NJ Community Capital Appoints General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

On Apr 5, 2022

New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC), the New Brunswick-based nonprofit community development financial institution, announced that Melinda Colón Cox will join the organization as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Cox’s 15 years of experience will inform her legal guidance, as she collaborates with clients and colleagues alike to improve internal processes and enhance efficiency consistent with NJCC’s risk framework.

“NJCC has reached more than 115,750 people since its inception, and we’re excited to add Melinda’s expertise to our leadership team, while continuing to strengthen and streamline services to New Jersey communities,” said Bernel Hall, president and CEO of New Jersey Community Capital. “Melinda’s experience throughout her career and focus on financial literacy and real estate investment makes her an incredible asset to our team and organization.”

“It’s an honor to join New Jersey Community Capital’s legal team as its first General Counsel and I look forward to becoming fully ingrained in the important community-building work the organization is doing,” said Cox. “It has always been a goal of mine to find an organization that I could find mission alignment with and I am eager and excited to be in an environment that is receptive and appreciative of the myriad skills and contributions that I will offer to the communities and clients NJCC serves.”

Cox joins NJCC from PIB Law, where she served as a partner and member of the Executive Committee representing national banks and financial institutions, mortgage lenders and servicers, start-ups, and other various businesses. Her practice emphasis was on commercial and civil litigation, contested foreclosures, consumer finance and protection, contract disputes and state and federal regulatory compliance. Cox was the firm’s first associate and the first female partner in PIB Law’s Somerset headquarters, as well as the first female partner of its Executive Committee. Prior to joining PIB Law, Cox was a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Shipp for the District of New Jersey. She also served as an associate at a large New Jersey firm, in its Redevelopment Strategic Business Unit and Commercial Real Estate teams.

Cox has been active in the New Jersey legal community for years. She is a past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, where she served on its board since 2008, and is a former member of the National Women’s Law Center Leadership Advisory Committee. Cox currently serves on the Professional Ethics Committee and Diversity Committee for the New Jersey State Bar Association, as well as the New Jersey Supreme Civil Practice Committee. She is also the proud Chairman of The Cristian Rivera Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to find a cure for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), an inoperable brain tumor that affects young children.

NJCC is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides an innovative toolkit of financial products, programs and services to advance equity and opportunity in underserved communities. NJCC supports the preservation and development of affordable housing and sustainable community development ventures that increase jobs, improve education and strengthen neighborhoods to ensure that communities can thrive.

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