BoA Announces National Community Advisory Council.

Bank of America announced the establishment of a 24-member National Community Advisory Council (NCAC), comprised of nationally prominent leaders in community development, to address critical issues affecting affordable homeownership, economic development and the revitalization of the nation’s distressed and under-served communities.

The Council, made up of public- and private-sector leaders including two mayors of large urban areas, will provide external perspective and advise the bank on programs and services to help ensure its continued leadership in community development.

“Our goal is to lift up traditionally under-served American communities,” said Bank of America Chairman and CEO Ken Lewis, “and we do that by contributing financial, intellectual and leadership capital. As our nation’s leading community development bank, we are in a unique position to bring together dedicated leaders to foster collaborative thinking and advance our collective efforts in neighborhood revitalization. By pooling our knowledge and working together, we can and will make a dramatic difference in the communities we serve.”

The following 24 Council members have agreed to serve two-year terms, beginning in October 2005:

-Lee Beaulac, SVP/Director, Housing, Rural Opportunities, Inc., Rochester, NY
-Gordon Chin, Executive Director, Chinatown CDC, San Francisco, CA
-Martin Eakes, President/CEO, Self-Help Venture Funds, Durham, NC
-Rev. Dr. Floyd Flake, Senior Pastor, Allen AME Church, New York, NY
-Carol Galante, President/CEO, Bridge Housing Corporation, San Francisco, CA
-Mary Houghton, President, Shorebank Corporation, Chicago, IL
-Carlton Jenkins, Partner, Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund, Los Angeles, CA
-Patrick Lee, Vice President, Trinity Financial, Boston, MA
-David C. Lizarraga, President/CEO, TELACU, Los Angeles, CA
-Frances Martinez-Myers, Chair, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, Phila., PA
-The Honorable Thomas M. Menino, Mayor, City of Boston, MA
-Harriet R. Michel, President, National Minority Supplier Development Council, New York, NY
-Terri Y. Montague, President/COO, Enterprise Foundation, Washington, DC
-Phil Morrow, President, South Bronx EDC, New York, NY
-Janet Murguia, President/CEO, National Council of La Raza, Washington, DC
-Sister Lillian Murphy, President/CEO, Mercy Housing, Inc., Denver, CO
-Nicholas Retsinas, Director, Joint Center for Housing/Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
-Lisa Richter, Fund Advisor, National Community Investment Fund, Chicago, IL
-Michael Rubinger, President/CEO, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), New York, NY
-Tony Salazar, President/West Coast Operations, McCormack/Baron/Salazar, Los Angeles, CA
-The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles, CA
-Ken Wade, CEO, NeighborWorks America, Washington, DC
-Darren Walker, Director, Working Communities Division, Rockefeller Foundation, New York, NY
-Sheena Wright, President & CEO, Abyssinian CDC, New York, NY

The establishment of the National Community Advisory Council is part of the bank’s overall strategy to surface and address critical community development issues on a national and local level and to maintain its leadership in providing financial products and services for community revitalization. In addition to advising on broad strategies for impacting whole communities, the Council will provide valuable external perspective on the bank’s efforts to lend and invest $750 billion for community economic development over the next 10 years.