Grant Bennett

Project Manager, CDFI Veteran Collaborative

Grant joined the PeopleFund team as intern in August of 2014. After showing tremendous aptitude and a desire to further PeopleFund’s mission Grant was hired full time as the Lending Support Officer in October 2014. He then joined the Underwriting and Risk Management Team as an Underwriter in 2016 and is now looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities of connecting veteran entrepreneurs with access to capital, education, and training as the Project Manager for the CDFI Veteran Collaborative. Grant grew up in Jackson, Ohio and joined the Army out of high school. He served two combat deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Grant currently serves in the Texas National Guard as a Non-Commissioned Officer of the Airborne Infantry. He earned a BBA in Management at St. Edward’s University and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Technology Commercialization at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.

Joshua Marquez

Program Manager, Veteran Launch

Joshua rejoins the Veteran Launch team as Program Manager where he is responsible for conceiving, organizing, promoting, and implementing effective programmatic initiatives within Veteran Launch. You can find him interfacing with veterans at events, through calls and emails, as well as networking events to support our veteran borrowers with the tools they need to be successful.

As a Marine Corps veteran, helping others ranks high on Joshua’s priority list. During his tours overseas he participated in several Humanitarian Disaster and Relief (HADR) operations, including the 2011 earthquake/tsunami that devastated not only the northern part of Japan but the whole region. Joshua is thrilled to be a part of the veteran community and is dedicated to serving those who answered when their country called.

In his spare time, Joshua enjoys finding new trails to take his rescue dog and has visited most of the National Parks in California. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from California State University, East Bay.

Mark Royster, Jr.

Credit & Veterans Initiative Director

Mark Royster, Jr. serves as the Carolina Small Business Development Fund’s Credit and Veterans Initiative Director. In this position, he manages the underwriting and loan servicing processes. He also assists with the development and oversight of the organization’s Veteran loan and financial literacy programs. Prior to coming to CSBDF, Mark worked with Mechanics and Farmers Bank where he served as a Vice President in Credit Administration. Mark is a Veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Michael Hetzel

Director of Lending

Michael specializes in micro and small business lending, commercial lending, Retail Banking Sales Management, Sales Training, Banking Direct Sales, Product Development, Mortgage, presentation of various seminars including those that address credit repair, affordable housing, budgeting, writing small business plans and ID theft held at workplaces, banks and community organizations.

Jerry Archambault

Executive Vice President of Lending

After serving for four years in the United States Marine Corps, Jerry Archambault began his long and distinguished career in the financial and lending fields. An accomplished leader, Jerry spent the last eleven years at U.S. Bank in the roles of Relationship Manager, Market Leader Vice President, and Region Leader Senior Vice President. During that time he successfully recruited and inspired bank officers, relationship managers, and sales leaders to consistently exceed performance goals and capture vertical growth. Jerry recently began his employment at ECDI as Executive Vice President of Lending after serving on their Board of Directors for nine years.

Ray Pennie

President of Business Development

Pennie is the President of Business Development for ACE and serves as the leader of lending activity and program services. He heads up the lending team with an emphasis on growing the portfolio while enhancing a strong entrepreneurial education and support culture.  Prior to joining ACE, Pennie was Vice President of Business Development for Clearpoint, and was responsible for managing a national business development team that expanded Clearpoint’s mission of financial capability, education and counseling outreach to underserved economic groups. The agency had a special interest in serving low- to moderate- income populations, Hispanics, veterans, and older Americans. His team was instrumental in developing new and diverse revenue streams by forming strategic alliances with national corporations and non-profits to further expand the agency’s footprint and reach. Prior to joining Clearpoint, Pennie was Director of Sales at Dividend America Commercial Lending, where he led the business development team. Pennie has more than 28 years of experience in the banking sector working in commercial, residential lending and asset management. Pennie currently serves on the Board for Better Business Bureau of Metro Atlanta, Athens & North Georgia and previously served as Vice President for the PTSA of Chamblee Charter High School.  He is a past member of the board of Quest 35 Advocacy, a program for ending veteran homelessness. Before beginning his career, Pennie proudly served for six years in the U.S. Navy as a Cryptologic Technical Operator.  Pennie attended Capella University where he studied Business Management.

Reggie Ordonez

Director, VBOC

Reggie served in the US Marines in Light Armored Reconnaissance units and has been forward deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. He was a Staff Non-Commissioned Officer that specialized in leadership, management, curriculum development, and instruction. He most recently completed a Bachelor of Science in Social Entrepreneurship: Economic Development from Belmont University, and developed a passion for using his entrepreneurial education as a catalyst for veterans to excel after their military careers. Reggie is a formally trained instructor with thousands of hours of experience in both the classroom and the field, leading and training senior US Marines to be subject matter experts in their occupation and continues to serve as the conduit for their entrepreneurial endeavors.