Our Leadership

Meet our team of experienced leaders.

Picture of Lori Bettinger

Lori Bettinger

Co-President of Alliance Partners and President of BancAlliance

Lori Bettinger serves as Co-President of Alliance Partners and President of BancAlliance. Prior to joining Alliance Partners, Ms. Bettinger served as the Director of the TARP Capital Purchase Program at the Department of the Treasury, focusing on the implementation, investing, and restructuring cycles of the $205 billion portfolio. From 2004-2008, she was a financial economist with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets. She received her M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and her B.A. from Yale University.

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Don Cole

Chief Executive Officer

Don Cole serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbright Bank and the President and Chief Operating Officer of Forbright, Inc. He previously served as President and COO of Congressional Bank. From 2012 to 2018, Mr. Cole served as Chief Financial Officer of Alliance Partners. From 2009 to 2011, he served as Chief Financial Officer of CapitalSource. From 2003 to 2009, Mr. Cole served in various senior management positions at CapitalSource including Chief Operations Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Chief Information Officer. Mr. Cole received his BS and MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his law degree from the University of Virginia.

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Lisa Cuba

Chief Risk Officer

Lisa Cuba serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer for Forbright Bank and Chief Risk Officer of Forbright, Inc., positions she has held since 2022. Prior to joining Forbright, Ms. Cuba had over 20 years of risk management experience within community and regional banks and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Director of Enterprise Risk Management at Atlantic Union Bank from 2018 to 2022. Ms. Cuba holds an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina and a B.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the College of William & Mary, in addition to degrees from the Graduate School of Banking at the Louisiana State University and the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia.

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John Delaney

Founder and Executive Chairman

John Delaney is an entrepreneur, business leader, and public servant. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Forbright, Inc. and Executive Chairman of Forbright Bank. In 2017 John was named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine.

John served six years in the U.S. Congress and earned praise for his bipartisan approach to economic, foreign, and climate policy. While in Congress he was on the Financial Services and Joint Economic Committees and co-founded the Artificial Intelligence and Climate Solutions Caucuses. He was the co-president of his freshman class of 85 new members in the U.S. House of Representatives and in 2019 he stepped down from Congress to pursue the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Before Congress and by the age of 40, John had founded and led two New York Stock Exchange-listed companies. In 1993, John founded HealthCare Financial Partners Inc., which provided loans to small to mid-sized healthcare service companies. In 2000, he founded CapitalSource Inc., which provided loans to a wide range of mid-sized businesses. John served as Chairman and CEO of CapitalSource until his decision to pursue public office. All told, Delaney’s companies created thousands of jobs and made over $30 Billion of loans to over 5,000 companies.

John is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bipartisan Policy Center and Citizens Climate Education. He is a past member of the Board of Georgetown University, the Potomac School, and St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School. Delaney is a member of YPO, was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year, received the Bank Enterprise Award from the Obama Administration for lending to disadvantaged communities, and the Legislator of the Year Award by Citizens Climate Education.

John received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from Georgetown Law Center. He and his wife April McClain Delaney have four daughters.

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John Devereux

President of Real Estate Finance

John Devereux serves as President, Real Estate Finance. His division is responsible for commercial real estate lending nationwide, community lending in the Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland area, and commercial PACE financing across the country. John has over 30 years of real estate equity and debt experience including six years as Head of Commercial Real Estate and OneWest Bank and nine years as Principal at Colony Capital. John graduated from Standford University with a mechanical engineering degree, Claremont McKenna College with an economics degree, and UCLA’s Anderson School of Business with an MBA. John and his wife Heather reside in Manhattan Beach, CA. They have four children.

 

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Kenny Elias

Chief Lending Officer and President of Lender Finance

Kenny Elias joined Forbright in 2011 and now serves a dual role as the bank’s Chief Lending Officer for Lender Finance, Corporate Finance, and Real Estate Finance as well as President of Lender Finance. Kenny founded various national specialty lending business units at the bank, including the cash flow and leveraged finance unit, lender finance, and national real estate. Additionally, from 2017-2019 he oversaw the Washington DC area community bank lending efforts. Prior to joining the Bank, Kenny served various roles in leveraged finance, private equity and accounting. Most recently he was with Blackstreet Capital where he sourced, underwrote, and managed control equity buyouts of underperforming companies. Prior thereto, Kenny was a Director of Portfolio Management for Leveraged Finance at CapitalSource where he managed several billion dollars of performing and non-performing loans throughout his tenure. His previous experience includes roles with Allied Capital Corporation (now part of Ares Capital) and regional CPA firm Watkins Meegan LLC. Kenny earned his C.P.A. (now inactive) and received his M.B.A. from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware.

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Amy Heller

Chief Lending Officer, Healthcare and President of Healthcare Lending

Amy Heller serves a dual role as the Bank’s Chief Lending Officer for Healthcare and President of the Healthcare and HUD Lending platforms. Ms. Heller joined the Bank in 2013 to create and grow the Healthcare Lending vertical within Forbright. Prior to working at the Bank, Ms. Heller was the Managing Director of the Healthcare Credit Group at CapitalSource Bank and held various positions within CapitalSource, Heller Financial and its predecessor Healthcare Financial Partners. Ms. Heller graduated from George Washington University, cum laude, with a degree in Business, concentrating in Finance.

