Executive & Senior Management

President | Chief Executive Officer

James H. Bason sets and refines the broad strategic direction for the organization and leads a highly collaborative team in the execution of all programs and services. Mr. Bason provides tactical oversight for all aspects of our programs, staffing, operations, monitoring and reporting of social impact outcomes.

James H. Bason is an experienced financial executive with a history of providing comprehensive lending management expertise. Prior to joining TruFund Financial, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at Carver Bancorp, a nationally recognized community banking organization where he served in various executive roles during his nine-year tenure. During this time, he successfully drove organizational growth to build the loan portfolio from $250 million to $675 million and developed and implemented policies and procedures to enhance financial controls and to improve lending and loan servicing operations.

Previously, Mr. Bason served in positions of increasing responsibility at The Bank of New York, formerly as Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending and Community Development. Prior to that, Mr. Bason was the Community Reinvestment Act Officer at Barclays Bank in New York.

He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Oswego and a Banking Diploma in Finance from the American Institute of Banking. He recently completed a Citi/Opportunity Finance Network (OFN)-sponsored leadership training program for Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) executives at Wharton University. He completed his Formal Bank Credit Training Program at the Bank of New York.

Senior Vice President | Director of New Markets Tax Credit

Edwards brings exceptional industry expertise, deep networks, and a passion to the role.   Edwards joins TruFund from Community First Lending, a CDFI based in Richmond, California serving the San Francisco Bay area, with over 30 years’ experience in community development finance and structured lending to include private equity and real estate finance.

Ms. Edwards is the founder of structured finance consultancy, The Monarch Group. In addition to raising capital, her firm structured tax-enhanced transactions on behalf of private firms, and was responsible for the management and deployment of capital on behalf of institutional clients. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Monarch Group served a national footprint, and raised over $230 million in funding for small businesses and real estate development projects totaling over $1 billion in total project cost.

She has a passion for community development, and has made a personal and professional commitment to helping underserved markets access capital. Ms. Edwards has had the opportunity to assist in developing new community-focused private equity funds across the country, and won city citations for her efforts. First, as Chief Investment Officer for ICA Fund Good Jobs, and later as President of BRIDGE Impact Capital, she has led community development financial institutions in supporting small business and affordable housing in the Bay Area.

Ms. Edwards, serial entrepreneur, formed her own community development entity, which was awarded $20 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) to co-invest with churches in South Los Angeles. Ms. Edwards also assisted National New Markets Fund with the management and deployment of their $25 million GO Zone NMTC allocation. Prior to that engagement, Ms. Edwards spent five years as a private equity fund-of-funds manager for Citigroup, where she directly invested over $100 million in urban real estate private equity funds, and managed a $335 million portfolio of community-targeted investments.

Ms. Edwards received her Master’s degree in Business Administration from Clark Atlanta University, with an emphasis in Finance. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Princeton University, and also completed University of Southern California’s certificate program in Real Estate Development. She was also in the inaugural class of the Dr. Norman C. Francis Leadership Institute.

Her board commitments include Friends of the Urban Forest, Dudley Ventures (CDE), NewCorp Capital (CDFI), where she is Treasurer, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation, where she was chair of the Audit Committee for three years.

Senior Vice President | Director of Structured Lending & Investments

Seth is responsible for the building and execution of TruFund’s equity investment platform.  He leads fund management, capital initiatives, relationship management, underwriting, and portfolio support, focusing on investments in BIPOC developers of affordable housing. Seth is knowledgeable in equity and real asset investments. He has over a decade of experience, having underwritten hundreds of transactions and managed a $250 million real asset portfolio prior to joining TruFund. He is a CFA charter holder and graduated magna cum laude from the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Executive Vice President | Chief Operating Officer

As the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Evans focuses is on spearheading strategic initiatives that enhance financial resilience and operational efficiency. This commitment is reflected in our strategic vision and annual business plan.

Dr. Evans’ responsibilities extend to refining systems, processes, and policies, ensuring TruFund’s operations comply with the organization’s mission. By optimizing resources across all business lines, Dr. Evans will lead driving cost-effectiveness and support TruFund’s goal of revitalizing communities and fueling job creation.

Dr. Evans holds advanced degrees in organizational and business psychology, business administration, and entrepreneurship. With over 20 years of experience as a business and economic development professional having worked in both the government and nonprofit sector, Dr. Evans has extensive experience in development strategy consulting, federal fund administration to include Community Development Block Grant funds (CDBG); strategic partnership and relationship management. Kim joined TruFund in 2012 and was responsible for resource development, strategic partnerships, and program implementation in the Louisiana market.

Prior to joining TruFund, she served in roles of increasing responsibility with the State of Louisiana Department of Economic Development; City of New Orleans Department of Economic Development; United States Department of Commerce–Minority Business Development Agency and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation–Urban Entrepreneur Partnership. As a management and strategy consultant with CCMG Management, Dr. Evans served as senior business and municipal strategist. In addition to her professional achievements, Dr. Evans is deeply committed to volunteerism within the local community through various board appointments and ministry service.

Senior Vice President | Chief Financial Officer

Stephanie Kabore Turquin is an accomplished Certified Public Accountant with over 15 years of progressive experience in global financial management, strategic planning, and operational transformation. She is recognized for her ability to lead cross-functional teams, optimize financial systems, and deliver measurable business impact across diverse industries, including social enterprises, wealth management, real estate, and financial consulting.

In her previous role as Global Finance Director at myAgro, an award-winning social enterprise, Stephanie managed a $40M annual budget and long-term financial planning exceeding $120M. Her leadership has driven key initiatives such as securing over $100M in funding, streamlining global reporting processes, and implementing the Sage Intacct ERP system, resulting in over $1M in annualized savings. She also managed grants and financial management for high-profile donors and provided strategic insights to executive leadership and board members.

Senior Vice President | Chief Credit & Compliance Officer

Michael Vaugh is Senior Vice President and Chief Credit & Compliance Officer for TruFund Financial Services, Inc. Mr. Vaugh is responsible for TruFund’s credit risk management division, which includes underwriting and approval, credit administration, portfolio analytics, credit risk rating methodologies, counterparty risk, and problem loan management. Mr. Vaugh is an experienced commercial credit manager with formal credit training from Omega Performance. Mr. Vaugh has management and underwriting experience with Commercial Real Estate, Small Business Lending and C&I Lending. Over his 14 years of industry experience, he has worked with a variety of businesses such as Fortune 500 financial institutions, federal credit unions and nonprofit community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Mr. Vaugh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from East Stroudsburg University.