The Disability Opportunity Fund
Impact investorRockville Centre · Seed · 15 people tracked
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Investment thesis
The Disability Opportunity Fund acts as a bridge between the disability market and community development financial institutions (CDFIs), leveraging CDFI infrastructure and resources to serve the continuing needs of the growing disability community.
Source: firm website, verified Jul 31, 2026.
Team · 15 people
from the firm's websiteCharles Hammerman has been President and CEO of The Disability Opportunity Fund since 2007, a national Certified Community Development Financial Institution he grew from zero to $30 million, with a portfolio focused on housing and related services for people with disabilities. He previously founded and served as Managing Director of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, and held roles at Merrill Lynch including in Private Executive Services, Equity Capital Markets, and the Office of General Counsel, as well as work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and an associate at Morgan Lewis & Bockius. He holds a BA in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a JD from Fordham University School of Law.
Board member; Senior Program Officer for Environment and Public Space at the William Penn Foundation.
Co-founder and Director of Administration & Technical Assistance.
Alex Vasquez is a Portfolio Manager at High Impact, working within its Portfolio Management line of business, with over eight years of experience in financial services and several years in leadership roles. Before High Impact, he served as Community Lending Manager at ASSETS Lancaster, a Pennsylvania-based CDFI, where he oversaw lending operations, underwriting, and compliance while supporting women and BIPOC entrepreneurs. In 2021 he participated in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's Reinventing our Communities racial equity training program.
Carl A. Jenkins is Managing Director and Group Head of Community Investments at BMO Harris Bank N.A., where he oversees Community Reinvestment Act investments in lower middle market companies and community-based real estate development, managing an alternative investment portfolio of more than $600 million across several U.S. states. He previously worked as a commercial real estate lender at BMO Capital Markets and the BMO Harris Community Development Lending team, and earlier at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. He holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School of Business.
Cinnamon Chambers-Lewis has more than 15 years of experience in community development, including work in affordable housing programming, government antipoverty initiatives, and nonprofit agencies. She has served as CRA officer at Metropolitan Commercial Bank since 2017, and previously held that role at Astoria Bank and Amalgamated Bank, where she also worked in marketing, group banking, and risk management. She earlier worked at Independence Community Bank on low-to-moderate income marketing and community development projects, and attended Medgar Evers College.
Edward Greene is a finance executive focused on strategic decision-making, risk, and change management. He is Senior Director of Underwriting and Credit in the Targeted Affordable Housing and Specialty Products group at Freddie Mac, where he oversees underwriting and credit for a network of 18 lending partners, and previously held director-level credit and enterprise risk management roles there. Before Freddie Mac he held credit and financial structuring positions at various financial services firms and earlier worked as a corporate attorney.
Board member; independent real estate and finance consultant working with various nonprofit organizations.
Serves as Chief Operating Officer and sits on the board.
Isaac Wells is CFO of Dyrdek Machine, a Los Angeles venture studio, and Managing Director of CableLine Capital, a family office operations and advisory firm where he oversees financial operations, investment allocation, portfolio strategy, and manager selection. He has worked in the venture community as an investor and as a member of the Alliance of Angels selection committee, and has served as a director and operating partner to companies across the mobile, tech, hospitality, sports, outdoor retail, and hedge fund sectors. He began his career at Clearwire Corporation in strategic and finance roles, and holds a finance degree from the Carson College of Business at Washington State University.
Justin Manaster is a Principal at Conversant Capital, an investment firm active in equity and credit across real estate, digital infrastructure, and hospitality in public and private markets. He previously worked in real estate private equity at Harbor Group International and Vanke and began his career as a Distressed Credit Analyst at Citigroup in London. He holds an Economics degree from Cornell University and has been a Disability Opportunity Fund Investment Committee member since 2019.
Board member; Managing Director and Partner at LRG Wealth Advisors.
Board member and SVP at City National Bank.
Chief Financial Officer at DOF.
Peter Schaeffing handles underwriting of loan requests and due diligence on borrowers, working on affordable housing, charter school, and commercial real estate transactions. He founded High Impact Financial Analysis in 2014, having previously worked in underwriting, portfolio management, and new markets tax credit transactions at New Jersey Community Capital. He studied economics, political science, and finance at the South Carolina Honors College at the University of South Carolina.
What they invest in
from 2 of 2 portfolio companiesAdvanced Manufacturing ×1AI & Machine Learning ×1Consumer ×1Direct to Consumer ×1E-commerce ×1Enterprise Software ×1Future of Work ×1HR Tech ×1
HQs:United States×2
Investments · 2 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathNo Limbits makes adaptive clothing designed for people with limited hand dexterity, offering a women's jacket with features like a self-aligning zipper, magnetic front closure, and a large loop zipper pull for easier, one-handed dressing.
Advanced ManufacturingConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceMarion, US
Erica Cole(Founder)
Co-investorsCitrine AngelsOpen Venture CapitalSilicon ValleyParallel 18
Ultranauts (formerly Ultra Testing) is a quality engineering firm providing software testing and QA services, built as a fully remote workplace that employs cognitively diverse teams, with more than 75% of staff on the autism spectrum.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkHR TechImpact & Social GoodNew York, US
Rajesh Anandan(Co-founder & CEO)inArthur Shectman(Executive Officer, Director)Charles D. Hammerman(Director)Eric R. Chapman(Director)
Co-investorsMoai CapitalSustainVC
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does The Disability Opportunity Fund invest at?
- The Disability Opportunity Fund invests at the Seed stage.
- What sectors does The Disability Opportunity Fund focus on?
- The Disability Opportunity Fund focuses on Impact & Social Good, PropTech.
- Where is The Disability Opportunity Fund located?
- The Disability Opportunity Fund is headquartered in Rockville Centre, US.
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