New Markets Tax Credit Coalition
Staff
Executive Director
Merrill Fowlkes Hoopengardner
CR8 Opportunity, LLC
merrill@nmtccoalition.org
Merrill Fowlkes Hoopengardner currently serves as the NMTC Coalition’s contract Executive Director, leading legislative and regulatory strategy and managing the organization.
Merrill has over 25 years of experience in community development finance. She has a breadth of tax credit subject matter expertise, having worked both as an attorney and a business leader to structure, negotiate, and close over $2 billion in tax credit transactions. Merrill has long been active in federal community development policy; she formerly chaired the Historic Tax Credit Coalition board and served for multiple years as an Executive Committee member of the NMTC Coalition. Merrill has been an active speaker and writer for industry events and publications and has served on several Community Development Entity advisory boards.
Merrill is currently the owner of CR8 Opportunity, LLC, a community development tax credit consultancy. Prior to starting her consulting business, Merrill served for seven years as President and CEO of National Trust Community Investment Corporation, a federal tax credit syndicator and CDE. Merrill was also a Principal at Advantage Capital Partners, a finance company specializing in using public-private partnerships to raise small business capital for investments and loans in underserved areas. Merrill began her tax credit career with the law firm Nixon Peabody LLP, where she represented several prominent CDEs, investors, and project sponsors in tax credit transactions nationwide.
Merrill received her bachelor’s degree and J.D. from Duke University.
Director of Policy & Research
Christopher Allison
Allison Advisory LLC
christopher@nmtccoalition.org
Christopher Allison currently serves as the NMTC Coalition’s Director of Policy and Research, leading regulatory initiatives, managing Coalition data, and amplifying NMTC’s impact.
Christopher has 20 years of experience in program management, policy development, and stakeholder engagement in community development finance. He spent nearly 14 years at the CDFI Fund, where he served as NMTC Program Manager and was the selecting official for six New Markets Tax Credit allocation rounds totaling $43 billion in awards. Christopher oversaw the full NMTC allocation lifecycle from application through executed allocation agreement, including the competitive allocation criteria and program rules currently in use. He provided technical expertise to Congress and federal agencies on NMTC proposals, advising CDFI Fund and Treasury leadership on program strategy under four presidential administrations.
Christopher is currently the founder and principal of Allison Advisory LLC, a Washington, DC-based consultancy specializing in New Markets Tax Credit advisory services, including NMTC application strategy and regulatory policy analysis. Prior to his time at the CDFI Fund, he worked in community development program roles at Seedco, Single Stop USA, and the Center for Community Self-Help, and served as a graduate research assistant at UNC Chapel Hill’s Center for Community Capital.
Christopher received his bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Eugene Lang College at The New School and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.