Providence Business Loan Fund

Tom Hoagland
Executive Director

Tom has more than 30 years of Commercial Lending experience, having been a senior lending officer with banks in Chicago and Providence. He has owned and operated a small business.

Tom joined PBLF in 2012 as a consultant for loan underwriting and was named Director in 2015 and named Executive Director in 2019.

Courtney Hawkins
Chairperson

Courtney Hawkins serves as Chief Operating Officer for Mayor Brett P. Smiley where she oversees City operations with the goal of ensuring Providence becomes the best run city in America.  Prior to joining the Smiley Administration, Hawkins worked for Salesforce as an Industry Executive where she worked with all levels of government to implement health and human service technology tools that improve their services. Prior to taking this role in 2021, Hawkins was the Director for the Rhode Island’s Department of Human Services.  In her time as DHS Director, she was committed to ensuring that all vulnerable families and individuals had a chance to make economic progress. She oversaw all of the State’s public benefit programs as well as the divisions that handle child support enforcement and vocational rehabilitation for individuals with disabilities. During her tenure she implemented improvements in staff development, oversaw the turnaround of the state’s integrated eligibility implementation, improved customer service and shepherded major policy and procedural improvements to the State’s child care aid and cash assistance programs. Additionally, Hawkins was tapped by then Governor Raimondo as part of the state’s COVID-19 response leadership team.

Hawkins started her career in New York City where she implemented non-profit programs to support kids and families to make economic progress.  This included starting successful small schools, designing programs for youth aging out of foster care, implementing new initiatives targeting disconnected youth and running the city’s welfare to work and unemployment centers in the Bronx and Manhattan.

The Rhode Island native returned to RI as the first executive director of Providence Talks, a successful program, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, designed to reduce language development gaps in low-income children. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza later made her his Policy Director.

Doris Blanchard
Vice-Chairperson

Doris is an accomplished economic development, public affairs, and community relations professional with experience in multicultural social marketing, coalition building, business planning, nonprofit management, and public policy.

Cassandra Thomas
Director of Economic Development

Director Thomas’ 20-year career is detailed with high-level project management, workforce development, and economic crisis intervention experiences. As Federal Disaster Recovery Officer (FDRO) for FEMA, Thomas led long-term recovery efforts for Northeastern states battling the economic impacts of COVID-19, also working to develop economic development plans for other communities such as the State of Queensland in Australia, the City of Calgary and the Capital Region in Louisiana. As FDRO they also worked with the Connecticut Department of Housing to develop a new model of wraparound services for shelters, helping people attain the resources necessary to break cycles of homelessness. Thomas also led innovative workforce development projects in communities across the country, supporting tribes in Maine in starting aquaculture projects, and identifying opportunities to develop outdoor recreation and artisanal manufacturing in Vermont.

Cassandra is excited to join the Smiley Administration and to work with so many talented and dedicated professionals that are focused on building that brighter future for this city.

In their capacity as Director of Economic Development, Thomas will also help inform and drive the City’s planning, redevelopment and arts, culture and tourism strategy