Brian Blake is the Chief Public Policy Officer at the Community Development Bankers Association (CDBA). CDBA is the national trade association serving community development (CDFI) banks. In his role, Brian leads national policy and advocacy directed to Congress, the Administration and Regulatory Agencies, as well as outreach to business partners and stakeholders building capacity for banks with a primary mission of serving low- moderate-income communities.

Brian brings 18 years of financial services leadership to CDBA. He joined the community development finance field in 2009 after several years in international investor relations. Prior to CDBA, Brian was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley, where he managed business planning, compliance and regulatory relations for the Firm’s multibillion-dollar Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) program. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Brian was the CRA Officer at Bridgehampton National Bank, a community bank in New York, and over six years he held senior roles at Spring Bank, a Bronx-based CDFI, while it emerged from its “de novo” period in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Brian is an advisor to the New York Episcopal Federal Credit Union, a member of the Community Advisory Board of Hanover Bank, a New York community bank, and serves on the credit committee at Business Outreach Center (BOC) Capital. He is a former member of the Board of Hope Community, Inc., as well as the organizing Treasurer of the Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance.

Brian holds an MBA from the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College (CUNY), and a BA from Dickinson College. A New York City native, he lives with his family in Washington, D.C.