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Aaron Juda

Chief Strategy Officer and President of Consumer Banking

Aaron Juda serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Consumer Banking at Forbright Bank. Prior to joining Forbright in 2018, Mr. Juda served as Business Development Officer of Alliance Partners. Prior to his role at Alliance Partners, Mr. Juda was a Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group at Barclays Investment Bank and was a consultant at Accenture Strategy. Mr. Juda holds a B.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business.

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Leanne Ladd

Chief Administrative Officer

Leanne Ladd serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer for Forbright Bank, a position she has held since 2021. Ms. Ladd joined Forbright in 2018 and has served in roles with increasing responsibility, including Vice President, Director of Systems Operations/ Program Management and Senior Vice President, Director of Operations. Ms. Ladd holds a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Business from Brigham Young University.

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Chris Lynch

Chief Financial Officer

Chris Lynch serves as Chief Financial Officer at Forbright Bank. Prior to joining Forbright, Mr. Lynch served for almost a decade as Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President of Finance at Pacific Western Bank. During his tenure, Mr. Lynch managed the financial and capital forecasting, capital stress testing, tax, and insurance functions. Prior to Pacific Western Bank, he held executive roles including Senior Vice President of Finance at CapitalSource and Chief Financial Officer at Walker & Dunlop. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lynch worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, and in treasury and finance positions at Marriott International.

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Eartha Morris

Chief Operations Officer

Eartha Morris serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Forbright Bank, a position she has held since 2019. Prior to rejoining Forbright Bank in 2019, she served in similar roles with EagleBank, South State Bank, Congressional Bank, Provident Bank of Maryland, and Riggs Bank. Ms. Morris is a seasoned executive within the banking industry experienced in the areas of Bank Operations, Information Technology, Risk Management, Project Management, Process Reengineering, and Change Management. Ms. Morris holds a graduate degree in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Maryland.

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Samantha Norquist

Chief Sustainability Officer

Samantha Norquist serves as Chief Sustainability Officer at Forbright Bank. Ms. Norquist previously served as a Director on the Asset Management team of Alliance Partners (an investment advisory subsidiary of Forbright Bank) from 2013 to 2021. Prior to joining Alliance Partners, Ms. Norquist was a Certified Public Accountant at Ernst & Young where she focused on the financial services sector. Ms. Norquist holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Accounting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

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Kori Ogrosky

General Counsel

Kori Ogrosky serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Forbright, Inc. and Forbright Bank, positions she has held since 2022. Prior to joining Forbright, Ms. Ogrosky was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for PacWest Bancorp. Prior to joining PacWest Bancorp, Ms. Ogrosky was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of CapitalSource Inc. from 2012 to 2014 and had served in various roles in the legal department at CapitalSource since 2007. Additionally, Ms. Ogrosky was an Associate at White & Case LLP from 1999 to 2004. Ms. Ogrosky holds a B.S. from Emory University and a J.D. from George Washington University.

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Jim Peterson

Chief Credit Officer

Jim Peterson serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of Forbright Bank and Chief Operating Officer of Forbright, Inc., positions he has held since 2014. Mr. Peterson previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Forbright Bank. Prior to joining Forbright, Mr. Peterson worked at CapitalSource Inc. for 11 years, most recently as Senior Vice President and Director of Credit & Credit Policy. Mr. Peterson also worked at Bank of America in various commercial lending roles over 17 years. Mr. Peterson is a graduate of the College of William & Mary with a B.A. degree in Economics.

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Mark Tsimanis

Founder and President of Energy Loan Network

Mark Tsimanis is the Founder and President of Energy Loan Network (ELN). ELN offers affordable financing for home energy efficiency upgrades such as solar, roofing, HVAC, windows, and insulation through a network of approved contractors and lenders. ELN was acquired by Forbright Bank in 2021 and Mr. Tsimanis continues to serve as ELN’s President. Prior to ELN, Mr. Tsimanis had over 20 years of experience with leading energy efficiency financing, consumer lending and mortgage banking programs. He served as a member of the California Solar Industries Association (CALSEA) financing committee, has testified to the California Public Utilities Commission as an advisor on energy efficiency financing, and has been a speaker on solar and energy efficiency financing for numerous events and forums. He was also part of the Governor Jerry Brown “Big Think” Forum on Energy Efficiency. Mr. Tsimanis attended Western Governors University where he obtained dual B.S. degrees in Business Management and Accounting.

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Vince Twomey

President of Corporate Finance and Co-President of Alliance Partners

Vince Twomey serves as President of Corporate Finance at Forbright Bank and Co-President of Alliance Partners. Mr. Twomey joined Forbright in 2018 upon its acquisition of Alliance Partners. From 2011 to 2018, he served as Chief Credit Officer for Alliance Partners. Prior to Alliance Partners, Mr. Twomey served as a Managing Director for CapitalSource, managing Northeast Region commercial cashflow loan origination and underwriting after holding several positions, including Chief Underwriting Officer and Senior Investment Officer. From 1990 to 2000, he was a Senior Vice President with Barclays Business Credit and its acquiror, Fleet Capital Corporation, where he was responsible for overseeing all asset based commercial lending underwriting activities in the Northeast Region. Mr. Twomey is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive license) and is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

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Ben Wakana

Director of Communications

Ben Wakana serves as Forbright Bank’s Director of Communications where he leads communications, branding, and marketing. Mr. Wakana joined Forbright Bank from the White House where he served as Deputy Director for Strategic Communications on the COVID Response Team. He has spent over a decade leading communications teams at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill, and at a health care advocacy organization. Mr. Wakana is a graduate of Colby College with a degree in Philosophy.