Deputy Under Secretary, Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture

An experienced leader who focuses on people and effective management outcomes, DJ LaVoy has more than 22 years of experience working as a leader in affordable housing and economic development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most recently, LaVoy served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) where he has been highly effective in driving agency innovation. LaVoy lead the replacement of numerous essential outdated IT data collection systems with data streaming, web portals architecture, maintained in a cloud environment. While in his latest role, LaVoy also partnered with members of the federal family and all 58 State Housing Finance Agencies to lead the way in establishing a universal inspection standard for federally subsidized properties, which will increase customer service and improve the lives of millions of Americans across the country. In addition to his experience with HUD, LaVoy served under the Bush and Reagan Administrations. LaVoy started his career with the United States Marine Corps and is a marine aviator and combat veteran. LaVoy earned his Bachelor of Applied Science Degree from Old Dominion University and his Master of Industrial Engineering from U.S. Army War College.

Mr. Daniel Aiello is Senior Advisor in the CDFI Fund’s Office of the Deputy Director for Policy and Programs. In this role he reviews and develops program design, outcomes and policy initiatives. Prior to this, he served as Program Manager for the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) at the CDFI Fund and oversaw that program’s work providing competitively awarded grants to finance affordable housing solutions and community revitalization efforts that benefit low-income people and communities nationwide. Dan has also served as Senior Policy and Program Officer for the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC Program) at the CDFI Fund.

Prior to joining the CDFI Fund in 2010, he completed his master’s degree in public policy and management at the H. John Heinz III College of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his bachelor’s degree with highest honors in American Studies from Williams College.

Christopher Allison is the Program Manager for the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). Mr. Allison previously served as Associate Program Manager for the NMTC Program. He oversaw the development of NMTC application materials, led the implementation of the NMTC evaluation process in the CDFI Fund's new Awards Management Information System (AMIS), and made recommendations for tax credit allocations.

Prior to joining the CDFI Fund, Mr. Allison was a Program Manager at Single Stop USA, where he oversaw grant and performance management for a national portfolio of community-based organizations related to income supports. He worked on several innovative workforce development and asset building projects at Seedco, a national economic development intermediary. Mr. Allison has also held positions with Self-Help Ventures Fund and the Center for Community Capital in North Carolina.

Mr. Allison holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an emphasis on economic development, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban studies from Eugene Lang College at The New School in New York.