We are excited to share that we are not only expanding our core team with a new COO (read more here), we are also bringing great minds together in our new Advisory Board. We are happy to introduce you to Allie Burns, Brad Jackson, Kaylene Alvarez, and Paul Barnett; 4 people to further our impact and business endeavours, provide expert insight, and navigate the exciting time of scaling LendForGood.
Each Advisory Board member brings something different, so read on to get to know them better…
Allie Burns
With more than two decades of experience, Allie is a leader in global entrepreneurship and impact investing. She joined Village Capital in 2016 and served as CEO from 2019–2025, guiding the organisation through a period of growth that expanded support to entrepreneurs in more than 70 countries, launched the Abaca platform, and deployed over $11M in catalytic funding. Earlier, Allie spent seven years with Steve and Jean Case at the Case Foundation and Revolution, where she co-created the Startup America Partnership and helped launch Rise of the Rest, a national initiative and $150M fund backing entrepreneurs beyond major venture hubs. Her career also spans leadership roles at AOL and Discovery, board service with innovative nonprofits including Zebras Unite and Sanergy, and advisory roles in entrepreneurship education and national policy. She holds a BA from Boston University and an MBA from Thunderbird.
I’ve long been a champion of democratising access to capital for impact-driven businesses, and LendForGood has pioneered accessible financing for an often-overlooked segment of the impact economy. It’s a privilege to be a part of this incredible community of innovative investors, intermediaries, and businesses working to build a system that centres impact and community transformation.
Paul Barnett
Paul Barnett is an innovation and impact strategist with expertise in bridging innovation, impact design, and management to drive sustainable solutions. With a background in design, sustainability, and strategy, Paul has designed and facilitated AUD$1.5B in collaborations, co-founded ventures pioneering cooperative and mutual solutions, and led sustainability-driven technology and business model innovation across sectors as diverse as satellites, seagrass, sustainable finance, agriculture, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies. Passionate about creating real-world impact, Paul works closely with partners to unlock value through new pathways, business models, and alliances, ensuring that sustainable solutions are both viable and scalable.
I’m excited to contribute to the work of LendForGood because I’ve seen how difficult it is for Indigenous entrepreneurs to access fair, flexible capital. I believe the platform can help change that by enabling community-led lending that truly supports long-term growth and self-determination.
Brad Jackson
Brad Jackson is a community development specialist with over 3 decades experience assisting Indigenous communities throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific to build their local economies. He is dedicated to fostering international collaborations that create lasting prosperity, ensuring that Indigenous businesses are positioned to thrive in competitive, multi-jurisdictional environments.
Kaylene Alvarez
With more than 25 years of global experience, Kaylene is a leader in inclusive finance and impact investing, advising banks, CDFIs, philanthropists, governments, donors, and impact investors on deploying capital across the full capital stack—debt, equity, DAFs, MRIs, PRIs, and grants. She has worked in more than 40 countries across the private and public sectors, including with the World Bank Group and the UN, and is recognised for underwriting complex transactions and structuring funds that align incentives for equitable outcomes. A frequent speaker on impact investing with gender, equity, climate, and child lenses, she designs financial products that deliver strong financial and social returns across Indigenous, Shariah (Islamic), and conventional banking systems. Kaylene serves on multiple blended finance and climate investment committees, sits on the investment committee of a Denver-based impact family office, is Chief Investment Officer of a nonprofit fund investing in the creative economy in emerging markets, and underwrites structured transactions for community foundations and NMTC. She holds an MBA from Wharton and an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS and is based in Colorado.
Bringing these 4 minds on board is marks a clear moment in LendForGood’s journey, a commitment to impact, and the excitement behind our model. With ambitious goals set for LendForGood this year, we’re confident that strengthening our business governance will enable us to achieve meaningful progress together.
Welcome aboard again Allie, Brad, Kaylene, and Paul; here’s to a productive, impactful, and successful year ahead!
LendForGood is a crowdlending platform and global community of individuals and organisations collaborating to mobilise millions in impact capital for courageous impact enterprises.
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