Nadia Villagrán joined the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community development work in communities across the country, in January 2017 as a Program Director providing broad oversight and input for LISC’s national program Rural LISC.
Since January 2024, Nadia has been leading the team of 20+ toward the group’s mission of working with residents and partners to support resilient and inclusive rural communities as they become great places to live, work and innovate.
An experienced community and economic development leader, Nadia works closely with LISC leadership to oversee the administrative, financial, and programmatic strategies of Rural LISC to expand, grow and fortify the rural network of more than 150 partners, allies, and collaborators.
Nadia has more than 20 years of experience in community development, fund raising, and communications. Before joining LISC, she served in many Director-level rolls at the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC), a longtime Rural LISC partner based in Southern California, including the Director of Operations and Communications, the Single-Family Development Director and the Community Services Director.
Nadia credits her commitment to nonprofit management, community development and affordable housing to having watched her parents build their family home in Southern Arizona, when she was six years old. Her parents joined their neighbors to build their home and that of their neighbors utilizing the USDA-Rural Development Mutual Self-Help program.