About Lendistry

Everett K. Sands leverages his 20+ years of experience in banking to change the game for underserved small business owners who need access to responsible capital to reach the next level. Mr. Sands has shared his recommendations before Congressional committees and at conferences hosted by FORTUNE, the National Urban League and several industry-related events. He has appeared as a subject matter expert on national business media, including CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg. When Mr. Sands saw the accelerating trend of capital becoming less accessible and more expensive for small businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans and rural-dwellers, he recruited an experienced team of fellow banking professionals and founded Lendistry. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Sands is an Advisory Board member of The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), and a Board member of The Center by Lendistry. 

Jeff has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, he served for 16 years as the CFO of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., a publicly traded middle market investment bank and full-service broker-dealer based in New York. Prior to that, Jeff was an audit partner at Deloitte, where he spent 14 years providing audit and business advisory services to banking and securities industry clients out of New York, Tokyo, and Seattle. Jeff is a graduate of Michigan State University with a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Lynn A. Fernandez has been a leader in the banking world for over 30 years. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President at Comerica Bank, where she directed 100+ banking locations throughout California. Before that, Fernandez oversaw small business banking in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest as Senior Vice President at Bank of America.

Kyle Funn brings over 12 years of business experience to Lendistry, both as a corporate attorney and in-house operator. Most recently, Mr. Funn was a senior corporate associate in the Los Angeles office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., where he advised private companies and venture capital and private equity funds in a variety of corporate and securities law matters. Prior to that, he was a corporate associate at Cypress LLP, where he provided broad-based corporate representation to start-up and private growth companies and private equity firms in a variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, financial services, entertainment and media, and manufacturing. Mr. Funn received his undergraduate degree at Howard University and law degree at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Joe Kerwin has more than 20 years of marketing experience in financial services organizations, including a focus on the  commercial real estate and commercial lending space as a Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo. He has overseen and grown brands at large institutions and small technology and fintech startups. As Lendistry’s Chief Marketing Officer he oversees marketing, public relations and communications for the company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tulsa and a Master of Arts from DePaul University.

A graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business, Leeann Lynch has 15 years’ experience in residential and commercial lending driving profitability through marketing strategies and operational efficiencies. As Lendistry’s Chief Strategy Officer, she works alongside the executive team where she has developed valuable affiliate partnerships and implemented crucial marketing initiatives which have significantly increased sales volume and brand awareness.

Deanna Bassett is a serial entrepreneur with more than two decades of financial and operational leadership in technology focused enterprises. A specialist in the critical early stages of company development, Deanna adds the discipline necessary for successful capital formation and profitable growth. Deanna has served as CFO for three different organizations.

Rob Green has over 20 years of technology and management experience with a focus on defining SaaS product strategy and leadership at the executive level. Rob has held leadership roles in technology organizations such as Dizzion, Salesforce, Viawest, Rackspace, and Verizon Business services (formerly Digex). He has held technical roles in science and engineering at the National Institutes of Health, NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics lab. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Science from the University of Maryland as well as several industry certifications.