Our Mission
The Center by Lendistry is a nonprofit organization that supports diverse small businesses through education, technical assistance, and access to competitive financing. Our mission is to close the wealth gap by anchoring small businesses and the communities where they do business.
President & CEO
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk is a seasoned community and economic development practitioner with two decades of experience in both the non-profit and private sectors. Her strengths range from community advocacy, to asset and real estate development around neighborhood revitalization. Prior to joining The Center, Tunua served as Senior Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA), where she successfully expanded LISC LA’s housing, small business and lending programs and deepened its commitment to racial equity by bridging gaps in wealth and opportunity for Greater Los Angeles families and businesses. For her accomplishments and leadership, Tunua has been awarded California Black Women’s Collective’s “Trail Blazer Hall of Fame Award”, was named LA’s 2021 Impact Makers to Watch by Stratiscope and received the Wells Fargo Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Award by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
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She has served as a board member or advisory board member for many entities, including Federal Home Loan Bank San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Council, Housing California, City of LA Measure HHH Citizens Oversight Commission, Southern California Edison’s Consumer Advisory Panel, Greenlining Institute, Union Bank’s Community Advisory Board, Frontier Communications Community Advisory Board and the Los Angeles Development Fund, which is the City of Los Angeles’ New Market Tax Credit implementation group. Tunua is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she earned her Master’s in City Planning, as well as an alumna of UC Berkeley.
Our Team
Miranda Rodriguez
Vice President of Strategy & Operations
As VP of Strategy and Operations, Miranda leads program strategy, resource development and day-to-day operations for The Center. She is an impact-oriented leader passionate about advancing equitable economic development and wealth building strategies in low-income communities of color across the U.S. Prior to joining The Center, Miranda managed a robust set of economic inclusion and capacity building initiatives as Deputy Director at LISC LA. She brings 15 years of diverse experience in program design and implementation, budget management, and partnership development in the community economic development field to support The Center’s growing portfolio.
Marina Garcia
Senior Project Manager
Marina Garcia brings 10+ years of project management experience across various industries. She has a proven record of building strong strategic relationships with clients, C-Suite, partners, and colleagues that have resulted in meeting and exceeding goals. Her skills derive from work in industries such as social security disability law, tax credits and incentives consulting, advertising, cost savings consulting, and most recently, non-profit. Marina developed a new operating department at Disability Group, Inc. that assisted Veterans and disabled Americans in obtaining disability benefits. During her time with Profit Recovery Partners, she identified and implemented $33M in cost savings, which was used to support job creation and security for businesses across the country. Most recently, Marina serves as the lead from The Center for the LA County Rent Relief Program that is providing $68.6M in grants to qualified landlords to help mitigate the detrimental economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marina attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communication, with a minor in psychology.
Ritzy Mullings
Small Business Program Associate
Ritzy Mullings is a Small Business Program Associate with a passion for program management. In her role, she works with small businesses in underserved communities where she plans, coordinates, updates, and documents multi-phase projects. Ritzy’s adaptability and ability to acquire new skills quickly have been pivotal in her role. As a first generation American, with non-English speaking parents, she has firsthand knowledge of the unique challenges faced by small business owners of diverse backgrounds. This personal experience fuels her commitment to helping The Center’s clients succeed.
Shafeeq Shamsid-Deen
As Senior Program Manager, Shafeeq is building out new technical assistance and access to capital programming. Having 10 years’ previous experience in education and 7+ years in real estate development and project management, his work has spanned several states, tribal entities, and jurisdictions. Shafeeq is a strong advocate for supporting small businesses, community development, and ensuring equitable access to capital, especially for underserved and minority-led businesses.
Ben Greenlea
As our Small Business Program Advisor, Ben leverages his talents in instructional design, business mentorship, and project management to deliver programs that unlock the potential of underserved small business owners and bolster the effectiveness of CDFIs across the nation. Ben comes to The Center with 8+ years’ experience designing capacity building programming, administering mission-driven loan funds, and providing hands-on technical assistance to minority-led businesses. Ben is a firm believer that communities are at their best when its members have equitable access to capital, education and wealth-building opportunities.
Monique Rodriguez
Office Services Coordinator LA
As Office Services Coordinator, Monique Rodriguez provides administrative support to the Los Angeles office and coordinates all activities to maintain an efficient workflow. She collaborated with contractors to oversee the construction of the new Los Angeles office and supported the grand opening event planning team. Monique is committed to continuous growth and eagerly embraces challenges. She enjoys traveling and volunteering as the Athletic Director for her son’s football team.
Board of Directors
BOARD CHAIR
Stanley E. Washington
President & CEO, Pantheon Business Consulting LLC
McKell Beamon
Executive Sales Director, HashiCorp
Adey Tesfaye
Head of CRA City National Bank
P. David Bramble
Managing Partner, MCB Real Estate
Warren V. Chambers
Oncology Senior Area Business Manager, Sanofi
Leeann Lynch
Chief Strategy Officer, Lendistry
Everett K. Sands
CEO, Lendistry
Joy Bramble
Founder, The Baltimore Times
Learn more about The Center, its impact, and our program and community partners.
