Caitlin Gossens, 34
Senior commercial banker in community development banking at JPMorgan Chase
In her role at JPMorgan Chase, Caitlin Gossens supports the bank’s community development banking clients throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, where she’s busy originating and structuring construction and permanent affordable housing financings.
For Gossens, her already-impressive career began with an urban planning class during her senior year at the University of Virginia. “It was something that stuck with me and, post-undergrad, I became more interested in affordable housing, and how we can help create more inclusive and equitable communities,” said Gossens, who also earned a master’s in public policy at Georgetown. “Being in D.C. and witnessing the commitment that the city was making to affordable housing firsthand was something that I wanted to be part of.”
Since becoming a commercial banker in 2020, Gossens has developed relationships with more than 24 new clients, originating more than $1 billion of construction financing for the development or preservation of over 5,000 affordable units.
Case in point: In September, Gossens closed a $30.4 million tax-exempt construction loan and an $8.4 million permanent loan for Ontario Place, a 52-unit affordable housing building in Washington, D.C., with 26 units reserved for individuals who were previously incarcerated. Earlier this year she also closed a $63.1 million tax-exempt construction loan, and a $30.7 million permanent loan for the rehabilitation of 49 buildings with 394 affordable units owned by a joint venture between the Montgomery Housing Partnership and the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation in D.C.’s Washington Highlands.
“I think a lot of it is the people that work here as part of our community development banking team,” she said of the draw to her role. “They really care about affordable housing, and they care about creating inclusive and equitable communities. Yes, we’re part of the commercial bank and, yes, we do make returns on these loans — but it’s so much more meaningful than that.”
When Gossens started at Chase, the bank was expanding into the mid-Atlantic, where it didn’t have any bank branches.
“It seemed like a really great opportunity to be working on something that felt a little bit entrepreneurial,” she said. “We were expanding and opening bank branches, but it was also an opportunity for us to also expand our affordable housing lending. Being part of that expansion effort was really exciting to me.”
