Contact: Amber Kani, Director of Communications
akani@dreamspring.org | 505-317-5154
Albuquerque, NM (September 29, 2021) – DreamSpring, an award-winning, nonprofit community development financial institution that advances economic inclusion through financing and supporting underserved microbusiness and small business owners, announced today it has hired Suzette M. Longfellow as its new chief financial officer. Longfellow, who most recently served as a managing director at KPMG, has nearly three decades of experience providing audit and management advisory services.
“I am excited to join the DreamSpring team at such a pivotal moment in its history as the company tracks towards tenfold growth by 2024 in its quest to assist more underserved entrepreneurs,” Longfellow said. “I look forward to helping support this mission and organizational impact across the entire portfolio.”
During her tenure at KPMG, where she worked in the Albuquerque audit practice, Longfellow was responsible for coordinating single and financial statement audits of public sector and non-public sector entities. She also provided professional services to nonprofit organizations, government agencies, universities, and financial service operations.
“We are delighted to welcome Suzette to the DreamSpring staff as we expand geographically in connection with the organization’s unprecedented growth in impact,” said DreamSpring President and CEO Anne Haines. “Not only is Suzette’s technical expertise strongly aligned with the needs of the organization, her deep and longstanding service to New Mexico also directly reflects our core value of commitment to community.”
Longfellow has served on the boards of the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management Foundation and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New Mexico Society of Certified Public Accountants (NMSCPA), the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), and the Association of Government Accountants. Longfellow holds a bachelor’s degree of business administration in accounting from the University of New Mexico and is a licensed certified public accountant in New Mexico. Her awards include the ALPFA Executive of the Year in 2014 and NMSCPA Women to Watch Emerging Leader in 2005.
About DreamSpring
DreamSpring is a nonprofit community lender dedicated to eliminating systemic wealth inequities and accelerating the economic inclusion and strength of underserved communities. Founded in 1994, the organization, which operates in 19 states, provides rapid access to capital and customized wrap-around support to the most vulnerable small business owners, focusing on communities including people of color, women, low- to moderate-income earners, people with disabilities, and start-ups. To date, DreamSpring has issued more than 42,000 loans totaling over $465 million to small businesses that support an estimated 72,000 jobs. Learn more at DreamSpring.org.