Chicago Community Ventures

Anita Hollins, CCV President since August 2009, has been a member of the CCV team since 2000. As the third employee hired when CCV, formerly known as the Chicago One Stop Capital Shop, was a small business resource center, Anita played an integral part in the organization’s transformation from a small business resource center to what it is today

Anita is a steadfast advocate for community and economic development.  Under her leadership, CCV has empowered businesses located in LMI areas as well as Minority and Women Business Enterprises to grow by creating quality jobs; creating sound business infrastructure in underserved markets; and improving these businesses’ chances to gain access to capital, thus creating an environment for sustainable growth.  Cumulative to date, CCV has helped clients create over 5,400 jobs and access over $442 million in contracting opportunities and financial resources.    In 2009, Anita was recognized by the Chicago Minority Enterprise Development Week where she received the Bernice V. Lane Public Service Award, one of three Regional Director’s Awards.

Anita was drawn to community and economic development at a young age. Growing up on Chicago’s Southside, she saw the impact on her neighborhood when major and local retailers and manufacturing plants either closed or moved away, leaving abandoned buildings and vacant lots in the community. It was through the challenges associated with blight that Anita’s passion aligned with CCV’s mission to empower business owners, grow sustainable businesses, and create jobs and generate revenue in Chicago’s disinvested communities.

Prior to joining CCV, Anita worked in South Carolina and dedicated 13 years to the IT field. During this time, she worked as a Senior Systems Engineer, Systems Engineer, Management Specialist, and Database Manager, where she not only provided support but also was instrumental in developing client databases as well as statewide information systems. Anita also has a background in funeral service.

Anita holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Spelman College and a degree in Funeral Service from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service.  She earned a Master of Science in Human Service Administration from Spertus College, and served as a 2006 Association Forum of Chicagoland Workforce Diversity Scholar. Anita is a member of the Association Forum of Chicagoland and volunteers her time by serving on boards, various projects and committees around the city.

Hans Bonner is the Director of the Chicago Minority Business Enterprise Center (CMBEC), a partner program of Chicago Community Ventures (CCV) and the Chicago Minority Business Development Council (CMBDC) funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency. The Center focuses on assisting minority high-growth companies with access to debt and equity capital, procurement opportunities, strategic planning and management consulting. Hans came to CCV to help medium and large size businesses grow and develop them to become more competitive and profitable.

Much of his time is spent assisting minority companies in the manufacturing, construction and service industries. His 10 years of financing, procurement and management consulting experience demonstrates his ability to assist growing companies in developing and become more competitive. Hans has assisted minority companies in obtaining over $90 million in contracts and over $40 million in financing. He has also helped his clients create over 400 jobs.

Previous to CCV, Hans served as a Senior Vice President at the Latin American Chamber of Commerce, where he also provided management consulting services to small businesses. Hans also has experience in the manufacturing area with a Mexican company in building oil tanks and metalworks. He also taught a Finance course at Mexico’s Universidad Panamericana.

Hans achieved his MBA in International Banking from Texas A&M International University. Hans also holds a B. S. in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from Mexico’s Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara. He has also completed the program, “Implementing a System for High Quality Service:  Building Adaptive Minority and Native American Businesses” at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Hans is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic MBEs.

Hussain joined CCV as an Americorps*VISTA Volunteer in April of 2005 and has since joined CCV full-time as a Program Specialist. Hussain currently helps manage CCV’s loan portfolio which includes CCV’s Neighborhood Transformation Loan Fund and the City of Chicago Small Business Development Fund. Hussain assesses initial loan inquiries and also assists in the underwriting of potential loan deals. In addition to assisting in CCV’s direct financing efforts, Hussain also works directly with clients to provide them access to additional financing from outside financial institutions. Working within a small business, Hussain understands the many obstacles small business owners face when obtaining financing and works with potential loan clients to find the best deal for their business.

Prior to working on CCV’s direct and indirect financing efforts, Hussain assisted in operating CCV’s Small Business Development Initiative program. The program offered one-on-one consulting and access to small business workshops to 11 businesses located in the Mid-South and Near-West regions of Chicago. Hussain assisted in organizing workshops geared towards educating small business owners on various issues of running a business, including marketing on a shoestring budget, cost cutting and reading financial statements. The program also provided a platform for the business owners to network with each other as well as access to CCV’s other consulting services.

Before joining CCV, Hussain assisted his father in running their family business, Broadview True Value Hardware. At True Value, Hussain helped integrate the current accounting system, market commercial supplies to manufacturers, and design the company’s market strategy through direct target marketing and networking.

Hussain graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He also received a Master’s in Public Service Management from DePaul University in November 2008.  Hussain is a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Young Nonprofit Professional Network.

Doug Cannon is a Business Analyst working with the Chicago Westside Entrepreneurship Center and the Small Business Development Center. These two centers focus cumulatively on assisting small businesses from idea stage through maturity. The centers allow business access to capital both, equity and debt; technical assistance and strategic planning. Doug brings to Chicago Community Ventures a wealth of knowledge and experience in sales and marketing having spent years in high-dollar, intangible inside sales with a global B2B events company. In addition, he has decades of expertise in the culinary field focusing on cost control, operations, human capital and negotiations. During his tenure in these fields, Doug volunteered his time counseling small businesses.

As a veteran of the restaurant business Doug is familiar with every aspect of the restaurant industry. For the past ten years, Doug has used his experience and skills to help independently owned restaurants, taking start-ups from concept to fruition or guiding the turnaround of those in trouble.

