July 15, 2025 — Oakland, CA
Merritt Community Capital Corporation, a California-based nonprofit whose mission is to invest in affordable housing and people to build a stronger California, recently grew its leadership team with the addition of Pavlin Buchukov as Director of Merritt’s newly formed Community Development Finance Institution (“CDFI”). The CDFI expands Merritt’s financing activity from its existing housing tax credit equity business.
Mr. Buchukov brings nearly two decades of experience in community development, lending, and relationship and asset management, with a special focus on economic and social empowerment. In his most recent role at Genesis LA, where he spent over ten years, Mr. Buchukov led the organization’s lending activities, deploying over $100 million in direct CDFI loans and over $300 million in New Market Tax credits. Mr. Buchukov developed new lending products and programs with a strong emphasis on cultivating relationships with public, private and institutional clients, partners, and investors.
In his new role at Merritt, Mr. Buchukov will be responsible for expanding Merritt’s service offering by building a new CDFI business from the ground up. This will include spearheading the effort to build, operationalize, and scale Merritt’s newest impact arm. He will lead the capitalization, certification, business development, packaging, and servicing of affordable housing finance projects related to this growth initiative.
“I’m looking forward to working with Merritt to create this impactful CDFI, which will further strengthen Merritt’s imprint. Expanding Merritt’s services to include this new offering will significantly further our mission of building a stronger California,” says Mr. Buchukov.
In addition, Mr. Buchukov will foster deep relationships with developers and funders across the state of California to further understand the financial landscape within the affordable housing sector.
Ari Beliak, President & CEO of Merritt, stated, “We are thrilled to have Pavlin’s expertise to support our expansion across California. I am confident his knowledge and passion for the affordable housing space will allow us to have an even bigger impact.”
To stay updated with Merritt news and announcements, please visit the Merritt LinkedIn page.
About Merritt Community Capital Corporation
Merritt Community Capital Corporation is a mission-oriented affordable housing funder that serves the state of California. For more than 35 years, Merritt has been a trusted partner, investing more than $1.6 billion and creating over 12,000 affordable homes across California. Beyond investing in properties, Merritt invests in people. Through its Commitment to California initiative (C2C), Merritt proudly spearheads programs across the state that attract, train, and retain current and future affordable housers.
Merritt is also the west coast member of the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds (NASLEF), which empowers locally engaged, mission-driven housing and community investment partners to build thriving communities. By partnering with mission-aligned organizations and developers in the affordable housing space, Merritt ensures the most critical communities are developed and maintained for low-income residents.