About
Raquel ValdezSanchez is the Chief Executive Officer of Business & Community Lenders (BCL)of Texas, a statewide nonprofit Community Development Financial Institutionadvancing economic mobility through responsible lending, small businessdevelopment, homeownership, consumer lending, and community wealth-buildingstrategies. With 20 years of experience in community and economic development,Raquel leads BCL’s strategic growth across Texas, with a focus on expandingaccess to affordable capital and practical financial tools for underservedentrepreneurs, homeowners, and consumers.
Raquel bringsdeep practitioner experience in CDFI product development, borrower-centeredunderwriting, consumer protection, and credit-building lending strategies.Throughout her career, Raquel has worked directly to deploy more than $100million in affordable loan capital. She has also supported thousands ofhouseholds through small business technical assistance, housing counseling,financial empowerment, foreclosure prevention, and income and credit readiness. Her work sits at theintersection of consumer lending, small business finance, housing stability,financial coaching, and nonprofit governance.
Raquel is afifth-generation Austinite and active civic leader. She currently serves asTreasurer of the NeighborWorks Alliance of Texas, as a Board member of theCredit Builders Alliance (CBA) Fund, as a Board member of the Travis CountyStrategic Housing Corporation, and as a commissioner on the City of Austin’sEconomic Prosperity Commission representing District 3. She holds a B.B.A. inManagement and Marketing from the University of Texas at San Antonio and is agraduate of the National Association of Latino Asset Builders (NALCAB) LEADFellowship, Leadership Women’s Leadership Texas program, and OpportunityFinance Network’s (OFN) Opportunity Fellows Program.
