Julie Linnell Cowan

I enjoy turning vision into reality. Whether it's new equipment to meet customer demand or to support the acquisition of real estate and subsequently expand/construct a facility, I work to bring together the necessary resources to make it happen, through creative financing solutions and in collaboration with local, State and Federal organizations and agencies. I joined MassDevelopment to bring together my interest and experience in commercial lending, economic development, community development and relationship-building to strengthen the Massachusetts economy through the use of innovative finance programs and real estate services. As a disciplined self-starter, for the last twenty years I have worked remotely with success at least one day a week: the pandemic presented an opportunity to reduce my carbon footprint while increasing my timeliness and availability to the communities and constituents I serve. In my role as a Commercial Lender at TD Bank, I worked with a number of companies in various growth stages, matching their capital needs with their vision for the future, via expansion, acquisition or vertical integration. As the leader of fundraising at a nonprofit, it was a similar premise, matching a donor's capacity for financial support of the organization with her/his vision for the future of the organization or broader cause area. I'm back now as a Commercial Lender, at the State's Economic Development Finance Agency and Land Bank, working with many of those leaders in the for-profit and non-profit sectors, to address blight, to improve/increase the housing stock and to support the Massachusetts employers who create the job opportunities necessary to retain and attract talented residents. Through it all, the trusted relationships I seek and build are all done in the spirit of collaboration, inclusivity and respect. Economic opportunity, food access/insecurity, housing and addressing the wealth gap are areas of special interest to me. Lastly, mentoring has been hugely beneficial to me, personally and professionally: as such, I am committed to paying it forward, as a formal mentor to two women who are early stage in their respective careers and also as a volunteer board/committee member with organizations whose missions align with my areas of interest.