Ceyl Prinster is President and CEO of Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF), an
award-winning nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), SBA Microloan Intermediary and SBA Community Advantage Lender.
Founded in 1976, CEF provides access to capital and capacity-building support for small businesses throughout Colorado to build prosperous, diverse and equitable communities. CEF has made over $95 million in loans to 2,600 Colorado small businesses. CEF’s loans have impacted over 18,000 jobs and 86% of loans were made to minority, women or low-income entrepreneurs. CEF has received numerous awards, most recently the 2019 SBA National Community Lender of the Year, the 2018 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award and the 2017 Impact Catalyst Award.
As the chief executive of CEF for over 30 years, Ms. Prinster is a pioneer and national leader in community development finance. Prior to CEF, she was a commercial loan analyst, commercial loan officer and training officer at United Bank of Denver (now Wells Fargo.) She holds the professional designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Her current external service roles include Trustee of the Denver Foundation and Chair of its Impact Investing Committee, Board Member and Vice-Chair of the national CDFI Coalition and Board Member of
The Other Side Academy, a school where students learn vocational, pro-social, and life skills to succeed on “the other side” of addiction and criminal behavior. She previously served as Trustee for the University of
Notre Dame and President of its Alumni Association and was a founding member of the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council.
Ms. Prinster’s personal awards include the 2018 David E. Bailey Small Business Advocate Award from the Denver Metro Chamber, Outstanding Woman in Business from the Denver Business Journal, the Financial Services Advocate of the Year from the SBA, and the Tom Dooley Award from the University of Notre Dame.