ABOUT US

Philadelphia Accelerator Fund is a nonprofit loan fund created in 2019 to invest in affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods for Philadelphia. PAF provides flexible financing for affordable housing and works to increase access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers. PAF’s products and services are designed to be flexible and impactful. They can be used for a variety of project types, including mixed-use and mixed income. PAF strives to do things differently: reviewing projects based on their social impact, focusing on reversing traditional capital access barriers, and providing support services to help developers and projects get the capital they need.

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GOALS OF PHILADELPHIA ACCELERATOR FUND

  • Provide access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers.
  • Provide new sources of flexible capital for the production and preservation of affordable housing in Philadelphia.
  • Provide financing to fill project gaps and to leverage financing from conventional sources.
  • Contribute toward overcoming Philadelphia’s affordability challenges and systemic constraints that have led to unequal distribution of resources.
  • Provide business support services for borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.

GOALS OF PHILADELPHIA ACCELERATOR FUND

  • Provide access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers.
  • Provide new sources of flexible capital for the production and preservation of affordable housing in Philadelphia.
  • Provide financing to fill project gaps and to leverage financing from conventional sources.
  • Contribute toward overcoming Philadelphia’s affordability challenges and systemic constraints that have led to unequal distribution of resources.
  • Provide business support services for borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.

SOCIAL IMPACT

PAF’s mission is to support the production and preservation of affordable housing and community development projects in the City of Philadelphia to benefit low-income people and low-income communities.

PAF seeks to carry out its mission by offering financial products to increase opportunities for:

  • Historically disadvantaged groups with a focus on Black and Brown developers
  • Smaller-scale developers
  • Nonprofit developers
  • Projects with deep housing affordability and/or permanent affordability
  • Projects that provide affordability with minimal public subsidy

MARKET ALIGNMENT

PAF partners with borrowers who share a strong social-impact focus, and who are committed to the equitable development of Philadelphia’s communities.

The primary project types that will be served by PAF’s products are:

  • Naturally occurring affordable and workforce production and preservation
  • Mixed-income and mixed-use projects in under-served communities
  • Subsidized affordable housing production and preservation

PAF seeks to incorporate flexible terms and underwriting standards, to provide opportunities for projects in neighborhoods with lower property values, and for developers with smaller balance sheets. PAF intends to serve several market segments that each play an important role in Philadelphia’s affordable housing ecosystem.

KEY STAFF

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DAVID LANGLIEB

David Langlieb has served as Executive Director of the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund since October of 2022. Prior to joining the fund, he spent five years as Senior Underwriter with New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC), the largest statewide Community Development Financial Institution in New Jersey. At NJCC, Dave helped grow the organization’s loan portfolio substantially, with a focus on affordable housing development, community facilities, and small business lending. His work at NJCC included numerous loans to first and second-time developers working to rehabilitate vacant property in Camden and Trenton, as well as small towns throughout south and central Jersey.
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Dave has long been committed to economic development within the city of Philadelphia as well. After graduating with an MPA from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, he served nine years with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), culminating in 2017 as Vice President of Business Lending. Prior to this position he worked in grants administration and credit analysis for PIDC, administering hundreds of millions of dollars in grant and loan funds across numerous city, state, federal, and privately funded programs.
Formerly a part time travel writer, Dave has written three guidebooks, including one edition of Great Destinations: Philadelphia, Brandywine Valley and Bucks County, and two editions of Backroads and Byways of Pennsylvania. He is a board member at Impact Loan Fund and volunteers with Friends of Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School.
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LEAH APGAR

Leah Apgar joined the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund in February 2024 as Director of Lending and Operations. Prior to joining PAF, she spent nearly 18 years as a part of the lending team at New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC), the largest statewide Community Development Financial Institution in New Jersey. Leah’s last six years at NJCC were spent leading NJCC’s lending, which included overseeing the entire loan lifecycle and setting strategic priorities and vision for NJCC’s mission-based community development lending. During her tenure at NJCC, the on-balance sheet loan portfolio grew from approximately $20 million to more than $150 million. Leah always enjoys working on challenging transactions and financing structures.
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Leah graduated from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy (Bloustein School) at Rutgers University with a Master’s Degree in Public Policy. She currently co-teaches Nonprofit and Community Development Finance at the Bloustein School and received the Young Alumni of the Year Award from the Bloustein School in 2016. She has been committed to the community development finance field for many years, having participated in OFN’s Citi Leadership Program and NJCC’s Culture of Excellence Program with NeighborWorks America. Leah enjoys backpacking, hiking, running, and traveling.

KEY STAFF

E

DAVID LANGLIEB

David Langlieb has served as Executive Director of the Philadelphia Accelerator Fund since October of 2022. Prior to joining the fund, he spent five years as Senior Underwriter with New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC), the largest statewide Community Development Financial Institution in New Jersey. At NJCC, Dave helped grow the organization’s loan portfolio substantially, with a focus on affordable housing development, community facilities, and small business lending. His work at NJCC included numerous loans to first and second-time developers working to rehabilitate vacant property in Camden and Trenton, as well as small towns throughout south and central Jersey.
READ MORE
Dave has long been committed to economic development within the city of Philadelphia as well. After graduating with an MPA from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, he served nine years with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), culminating in 2017 as Vice President of Business Lending. Prior to this position he worked in grants administration and credit analysis for PIDC, administering hundreds of millions of dollars in grant and loan funds across numerous city, state, federal, and privately funded programs.
Formerly a part time travel writer, Dave has written three guidebooks, including one edition of Great Destinations: Philadelphia, Brandywine Valley and Bucks County, and two editions of Backroads and Byways of Pennsylvania. He is a board member at Impact Loan Fund and volunteers with Friends of Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mohamed “Mo” Rushdy (Chair)

Managing Partner,
The Riverwards Group

 

Katya Noreika

Manager, Loan Origination
Nonprofit Finance Fund

 

Charles Lomax (Treasurer)

Chairman & CEO, Lomax Real Estate Partners

 

Dr. Jennifer Bellot (Secretary)

Associate Dean of Academic-Practice Integration,
Jefferson College of Nursing

 

Anne Fadullon

Principal, MAKE Advisory Services, LLC

Paul Badger

President & CEO,
The Badger Group

 

James Sanders

Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking,
Univest Bank and Trust Co.

 

Vidhi Anderson

Director of Housing,
HumanGood

 

Suzanne S. Mayes, Esq.

Co-Chair, Public & Project Finance, Cozen O’Connor

 

Matthew Stitt

Director, PFM Group Consulting LLC

EX OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS

Jessie Lawrence

Director of the Department of Planning & Development

 

Karen Fegely

Deputy Director,
Philadelphia Department of Commerce

David Thomas

President,
Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation

 

Jennifer Lucas Crowther

Vice President of Product and Resource Development, PIDC

Michael Johns

Principal, Mdesigns + MWJ Consulting LLC

 

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100 East Penn Square, Suite #409

Philadelphia, PA 19107

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In accordance with federal law and U. S. Department of the Treasury policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Submit a complaint of discrimination to U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20220, (202) 622-1160 (phone), (202 622-0367 (fax), or email crcomplaints@treasury,gov (email).