Pictured: Candice Hubert, Terry Keating and Henry Sosa.

SFNet recently announced its DEI Committee has been renamed to the Inclusiveness Committee. The committee’s aim continues to be to understand the specific challenges and opportunities within our communities of interest, articulate the case for change and help implement strategies and tactics throughout SFNet. It complements and refines existing SFNet and Secured Finance Foundation policies and programs and supports SFNet members’ initiatives. Here we sit down with 2025 Inclusiveness Committee Chair, Henry Sosa, director – senior account executive, CIT Northbridge Credit, and committee vice chairs Candice Hubert, director, business development, Chiron Financial LLC, and Terry Keating, CEO, Access Capital, Inc., to discuss the evolution of the committee over the last four years.

Why is the Committee name changing to the Inclusiveness Committee?

Sosa: The Committee's name is changing to Inclusiveness to better reflect the Committee's broader mission of fostering a welcoming environment where all groups and individuals in our industry feel valued, included and engaged. So, the driver of this is it emphasizes that inclusiveness is at the heart of everything the Committee aims to achieve, beyond focusing on diversity and equity. Also, more importantly, inclusiveness aligns with the SFNet's overall charter, of being inclusive within our industry and the secured finance ecosystem at large, with our member companies, with aligned partners and with our talent in our industry. We felt it was time to recalibrate and relaunch something much bigger than what we started four years ago.

Keating: As we started four years ago, there was so much we didn't know about this. There were things that we had intent around, but there is a lot that we've learned in four years. As you would imagine is the case, we have shaped and slightly shifted some of the things that we're doing in response to the environment, both within the organization and external to it. We realized that the name has some importance. To Henry's point, it reflects how we have come to understand what this effort is really about. It's about including everyone. That kind of bridges those other terms. It lays across diversity. It lays across equity. It's very universal.

What are you most proud of in being a member of SFNet’s Inclusiveness Committee?

Henry Sosa: The one thing I'm proud of the most is implementing the SFNet Mentorship Program that connected underrepresented groups and individuals in our industry. This initiative not only provided career development opportunities, but it also fostered a more inclusive culture where different diverse voices were heard, valued and raised up. Seeing participants that were part of the mentoring initiative was incredibly rewarding. It was also rewarding to see the connections that these underrepresented individuals and folks in our industries made, and that continue to be nurtured to this day. I thought the whole process of mentorship really reinforced the importance of sustaining DEI within our industry's DNA.

Terry Keating: I’m equally proud of what we've done. I would add that I have been really pleased at the sustained level of demand and the participation we've seen. In particular the many repeat mentors that we've had. I’m not complaining, it’s been a great problem to have, and we also welcome new mentors.

We've also had one or two repeat mentees, which is amazing. They got so much out of it that they want to do it again. I hear numerous anecdotal stories of the mentors and mentees who have continued the relationship afterwards. In some cases, for years, which is great to hear. It means we've developed a stronger bond.

We had enough demand that we started a fall session this year. I remember when we were starting out a couple years ago, we weren't sure how many people were going to sign up to begin with. We have found that that wasn’t a problem, and we needed to expand it.

Denise Castagna, program manager-Education and Chapters, SFNet, has  been working with the European Chapter which is running their own mentoring program and we are trying to create some linkage. So, this really gets to the point that Henry was making in that we're building this into the DNA of what we're doing. It's what we set out to do and it seems to be coming to fruition.

Candice Hubert: I'm most proud of the evolution of the Committee with respect to the programs that we've developed, and the collaboration of the Committee. I think we do a good job voicing what we would like to see, and everyone puts good input into what they deem as important for the Committee. I think collaboration is important,and that's what I've been seeing over the last three years. Also, the mentorship program evolved from this and it shows you when you have time, and when you have collaboration, you can launch a program that's been effective. It's great showcasing all the different people who have participated over the years.

What stands out to you from the time the Committee began four years ago to today?

Sosa: We moved simply from raising awareness four years ago to creating lasting change. We were totally focused on starting the conversation around DEI then. Now, we've implemented key policies, such as awareness about inclusive hiring practices. We've launched and managed to maintain mentorship programming. We've seen a shift towards a more inclusive culture with more diverse representation in our industry. Engagement is the key measure of success, and this continues to rise.  I personally believe the progress has been remarkable and it's been rewarding to be part of this transformation.

