsibility for the Foundation’s investments and grantmaking for small business finance and job creation. Before that, he was the Director of the Community Development Legal Assistance Center, an associate with the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, and a law clerk to federal judge Constance Baker Motley, Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York. Kerwin is a board member and past board chair for seven years, of the Coalition of Community Development Financials Institutions (CDFIs). He serves on the boards or advisory boards of eleven impact investment funds around the nation, as well as the Financial Innovations Roundtable at the Carsey Institute and Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). Kerwin graduated from Harvard College with a degree in economics and holds JD and MBA degrees from New York University, as well as a certificate from the Venture Capital Institute.