John Talmage
Director, Lee County Economic Development Office, Fort Myers

John Talmage is director of the Lee County Economic Development Office (EDO). Mr. Talmage has more than 20 years' experience in City government and Economic Development and has developed a national reputation as a leader in innovative practices by pairing better information with capital development to create new approaches for economic development in underserved communities across the country. Talmage has spent his career working in economic development for both municipal governments and research organizations.

He also served as CEO of Social Compact, a research organization serving the federal regulatory community, cities around the country, and community development organizations. In New Orleans, Talmage served as the deputy director for economic development. Prior to that, Talmage worked in New York City, focusing on communities throughout north Brooklyn to address economic development matters.  John has been asked to serve on many national boards and committees to advocate for an asset-based approach, leading to opportunities to testify before Congress, work with the Federal Regulatory community, and join with mayors and community leaders throughout the nation to address the needs of underserved urban America.

John was selected to be the President/ CEO of the Social Compact Board of Directors in May of 2006. Social Compact scaled its market analytic, the Drill Down, under John's leadership, to document the market strengths of communities throughout the United States and abroad. John served as the Deputy Director for Economic Development for the City of New Orleans prior to joining Social Compact. John focused on business development issues, including workforce development, international trade and business recruitment and retention, in New Orleans. Before joining the Mayor's Office in New Orleans, John worked in New York City, primarily for the New York City Council. John collaborated with communities throughout North Brooklyn, while in New York, to address economic development, housing, and land-use matters. 

Mr. Talmage holds a BA in political science from Columbia University.

Victor Rivera
Senior Vice President Commercial Banking Manager for Charleston SC, First Citizens Bank

Victor Rivera is the Senior Vice President/Commercial Banking Manager Charleston SC, for First Citizens Bank. Prior to joining First Citizens, Victor worked for Civic Builders, a nonprofit developer and lender supporting the creation and growth of high-quality public charter schools. In his role with Civic Builders, Victor led the lending team responsible for $100MM in annual loan production to high-quality charter schools in underserved communities.

With over 30 years of experience in the Financial Services sector, Victor is a seasoned professional dedicated to supporting his community. Previously, Victor worked for Bank of America for 31 years where he held several Executive roles in Business Banking, Small Business and Consumer Bank lines of businesses. Additionally, Victor is a committed volunteer, having chaired loan committees and served on the boards of community nonprofit organizations, where he has played a key role in fundraising and raising awareness. In addition to Florida Community Loan Fund, he serves on the board of directors of BlueHub Capital, is Chairman of the Blue Hub Loan Fund, and serves on the board of Palmetto Goodwill.

Victor holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting from the University of Puerto Rico.

Impact and Grants Administrator

As Impact and Grants Administrator, Willa Maddox is responsible for tracking the impact of FCLF’s loan programs, preparing and submitting required reporting to the CDFI Fund, and producing applications for various CDFI Fund and governmental programs. Maddox manages systems to collect, store, and analyze data, and creates annual impact reports to track benchmarks and organizational outcomes. She conducts annual borrower surveys, providing technical assistance in the data collection process. She also co-authors narratives and collaborates with other FCLF staff to draft applications for private investor funding opportunities and produce organizational materials for internal and external communications.

Maddox joined FCLF in 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration, with focuses in both Nonprofit Management and Writing & Rhetoric, from the University of Central Florida.

Loan Portfolio Administrator

Jessica Polk is a member of the loan administration team that is responsible for servicing FCLF's diverse portfolio of community and economic development loan programs. Ms. Polk works with loan officers to prepare loan documents, oversee execution of loan and other documents, administer construction draw disbursements, review covenant compliance issues and maintain loan file documentation. 

Ms. Polk joined FCLF in 2017, with over 12 years of experience in banking with an emphasis on commercial real estate lending, construction loans and asset based lending. She has held various officer positions in banking for over 8 years and has experience with training in loan documentation, LaserPro/LawyerPro loan software and banking operations.

Ms.Polk majored in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate and a minor In Political Science from Louisiana State University.