With 1,280 attendees, 61 breakout sessions, three tours, and our annual fun run, OFN's 2016 Conference with the theme of Rethink in Atlanta was the place to be October 24–27.

• We heard warm welcome remarks from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and OFN's Interim CEO Fran Lutz.
• Our Opening Plenary panel discussion, Impact Investing and Beyond: Creating a More Equitable Future provided a rousing, in-depth discussion of the opportunities impact investing brings to the CDFI industry. The panel was comprised of Lisa Hall of Anthos Asset Management, Catherine Berman of CNote Group, Melissa Bradley of Kogod School of Business at American University, Cynthia Muller of W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
• Dennis Lockhart, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, addressed the crowd on Tuesday as well, followed by a presentation by 100 Resilient Cities President Michael Berkowitz.
• At the Tenth Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance we heard from the NEXT Opportunity Award winners—Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union and Rio Grande Valley Multibank—and honored Lower Valley Credit Union, Texas Community Capital, and The Housing Fund with NEXT Seed Capital Awards.
• Elsie Meeks, former USDA Rural Development State Director, received the prestigious Ned Gramlich Award for Responsible Finance for her dedication to Native economic development and role in bringing CDFIs to Native communities.
• CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan delivered targeted remarks on the important role of CDFIs in communities like Atlanta and across the country.
• At OFN Connect, OFN Members re-elected three candidates to fill three board seats. Have a look at our current Board of Directors here.
• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, the Surdna Foundation, and Opportunity Finance Network awarded this year's Small Business Leader Award for Mission-Driven Lenders to four CDFIs: Accion, serving Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas; Carolina Small Business Development Fund; Community Reinvestment Fund USA; and Montana & Idaho CDC.
• At the Native CDFI Awards ceremony—hosted by Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and First Nations Oweesta Corporation (Oweesta)—Táala Fund received the Circle of Honor Award and long-time Native CDFI practitioner, Sheila Herrera, received the Visionary Leader Award for Outstanding Achievement.
• Nathaniel Smith, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Partnership for Southern Equity, this year's OFN Conference Justice Grantee, spoke to the Conference about PSE's coalition-based business model that draws on the strengths and knowledge of individuals and organizations to bring economic empowerment to disinvested communities.
• Finally, at OFN Connect, Barry Libert of OpenMatters delivered a thought provoking address, The Digital Imperative: How Networks and Platforms Change the CDFI Agenda.