The JP UP Date: JP @ OFN

Katie ArnoldThe JP UP date


Number 193                      October 21, 2022                                   St. Louis


JP Staffers Participate and Celebrate at OFN Conference in NYC

Justine PETERSEN staffers Sheri Flanigan-Vazquez, Shawna Collier and Tatiana Gillum attended and presented at the national Opportunity Finance Conference (OFN) hosted in New York City this past week. The first ever sold out OFN conference in its 38 year history, an unprecedented 2,000 attendees convened to discuss, analyze and strategize the collective work of CDFI’s (community development financial institutions) nationwide. Due to Covid 19, the conference was the first in-person gathering in three years, and hence, an occasion for celebration.

JP’s Chief Operating Officer Sheri Flanigan-Vazquez partook in a panel hosted by industry partner C-Note discussing CDFI impact data, and JP’s Chief Partnership Officer Shawna Collier, JP’s Credit Building Manger Tatiana Gillum and JP’s Chief Strategy Officer Galen Gondolfi jointly co-led a roundtable discussion about BIPOC microlending efforts as part of a larger session facilitated by the Aspen Institute’s Microfiance Impact Collaborative (MIC).


Catching Up with JP’s Tatiana Gillum!
Fall is a busy season for everyone with holidays, school, and sports all in full swing. For our Asset Building Manager, Tatiana Gillum, it’s even busier. This past Saturday Tatiana attended the Hilljack House Picnic & BBQ, a fundraiser that raised over $1,000 for their efforts to find safe places for people in recovery. The very next day Tatiana was back in action, providing her training course, Credit as an Asset, to Justine PETERSEN partners. As part of that program Tatiana and her team, made up of Cameron Stuhl and Tyler Janssen, will provide residents with JP’s full suite of credit building products and services.

Since Tuesday, Tatiana’s hopped along from here to New York City for the 2022 Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Conference. While there she attended sessions on scaling lending, in particular learning how to increase efficiency of lending practices and enhance business online banking for JP. Once back Tatiana can be found next at the The House of Mary Corp, a current client of hers, where her team was invited to speak with the residents of the house about credit building.

Tatiana and her team would love the opportunity to work and partner with your organization. As she says “it takes a village to keep us going and make the community great. Please let the JP Credit Building Team know of all events taking place where we can collaborate with you!” Tatiana can be contacted at tgillum@justinepetersen.org.!


Get Out & Chat with BAT!

Our mission at Justine PETERSEN is to build financial assets for families. We of course also want to ensure those assets are maintained and evolve. This is where our Business Assistance Team (BAT) comes in. The BAT team is invested in connecting clients with resources to protect and grow their small businesses. One way they’re best able to achieve this is meeting people where they are, either by attending events within the community or producing programming through JP. Last Friday, October 14th, BAT team member Yolanda Nelson and Resource Development Manager Ronika Moody attended Harris-Stowe State University’s 2022 Elevate Conference, which focused on crime prevention through community empowerment. Yolanda also coordinates a legal clinic every other month in partnership with Emerson where clients can receive complimentary counseling on business formation, contracts, and trademarks among others topics. The most recent session was Thursday, October 20th; we’ll share more soon about the next one for December.

Next up Yolanda and fellow JP Business Associate Assistant Kelvin Melton will be attending the St. Louis Business Expo on November 1st at the St. Charles Convention. Then on Wednesday, November 9th our Business Assistance Manager, Marcus Bolden, will be hosting a virtual Lunch & Learn titled Beyond the Closing, which will discuss what lies ahead for a small business post-loan closing. We encourage any small business owner who wants to learn more about compliance, goal planning, and bankability to attend by RSVPing here.



Giant Swing in Granite City Ranked #4 in Top Illinois “Quirky” Roadside Attractions! 

The Granite City Art & Design District (G-CADD), located in downtown Granite City, Illinois, is a labor of love that involves JP’s staffers Matt Chandler and Galen Gondolfi and JP small business client Studio Land Arts (AKA Chris Carl). The G-CADD “campus” comprises multiple buildings that house art galleries and multi-purpose exhibition spaces as well as a greenhouse and labyrinth of native plant gardens.

Last week the website Travel.com ranked G-CADD’s 10-person swing #4 in “Top Quirky Roadside Attractions in Illinois.” Titled, “Giant Swing for All My Friends,” the juggernaut art and amusement piece was designed and built by local St. Louis artist Brian Depauli.

Get into the swing of things at G-CADD, tomorrow Saturday, October 22nd with an opening exhibition featuring three artists in three different venues: 6 – 9:00 pm, 1822 State Street, Granite City, Il..