Jerome Emanuel, a native of Elmira, New York and currently Chief Lending Officer for Alternatives FCU CDFI, where he helped to create & author the F.A.I.R. (Financing Addressing Inequality & Racism) mortgage product. Jerome has dedicated most of his life to serving the community. Jerome has an extensive business background with almost twenty years in the automobile industry and sixteen of those years as a Sales Manager or General Manager, responsible for millions of dollars in inventory, budgeting, financial statements, hiring, marketing, advertising and more for franchised dealerships. Prior to this, he spent two years working for Chemung County’s Department of Social Services in the Medicaid Division and also in Child Protective Services. While working for Chemung County, he was chosen to represent Chemung County as a Loaned Executive for the United Way. Jerome helped to build the Elmira Entrepreneurs group with leadership from Incubator Works, focusing on helping local people who have business ideas and helping to turn those ideas into a reality through education and mentorship. Through his work with Incubator Works, he was nominated to become a Business Mentor for the NYS 76West Clean Energy Competition. Jerome also was a member of the Business and Economic Development workgroup for the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI) and was an instrumental member of the Chemung County Entrepreneurial Task Force with the goal of helping local businesses in the Downtown Elmira area succeed through education and mentorship. Recently, Jerome was nominated by members of the community, and selected as a member of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Natural Leaders Initiative in Elmira, which eventually, led to his election to the Cornell Cooperative Extension Board of Directors, a position he currently holds. In January of 2020, Jerome was appointed to the Executive Committee of the NAACP and served as the Chair of Economic Development for the calendar year. Most recently, as of 2021, Jerome has been appointed by the Governor’s Office of New York to serve as an Executive Committee member of the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council (REDC). Jerome will continue to dedicate his time serving the community that has helped form his character and passion to make his home, and the surrounding communities,a better place to live.