About
Creating a State of Investment.
The OPAL family of companies exists to help underserved communities leverage diverse funding sources for projects that improve quality of place and enhance the built environment. Most of that work involves closing access to capital gaps in low-income / economically distressed communities, and creating new assets to serve disadvantaged populations (including minority- and women-owned businesses, low-to-moderate households residents seeking quality housing, etc.). Through that work, we remediate blight, improve general economic and societal conditions, combat community deterioration, and preserve the traditions, architecture, and appearance of the communities we serve.
Founded in 2018, OPAL has been cited as a national thought leader in tax incentive-driven economic development by everyone from Forbes Magazine and The New Localism to the Wall Street Journal, and has attracted millions in national philanthropy and federal funding since its inception. We work with developers, property owners, economic development professionals, local community leaders, and investors to support projects that move communities forward with new workforce housing, market rate housing, mixed-use development, historic revitalization, industrial development, and more. Our goal is to improve economic resilience and quality of place for communities.
Our Team
OPAL Board of Directors
Wendi Boyen
Community Development Lending & Investment Leader, Regions Bank
Miller Girvin
President & CEO, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
Anthony C. Hood
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for First Horizon Bank
Clay Ryan
Sr Vice President, External Affairs, Alabama Power Company
Larry Lewis
President, ProjectXYZ
OPAL Investments
Christopher Blake
Assistant Treasurer, Alabama Power Company
Heath Buckner
Partner, Brookline Capital
David Germany
Vice President & Assistant Treasurer, Protective Life
OPAL Community Capital
Wendi Boyen
Community Development Lending & Investment Leader,
Regions Bank
Mary Ellen Judah
Executive Director, Neighborhood Concepts Inc
Lisa McCarroll
Chief Executive Officer,
Navigate Affordable Housing Partners
Corporate Structure
Opportunity Alabama, Inc. is an Alabama nonprofit corporation and our parent company. It has two wholly-owned subsidiaries. The first is OPAL Investments, BC, which in turn owns our registered investment adviser (OPAL Advisory, LLC) and ultimately oversees our private equity capital formation work. The second is OPAL Community Capital, LLC, our on-balance sheet loan fund and certified Community Development Financial Institution.