The Shenandoah Community Capital Fund announced last week that Ryan Hall has been named acting executive director.
The announcement comes after Hall was named interim executive director, following the departure of Debbie Irwin in February.
Hall joined SCCF in 2020 as an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder, was named director of growth and revenue in 2023, and has been an integral member of the organization’s leadership team for the past two-and-a-half years.
As a Winchester resident, he is active in the entrepreneur ecosystem in the Northern Valley and has served on the board of the Valley Makers Association since 2015 and the Winchester EDA since 2022.
“My passion for entrepreneurship started at a young age. Both of my parents have, and still are, small business owners. I had the privilege of learning about how to start and grow businesses from them and SCCF gets to play a similar supporting role with entrepreneurs throughout the Shenandoah Valley,” Hall said.
He also served as interim executive director during the winter of 2022 while Debbie Irwin was on maternity leave.
“When Debbie Irwin departed from the organization, we cast a search for SCCF’s next executive director. With Ryan’s extensive experience, commitment to entrepreneur support, and knowledge of the organization, it made the most sense to promote him internally. Already, since taking the position of interim executive director, we have seen his dedication to supporting the organization and seeing its mission grow,” SCCF Board President John Gillies said.
SCCF also announced changes to its Loan Team, naming Chrissy Weiss the director of capital, after Kristin Wong, the previous microfinance director, departed the organization in early June. Wong left to pursue a mission trip with her husband and family in Japan.
“We’re incredibly excited for [Kristin] and her family as they embark on this new journey. Kristin was a key part of improving our loan process, and she will be dearly missed,” Hall said.
Weiss joined the organization in March 2024 as a loan administrator, and will now take over managing the loan program, overseeing the loan application process, and supporting the current loan portfolio.
“Chrissy has already taken on an incredible amount of responsibility and has proven that she is more than capable of filling Kristin’s shoes. We’re excited to have her leading our Loan Team, and are grateful that she is making the transition with Kristin’s departure so smooth,” Hall said.
Weiss recently won training from the Economic and Community Development Institute (EDCI), as well as the Credit Builders Alliance Scholarship to complete the Asset and Credit as an Asset: Small Business on-demand course to support the growth of SCCF’s microloan program.
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
