Stephen McRae is the President of Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc., a certified Community Development Entity that provides innovative financing to non-profits, social entrepreneurs, and high-impact projects in the City of Atlanta. In this position, Stephen is responsible for managing the organization’s day-to-day operations, a $308 million New Markets Tax Credits program, and five unique small-business lending portfolios.
Previously, Stephen served as the Vice President of Atlanta Emerging Markets. He also serves as a Director, Community Development for Invest Atlanta, the official economic development authority for the City of Atlanta. In this role, he manages public-private partnerships and the attraction of new private investment. He has led the deployment of $22 million of federal CARES Act funding to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the creation of an EB-5 Foreign Direct Investment program, launch of a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing tool, and the management of the Westside TAD Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge grant program. He has also guided the City’s Federal Opportunity Zones designation and growth strategy, resulting in 26 Opportunity Zones located in the City of Atlanta.
Stephen graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.