Michael Swack
Research Faculty
Michael Swack has over 25 years experience in the fields of community economic development, microfinance, development finance and development banking. Swack's first projects at the Carsey Institute will be in the area of community development finance, including projects looking at mechanisms to take community economic development to scale, new financial innovations for the field, and research on mission related investment by foundations and other nonprofits.
Swack was the founder and former Dean of the School of Community Economic Development (CED) at Southern New Hampshire University. Dr. Swack has been involved in the design, implementation and management of a number community development lending and investment institutions both inside and outside the United States. He was the first chairman and served for 17 years as a board member of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA), a state-chartered equity fund for community economic development ventures and projects. He is the founding president and a current board member of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund. He was a founding board member of the Opportunity Finance Network, a trade association of Community Development Finance Institutions, and a current member of the Community Development Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Internationally he has been involved in microfinance and development finance work in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Swack has published in the areas of community economic development and development finance. He received his doctorate from Columbia University, his masters degree from Harvard University and his bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.