Colleen Hafner (she/her)
Executive Director
CDFI Director
Colleen has been Rise’s Executive Director since 2024 and CDFI Director since 2021. In this capacity, she guides the CDFI’s lending and capitalization strategy and directs the growth of its operations. Colleen joined Rise in 2018 as a Project Manager, where she helped coordinate the real estate development process for Rise and its partners. Prior to joining Rise, Colleen was Asset Manager – Compliance for St. Louis Equity Fund, and Vice President of its affiliate CDFI, Gateway Community Development Fund, Inc. She has over 16 years of experience in the housing and community development finance field.
She received both her Bachelors in Business Administration and Masters in Public Policy Administration from the University of Missouri – St. Louis, along with a Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management. Colleen earned her Low-Income Housing Tax Credit compliance certification from Novogradac and is pursuing her Economic Development Finance Professional certification from the National Development Council.
Colleen is on the Board of Tower Grove CDC and the Advisory Board for Enterprise Financial CDE, as well as a committee member for Northside Community Housing, Inc. She is a founding Board member of the Women’s Affordable Housing Network of Missouri (WAHN-MO) and is a former Director for the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis (CBN), a position she held for 8 years.