One of Doug's major accomplishments at CCV has been the development and implementation of the Marketing and Customer Development Program which received the State of Illinois DCEO Program Excellence Award. The program is a 4-month intensive one-on one class designed to help the small business owner develop an actionable marketing plan utilizing their industry expertise. The program has helped several companies, not only remain viable, but reach beyond their expectations.

Doug also spearheads the Commercial Revitalization Deduction (CRD) program, which involves managing the oversight of $12 million in federal tax deductions for building and/or remodeling in Renewal Communities. The program is responsible for helping to build the Food 4 Less in the Englewood neighborhood, which was considered a food desert.

Doug received his MBA from the University of Illinois with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and International Business. Doug is a frequent lecturer at Loyola Law School and The City Colleges of Chicago. Doug holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas and is a graduate of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, a Cordon Bleu School.

As Director of Small Business Development at CCV, Tom Cassell advises start ups and existing companies on financing, marketing, and business development, and provides individual business counseling. Tom specializes in helping entrepreneurs fine tune ideas and test assumptions.

Tom will help you find answers to all of the questions that pop up when you start a new business: is my idea viable? Where can I get financing? How much money do I really need? What is my break even point? As a business coach, Tom will look at your business and use his knowledge and experience to help guide you to solutions that will work best for you.

Before his current post, Tom served as Director for two Small Business Development Centers (SBDC’s) and was responsible for helping local Chicago businesses receive over $10 million in financing. He has provided one-on-one business coaching to over 300 businesses across many different industries.

Tom has owned several businesses including Route 101 Guitars, a company that manufactured custom electric guitars and JB Music, a guitar factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Tom’s previous posts include promotion manager at Penguin Publishing (New York) and product/brand manager at Dana B. Goods (Los Angeles).

Tom has lectured on Entrepreneurship for the Chicago City Colleges, Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Loyola University and DePaul University. He is also a certified FastTrac instructor for the Kauffman foundation.

Christyn joins CCV as an AmeriCorps*VISTA to work with the Small Business Development Center and consult with business in various stages of development.

Prior to joining CCV, Christyn worked as a business consultant for WDB Marketing, primarily offering business consulting services for small, minority-owned companies in the south suburbs. She assisted in the development of business plans, marketing and promotional strategies, and event planning, as well as, creating training programs and employee incentive plans. Christyn also has five years of technical recruitment experience, most recently working at Interactive Business Systems in Oak Brook for clients such as McDonalds, Kraft Foods, Northern Trust and other Fortune 1000 companies.

Christyn received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with an African American Studies minor from Northwestern University in Evanston.

As the Financial Analyst for the Chicago Minority Business Enterprise Center, Joshua identifies resources applicable to client company needs and assists with finance and business development efforts. Joshua brings to CCV his analytical approach to building businesses, having previously counseled entrepreneurs as an attorney and business consultant. As a business attorney with Tenney & Bentley, LLC, Joshua focused in the areas of corporate formation, property and asset acquisition and sale, raising capital, and contract matters. As business consultant, Joshua served as the Director of Business Development for Companions for Seniors, Inc.

When Joshua counsels businesses, he draws on his own experience as the inventor of the Stayclip®, a collar stay organizer with selection of collar stays. After researching the marketplace, Joshua founded BG & Sons, LLC, and brought the Stayclip to market. As part of his role as president of the company, Joshua developed a marketing and sales strategy to generate revenues that resulted in strong sales that doubled yearly. The Stayclip can now be found in Neiman Marcus, Mark Shales, and boutique stores and hotels in all states of the US.

Previous to founding BG & Sons, Joshua specialized in securities law, assisting small to mid-sized businesses in raising capital through private equity offerings. Joshua regularly spoke in seminars and adult education courses regarding capital raising.

Joshua holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from University of Michigan, a Juris Doctor from American University’s College of Law, and an M.B.A. from American University’s Kogod School of Business.

Diane is responsible for reception and general organizational support, including maintaining CCV’s database, supporting communication flow, and meeting the organization’s logistical needs. Before joining CCV, Diane gained over fourteen years of experience working in a not-for-profit environment as the Computer Operator/Membership Coordinator for the American Judicature Society, a membership based organization.

A lifelong resident of the nearby Bucktown area, when Diane is not in the office, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and watching or participating in sporting events.

Duane currently serves as the Loan Officer at CCV where he assists the Director of Lending with managing CCV's loan programs.

Prior to joining CCV, Duane served as Business Development Manager for the Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corporation. In that position he oversaw the Business Capitalization Initiative, a program that identified local, capital-ready businesses and helped them secure lines of credit and term loans. He was also responsible for overseeing an IDOT grant which helped small businesses assess their technology needs. Duane also has nine years of experience in retail management.

Duane holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management and a Master of Science degree in Workforce Education and Development, both from Southern Illinois University.

Mwikali recently joined CCV's team as an administrative intern where she is responsible for maintaining the organization's timesheet management and financial coding systems, providing board support as needed, as well as other administrative duties.

Mwikali is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in International Finance. She has previously worked as a beauty consultant for both Mary Kay and Clinique where she developed her business and communication skills.

Mwikali currently volunteers with various non-profit organizations including World Vision, Feed the Children, and St. Jude Hospital. She was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, East- Africa, and is now a member of United Kenyans in Chicago.