Changes to our Investment Team
Dear Black Farmer Fund Community,
We write to share an update regarding the Investment Team at Black Farmer Fund. Charles (Chaka) Wade has resigned from his position as Investment Director to explore new opportunities. We are deeply grateful for Chaka’s leadership and thank him for his service and commitment to BFF’s investees, community, farmers, and food Businesses across the Northeast.
We are excited to announce that Myra Marcellin, our current Business Support Director, will be stepping into the role of Investment Director. Myra first became a part of our team as a Technical Assistance Consultant and then as Business Support Director, playing an essential role in supporting our investees over the last two years. Myra has spent the past year working closely with the Investment Team to evaluate small farms for our portfolio. Now, we are thrilled to welcome her into this next leadership chapter.
Myra will work closely with our Investment Committee and Investment Team, which is comprised of ten farmers and food business owners, to bring forth new investments and create health and wellness within the Black food system. Over the next year, they will be:
Deploying over $6 million in debt capital to help launch, sustain, and scale Black-owned farms and food businesses.
Enhancing our procedures and systems to improve reliability, efficiency, and responsiveness.
Providing holistic technical assistance to help Black farms and food entrepreneurs build, maintain, and grow.
In 2025, as Business Support Director, Myra and the rest of the Business Support Team were able to increase our 2025 Rapid Response Fund from $100,000 a year to $769,564, showing responsiveness to the rising emergency capital needs of the community, many of whom are currently facing financial constraints due to losses of federal funding.
Myra has also provided more than 400 hours of technical assistance to Black farmers and food businesses across the Northeast in her time at Black Farmer Fund. Her dedication and expertise have helped strengthen our investee network and deepen our impact. In addition, she has led intensive training on loan processing and credit underwriting, significantly expanding the capacity of our Investment Team and reinforcing a values-driven approach to our financial practices.
Myra brings over 25 years of experience working directly with farmers, most notably as Vice President and Senior Loan Officer at Farm Credit East, where she supported small and mid-sized farms in achieving their business goals and helped young and beginning farmers launch and grow their operations. She also served as a Financial Business Advisor with the Franklin County Community Development Corporation for the Massachusetts Agricultural Innovation Center, where she provided technical assistance to farmers seeking to identify value-added opportunities within their operations. In this role, she continued her long-standing commitment to breaking down barriers for low-income and BIPOC entrepreneurs in accessing the capital and resources they need to thrive. As Investment Director, she will continue to listen to the voices in our community to guide our deployment goals.
“Having Myra step into this role feels like a natural and exciting evolution of Black Farmer Fund. As we deepen our commitment to supporting small farmers, her extensive experience and proven track record in this work will strengthen our impact.” - Olivia Watkins
“I’m deeply grateful for the trust placed in me to move the Investment work forward, for the support and encouragement from our leadership team, and for the opportunity to serve our Black community in the most meaningful way possible.” – Myra Marcellin
We are excited to get back to the heart of our work – supporting Black Farmers who need access to credit and capital.
For more information about the rest of our team, check out our website!
Or, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us at info@blackfarmerfund.com.