Who We Are



Elena A. Frias, Chief Program Officer  leading all programs and technical assistance project operations for CCEDA, Elena brings over 25 years of community engagement and economic development experience. An advocate for social justice, access to basic health care and education; her work has focused on community engagement and development, raising awareness on health care disparities and community and coalition building. Prior to joining CCEDA, Elena served as Director of Economic Development for the Mercado La Paloma, where she led all aspects of the economic development operations and previously served as the Director of Programs for UMMA Community Clinic where she successfully increased health insurance enrollments for residents, increased patient retention and successfully developed and implemented the health center’s first Community Outreach program. Through her extensive community engagement and expert level client management efforts, Elena has built strong connections to the Los Angeles community and a wealth of resources, which is vital to her role as Chief Program Officer. Elena is a current board member of the Hollywood Community Housing Corporation Board of Directors. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from Emerson College and a Masters in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Northeastern University.

Board of Directors

Chairman
Kerry Doi, President & CEO
Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment

Northern California, Interim Director
Joe Duran, CFO
City Ministry Network

Joe Duran, Interim Executive Director, Northern California, California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) Joe Duran is a retired banker and semi-retired CEO of Stanislaus Equity Partners (STEP) a community development corporation (CDC) that he founded in Stanislaus County in 2021 under the fiscal sponsorship of City Ministry Network, a faith-based community network weaving organization in Modesto California for whom he presently serves as COO. Joe retired from banking in 2020 as Executive Vice President of Self-Help Federal Credit Union. He joined Self-Help in 2009 when, as CEO of the locally established Community Trust Credit Union, he led the merger of Community Trust with Self-HelpFederal Credit Union (out of Durham, NC) to establish Self-Help Federal Credit Union in Modesto, California. He has since driven Self-Help’s growth from its Community-Trust roots as a three-branch, 12,000-member credit union with $45 million in deposits in 2020 to a 32-branch, 75,000-plus member credit union with $1.2billion in deposits. Self-Help presently ranks among the top fivefastest-growing credit unions in the country with branches located in the San Francisco Bay Area, North Central Valley, South Central Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego as well as branches in Chicago and Milwaukee. Since Self-Help’s founding in 1980, it has provided more than $6 billion of financing to more than 74,000 families of modest means, small businesses, and non-profit organizations across the country.

Southern California, Interim Director
Susan Howard, Retired

Treasurer
Kip Bowmar,
Director of Planning and Development
Big Sandy Rancheria

Members

Mark Wilson, President & CEO
CRCD – Coalition for Responsible Community Development

Jill McCullough, Vice President
Corporate Social Responsibility 
Community Relations Manager | Greater Los Angeles U.S. Bank

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