Claudia Lima is the Managing Director of Strategic Investments, where she helps with the execution of LACAHSA’s business plan including ramping up the division that will manage a portfolio of debt and equity for the production and preservation of affordable housing projects.  Ms. Lima has extensive experience in community and economic development finance for affordable housing, commercial real estate, community facilities, and revitalization efforts.  Her experience ranges from underwriting of community development lending and equity investments, management of real estate funds, and real estate development.  She has worked for large national banks, some of the largest Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the country, as well as a prominent real estate developer of community facilities and a developer of affordable housing. 

Ms. Lima started her career at Prudential where she held various professional licenses and throughout her career has worked with various private and public funding sources for community and economic development including bond financing (taxable and tax‐exempt), tax credits (Low Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, historical tax credits) and private equity/private credit impact funds. She has also managed and led efforts to identify, design, implement and track the performance of community development initiatives and capital deployment activities for CRA mandates, community benefits agreements and strategic plans for community development financial institutions.

Notable previous roles include serving as the Managing Director of the Community Lending and Investments unit at CIT and also First Citizens Bank, where she managed a portfolio with AUM of $1 billion+ serving twenty-two states.  Equity products included tax credit funds, affordable housing preservation funds, Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) and EQ2 investments for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).  Loan programs included taxable and tax-exempt financing for affordable housing and conventional financing for community facilities.

Other previous roles include serving as the Executive Director of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in Los Angeles, one of the largest CDFIs in the nation, where she was responsible for overseeing the lending, equity and grant making activities for affordable housing and community facilities. At LISC, Ms. Lima created a loan fund for Transit Oriented Development and a working capital loan product for charter schools. She has also served as the Executive Vice President of a prominent multi-million impact fund that provides equity capital for the construction of multi‐family affordable rental properties.

Ms. Lima holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC), a master’s degree in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University and has completed the Ross Program in Real Estate from the University of Southern California.