Brittany Reid
Brittany Reid is a Boston native, born in Roslindale and raised in Mattapan. She is the Senior Loan Officer at Dorchester Bay EDC and has always had a knack for helping others. This commitment, along with her aspiration to retire as a philanthropist and a few unexpected opportunities, is how she created a career for herself in the community building field.
Brittany earned her BA in Environmental Political Economics at Bates College, and soon after began looking for jobs in which she could use her passion for math and numbers. After applying for a call center position at TD Bank, the hiring manager was impressed with her resume and recommended her to interview with their residential lending team instead. Interested in helping first-time homebuyers while simultaneously learning the process herself, she became a loan processor and quickly realized how much she enjoyed the work. “It was nice because I got to educate first time home buyers, people who [thought] that they didn't have a chance. I was always taught that you make three major purchases in life: a car, your education, and a home. And these are the things that most people aren't afforded.”
Brittany spent five years as a loan processor for several businesses until March 2020 when she was recruited by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She remembers getting a call from a
random lady who has my resume… who says, “hey, the federal government wants you to come work for them.” I said, “what? Is this a joke?” The world's shutting down. We don't know if the world's going to end and the federal government somehow has my information that's calling on me.
I [ended up signing] on as a Supervisory Loan Specialist with the SBA. I spent the first half doing origination work and getting people onboarded. I spent the other half spearheading and leading projects to save the [Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan intake] system.
In 2024, Brittany decided to take a break from work so she could re-evaluate her career path, move home to Boston, and reconnect with her community. She spent six months as an independent small business consultant and eventually became Dorchester Bay EDC’s Senior Loan Officer. Upon her arrival at Dorchester Bay, she was referred to the Mel King Institute’s Small Business TA Provider Certificate Program to develop her technical assistance skills. She explains that DBEDC “already knew I had lending experience, was personable, [and had] been in the community before, but I never had any formal technical assistance training. Sometimes there are people like me [who] know how to underwrite, do credit analysis, and understand business advisory work and consulting, but don't… have any certificates to back it up.” As the only one in the 2026 cohort who came to the series from a lending background, Brittany found it especially valuable to connect with participants from other sectors of the community building field. She recalls, “I've spent most of my time doing the numbers with clients… so it was nice to be able to combine worlds [with the other participants] to see their perspectives.”
Brittany recently provided a testimonial about her experiences in the SBTA Certificate Program at our 17th Annual Breakfast, and she looks forward to demonstrating how strategic capital can empower and transform our underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her wife and kid, going on long walks with her Yorkie poodle, and winding down with a good book.
The Mel King Institute offers the Small Business TA Provider Certificate Program on a yearly basis. Our ninth cycle will begin in Spring 2027.