Keating: One thingthat stands out for me as a real positive is how receptive our members have been to what we're doing. There are many institutions that are very receptive because it's part of corporate initiatives  and that's super important. But it's the individuals, and I see them mostly through the mentoring program because of my activities there, but long-time members of SFNet who are embracing it right and left.That's important because it says a lot about who we are as an organization and our real core values.

It tells you something about the intent of people. I think that's important to our long-term longevity. We didn't know that four years ago. We wondered. We knew there was a core of people who really cared about this issue. SFNet CEO Rich Gumbrecht was great about wanting to promote that and get it organized. Betty Hernandez of SLR Business Credit did an amazing job to get this Committee started and running strong.

Hubert: The name change stands out because it shows you that over time you must respond to the times. The name change doesn't eliminate or dilute what the SFNet and the Inclusiveness Committee are trying to achieve, though.  I think the type of leadership on the other spectrum stands out. It is interesting seeing who has stepped up to lead the program from Betty Hernandez to now Henry Sosa. It was great upon inception of the Committee to see a Latina woman lead the way and now a Latino man. It shows what we are made of as far as the industry and that people of color and gender diversity are represented across this organization. It says a lot that SFNet is embracing culture and different aspects of diversity.

Are there any other changes to the Committee occurring? What are some of the main areas of focus for 2025?

Sosa: Along with the name change to Inclusiveness, the Committee is expanding its focus to ensure more actionable outcomes. These include initiatives like leadership training on unconscious bias, enhanced employee resources, and more robust metrics to track progress on inclusivity goals across our industry. It’s going to be an exciting year coming. We are going to all get together and figure out how we're going to play this and make sure we continue on these milestones.

The main areas of focus for our Committee will include items such as strengthening inclusive leadership practices, expanding mentorship programs for underrepresented groups, and increasing diversity in recruitment and retention. Targeting our college Guest Lecture, internship and scholarship program at diverse schools is an example of that. Additionally, the Committee is going to continue to prioritize measuring the impact of inclusiveness through data-driven approaches, and we're going to continue to foster a culture of continuous education on inclusiveness across the industry. So, we really want to be a good resource for SFNet member companies. We want to be able to lead the awareness of inclusiveness and be that pillar that our member companies can come to and bounce ideas off and we want to be able to lead that charge this coming year.

Keating: I am not sure that this is a change per se, but something that we have talked about is being more of a facilitator of efforts across all the various SFNet committees and initiatives. It was something we talked about at the very beginning. The Inclusiveness Committee doesn’t sit in its own silo, but we work with other committees to make sure that the principles as an organization are being executed in all of the things that we do, so it gets into the fabric and DNA of all that we do.  

Hubert: I think we've hinted to aligning some of our initiatives more and defining them a little bit more clearly for the next year. What I mean by that is tailoring our participation in our role to people raising their hands and saying, I think I can be effective with education and offer some specific advice on how to motivate more participation around specific goals for 2025. I know that we're still talking internally about how to do that, and also align with some of the other parts of the organization.

Is there anything that I didn't ask that you would like to mention?

Keating: For, Henry and Candice and I, Henry being the chair and Candice and I as vice chairs, we are standing on the shoulders of some really dedicated great people who got this up and running and we would be remiss not to acknowledge that. In particular I call out Betty Hernandez of SLR Business Credit who chaired this Committee for the first couple of years, and her unbelievable dedication to getting this going, and I say that without taking away from what Henry and Candice are doing, but Betty was so much of the Committee’s energy in its formative years, in getting it up and running. I’d also like to acknowledge all of our Committee members who were involved as well as Rich Gumbrecht and the entire SFNet staff who have supported the initiatives. It would not have happened without them.

Sosa: A committee’s success is only as good as the people that volunteer around it and support it. I want to thank Terry, Candice and all of our committee members. We each have our separate lives outside of our industry, and everyone is so busy.  Looking back to where we were to where we are now, everyone involved had a full hand in the continued success of this Committee. The collaboration within our Committee and across other committees is amazing. We continue to maintain such a great open dialogue and all the stakeholders, each of our Committee members, continue to adapt to the evolving inclusiveness challenges. I think to continue to adapt to that we are going to create a culture where inclusivity remains a priority. I am thankful to have a great team, and it is a pleasure and honor to serve again this year.