Trump Appoints Sanders to National Advisory Board

President Donald Trump announced that he is appointing Mike Sanders of Kingfisher to serve as one of nine private citizens on the national Community Development Advisory Board.

Sanders, former Oklahoma House Majority Leader and a six-term state representative serving Western Oklahoma’s sprawling District 59, was appointed to a three-year term on the national board.

“It’s an honor to be asked to serve in this capacity by President Trump,” Sanders said. “The phone call last week came as a total surprise.” 

The board serves in an unpaid capacity to advise the director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a program created to promote economic revitalization through investment in the privately-owned companies which are designated as community development financial institutions by the Department of Treasury.

Hundreds of such institutions are located across the country and focus on serving the needs of the poor and working class within urban and rural communities, many of whom are underserved by traditional banks and lending processes. 

The CDFI Fund’s mission is to expand economic opportunity for residents and businesses in distressed communities by supporting the growth and capacity of this national network of community development leaders, investors and financial service providers.

The 1994 act that created the advisory board requires the following representation among the nine private citizens: two officers of existing community development financial institutions; two officers of insured depository institutions; two officers of national consumer or public interest organizations; two with expertise in community development and one with personal experience and specialized expertise in the unique lending and community development issues confronted by Native American tribes on tribal land.

In addition to his state legislative experience, Sanders brings to the table his previous experience as  deputy chief of staff for rural development and senior advisor to the chief of Natural Resources Conservation Service with the U.S. Department of Agriculture under President George W. Bush and the Council for Small Business for Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating.

In particular, Sanders said the CDFI fund’s focus is “very similar to the work I did at the USDA in rural development. We took care of rural communities of 15,000 or less that qualified for certain loans or grants.” 

The advisory board also includes five representatives from the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Treasury, as well as the Small Business Administration.

Sanders said that although those Cabinet and SBA representatives would change under a Joe Biden presidency, his own appointment and those of other private citizens are secure for their entire three-year terms.

The advisory board meets two or three times a year in Washington, D.C., although the most recent meeting in August was held virtually due to the pandemic.

“I look forward to adding Oklahoma’s voice to this national board, which has the potential to impact policies important to all Oklahomans but particularly those in our rural communities and in our tribal governments,” Sanders said. “When those in rural Oklahoma and in our tribes thrive and see economic and job growth, our entire state benefits.”