About Us
Andy Posner Executive Director
The co-founder of the Capital Good Fund, Andy developed a model for innovative microfinance as a Master's student at Brown University. He traveled to Bangladesh to receive training from Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and was inspired to use microfinance as a tool for fighting poverty back at home. Andy's work has been mentioned in Providence Business News, the Providence Journal, the Providence Phoenix, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's magazine and Rhode Island Monthly. In addition, he has presented his ideas to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau founder Elizabeth Warren and Rhode Island Treasurer Gina Raimondo.
Additionally, Andy is a co-founder of the Campus Microfinance Alliance and a member of its advisory committee, and he is also a member of the national board of directors of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity. Finally, Andy is a blogger, a poet, a cyclist -- and he once trained to be a professional tennis player.
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Kate Lyons Director of Operations
When Kate started working with CGF in the spring of 2010, she never imagined what a perfect fit it would turn out to be. With her energetic spirit and desire to make a difference she found CGF to be the ideal place to work. After graduating with her MBA (from Providence College- go Friars!) she joined the staff full-time as Director of Operations, after almost a year of volunteering and working part-time. When she's not devoting her time passionately to innovative microfinance, she enjoys reading, the outdoors, traveling and quality time with her friends!
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Libby Kimzey Director of Programs
Libby came to Capital Good Fund from a combined background in green jobs and political organizing, with groups like Ocean State Action and Common Cause. She joined the team in 2010 as Head Loan Officer. In her current position she runs our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site, manages the improvement of our Financial Coaching curriculum and platform, and works towards fully-integrated information systems for Capital Good Fund. In her free time she works with various community groups to make Providence a better place for all of us to live, work and play.
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Jonathan Erickson Head Financial Coach
Having started his career in consumer finance, Jon came to Capital Good Fund as the bilingual Head Financial Coach in August of 2011. His goal is to provide financial tools to produce greater resiliency and self-sustenance among the self-employed lacking access to traditional capital, immigrants acclimating to the American financial/banking system, and consumers experiencing the consequences of overleveraging. In addition to his consumer finance background, Jon did his senior research project for his B.A. in psychology on how consumers overestimate their financial knowledge. When not working, Jon enjoys trying new types of ethnic food and keeping up with the latest and greatest international dance music videos.
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Maria Carranza Head Loan Officer
María José Carranza, originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, moved to the United States at the age of 15. She has always been passionate about helping others and committed to the mission of making the world a better place to live. She attended Bryant University in Smithfield, RI where she earned a degree in International Business and minored in Latin American and Latinos/as studies. Her strong interest in business and the humanities was the main drive for her to join the Capital Good Fund team. Maria also has true passion for cultures and languages which encouraged her to study abroad in Salvador, Bahía (Brazil) and participate in several projects nationally and internationally such as a service-learning project in the Dominican Republic sponsored by Bryant University. Maria is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and directly serves our Spanish speaking clients.
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Our Financial Coaches
Emily Connolly
Emily is a senior at Providence College, where she is studying Global Studies and French. This past summer, she interned at another microfinance organization, First-Step, located in Dublin, Ireland. After working with immigrant populations for the last two years, through the International Institute of Rhode Island and the Diocese of Providence, she looks forward to continue working with them and the local Providence population. Emily, known as “monkey” to her friends, is both a teacher and a performer of Irish Dance, a voracious reader, and a lean, mean, baking machine.
Kuleen Nimkar
Kuleen is a proud member of Brown University’s Class of 2014, hoping to concentrate in Economics and Applied Math. Outside of class he works as a Salesman for the Brown Daily Herald, causes mini-earthquakes in his dorm listening to dubstep, and makes snarky comments (I can’t help myself!).
George Steele
George is a sophomore at Brown University studying Applied Math and Economics. He spent this past summer developing Capital Good Fund's underwriting algorithm and sailing in Providence. Outside of class and CGF, George works on a small start-up called MunchCard and plays Ultimate Frisbee for the Brown Ultimate Frisbee team.
Our Amazing Interns
Marielle Alvino, Research Intern
Oliver Doren, Marketing Intern
Sarah Michel, Operations Intern
Kayla Skinner, Business Development Intern
Peter Vail, Data Mining Intern
Julia Xu, Research Intern
