Novogradac Recognizes Gina Nisbeth with Robert E. Ibanez Award

Honor Named for Late Novogradac Senior Manager, NMTC Program Manager for CDFI Fund

SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Novogradac recognizes Gina Nisbeth as the recipient of the 2025 Robert E. Ibanez Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Development as part of the 2025 Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits Awards.

Introduced in 2024, the Robert E. Ibanez Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Development reflects the recipient's vision, leadership, innovation and impact in advancing the mission of community development.

Nisbeth is founder and president of 9^th and Clinton, a firm that provides strategic advisory and investment structuring guidance to real estate developers, fund managers, nonprofits and for-profit organizations investing in low-income communities. Before founding her own agency, Nisbeth spent more than two decades in various roles with Citi, including as director of its structured lending and investment group of the markets division, its executive in residence with a minority deposit institution, manager of $1 billion nationwide in new markets tax credit (NMTC) investments and president of its community development entity (CDE). Additionally, Nisbeth co-founded Open Access, a national fellowship program that seeks to increase representation of Black and Latinx professionals in community development finance.

"Receiving this award is such an honor," said Nisbeth. "When you are being honored in somebody else's name who is deceased, their life's story is complete. It is told. As an honoree, I feel a sense of responsibility to wear that and respect their memory. … It feels particularly special to be recognized by your peers in this great industry."

Nisbeth is a graduate of Rutgers College and earned a master of business administration from Temple University's The Fox School of Business. She was an undergraduate fellow at Rutgers' Eagleton Institute of Politics.

Novogradac will honor Nisbeth at the Novogradac 2025 Spring New Markets Tax Credit Conference June 5-6 at The Fairmont in Washington, D.C.

"We're honored to recognize Gina for the work she's done in community development and the new markets tax credit," said Greg Clements, CPA, a partner in Novogradac's Dover, Ohio, office, and chair of the Novogradac 2025 Spring New Markets Tax Credit Conference. "Gina has been such a powerhouse in this space for decades and her impact reverberates throughout the community. We're pleased to get a chance to honor her for that work."

The award is named for the late Robert "Bob" Ibanez, who passed away in April 2023 after a long career in community development, including five years with Novogradac as a senior manager in the company's public policy group and, prior to that, 13 years with the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. 

Additional details about the award winners and information on how to nominate a candidate for the 2026 award can be found at www.novoco.com/events/awards.

About Robert "Bob" Ibanez
Ibanez spent five years with Novogradac as a senior manager in the company's public policy group. At Novogradac, Ibanez helped clients in the NMTC and CDFI communities, in addition to being an essential contributor to the company's NMTC Working Group. Before his tenure with Novogradac, Ibanez spent 13 years with the CDFI Fund, including six as program manager of the NMTC and Bank Enterprise Award programs. Prior to that, Ibanez had a private consulting practice and also worked in the financial and community development industries, including as an associate director at Neighborhood Reinvestment.

About Novogradac
Novogradac, which has been in business for 35 years, has grown to more than 850 employees and partners with offices in more than 25 cities. Tax, audit and consulting specialty practice areas for Novogradac include affordable housing, community development, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy. For additional information on Novogradac's personnel and areas of expertise, visit www.novoco.com or call (415) 356-8000.

SOURCE Novogradac & Company LLP