by Paulina Gonzalez-Brito

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Kevin Stein’s tenure at the California Reinvestment Coalition. All of us at CRC congratulate and thank Kevin for his many years of service to CRC and the communities CRC and our members serve. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Kevin over the past six and a half years. The thing that has struck me most about Kevin is how much he cares for his coworkers, taking the time to teach us, mentor us, make us laugh, lend a helping hand, and did I mention make us laugh?

As Deputy Director of CRC, Kevin leads corporate and policy campaigns, advocates for regulatory and legislative change, works in partnership with local community organizations, and conducts action research. He also serves on the board of directors of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).

Those of us who know Kevin know that he is equally loved and feared in this world. Loved for his undying commitment to our communities and justice, and feared because this same commitment makes him an unrelenting advocate.

Kevin has been instrumental in pushing through many important policy and corporate reforms, including passage of California’s Homeowner Bill of Rights and Homeowner Survivor Bill of Rights. More recently, Kevin has headed CRC’s work in negotiating a $100 million redlining settlement with CIT bank and led CRC in our successful suit against the Trump administration to ensure enforcement of civil rights laws that protect women-owned, minority-owned and small businesses against discrimination by banks. In the past five years, Kevin has worked to secure $50 billion through Community Benefit Agreements that direct bank investments toward affordable housing, home ownership, and small business ownership for low-income households and people of color.

We deeply appreciate Kevin’s thoughtful and tireless work, but most importantly we appreciate Kevin’s friendship, mentorship, and love for California communities.

Thank you for 20 years, Kevin.