As President & CEO of Appalachian Community Capital, Donna J. Gambrell is responsible for attracting and directing investments to Community Development Financial Institutions (or CDFIs) and other mission-driven lenders in the 13-state Appalachian Region. These lenders, in turn, use the investments to make loans to small business owners, including to diverse owners (Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color; women; and veterans) in underserved communities throughout the region. Since it began lending in 2015, ACC has deployed over $36 million to help finance renewable energy projects, manufacturing sites, elder care facilities, restaurants, ecotourism, and downtown redevelopment, among other projects.

Ms. Gambrell serves on several CDFI boards. She is also the board chair of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, a 501 (c) (3) organization comprised of over 80 executives that was formed in 2018 to identify solutions to closing the racial wealth gap in the communities served by the members.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson State University in Maryland and a Master of Science degree from New York University.