Interview #19: Alana Peterson | Spruce Root

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Alana Peterson, who serves as Executive Director of Spruce Root, Inc., which serves 23 predominantly Native communities across southeast Alaska. A federally certified Native CDFI, Spruce Root provides local entrepreneurs with access to business development and financial resources in the form of loan capital, business coaching, workshops, and competitions.

Interview #18: Sean Winters | Chi Ishobak

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Sean Winters, who serves as Executive Director of Chi Ishobak, Inc. Meaning “Big Cabbage” in the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s language, Chi Ishobak is a certified Native CDFI serving the Pokagon Potawatomi community and other Native people in Michigan and Indiana that was established to offer products and services to build capacity for tribal citizens in the areas of professional and personal finance.

Interview #17: Lakota Vogel | Four Bands Community Fund, Inc.

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Lakota Vogel, who serves as Executive Director of Four Bands Community Fund, Inc., a federally certified Native CDFI based on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota whose mission is to create economic opportunity by helping Native people build strong and sustainable small businesses and increase their financial capability to create assets and wealth.

Interview #16: Julia Nelmark | White Earth Investment Initiative

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Julia Nelmark, who serves as President and CEO of Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation (MMCDC) and CEO of White Earth Investment Initiative (WEII), a MMCDC subsidiary. A federally certified Native CDFI, WEII helps create jobs and improve community life for the White Earth Nation and other Native communities across Minnesota through homebuyer education, individual homeownership advising, financial counseling, business and consumer lending, tax preparation support, and other efforts.

Interview #15: Barbara Schmitt | Black Hills Community Loan Fund

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Barbara Schmitt, who serves as Interim Executive Director of Black Hills Community Loan Fund (BHCLF) in Rapid City, South Dakota. A federally certified Native CDFI, BHCLF creates opportunities for Native families to strengthen their financial wellbeing in the He Sapa Region through credit builder, home purchase and home improvement, and small business loans as well as matched savings accounts, one-on-one credit counseling, and financial education classes.

Interview #14: Dave Tovey | Nixyáawii Community Financial Services

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Dave Tovey, who serves as Executive Director of Nixyáawii Community Financial Services, a federally certified Native CDFI owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in northeast Oregon. Nixyáawii has merged the services of CTUIR’s homeownership, business development, and lending programs to create a single full-service credit, loan, and financial management resource that serves tribal members, tribal employees, and reservation residents.

Interview #12: Stephen Highers | Cherokee Nation Economic Development Trust Authority

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Stephen Highers, who serves as Director of the Small Business Assistance Center with the Cherokee Nation Economic Development Trust Authority (CNEDTA). Federally certified in 1998, CNEDTA is a Native CDFI that provides Cherokee Nation citizens and employees with consumer and commercial loans.

Interview #11: Skya Ducheneaux | Akiptan, Inc.

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Skya Ducheneaux, who serves as Executive Director of Akiptan, Inc. A federally certified Native CDFI based in Eagle Butte, South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, Akiptan serves and supports Native agricultural producers nationwide.

Interview #10: Sara Barbour | The Alliance CDFI

In this latest edition of “Difference Makers,” NCN sits down with Sara Barbour, who serves as Deputy Director of the Yurok Economic Development Corporation (YEDC) and Acting Executive Director of the Yurok Tribe’s The Alliance CDFI. A federally certified Native CDFI located in northern California, Alliance’s mission is to “promote economic and financial assistance, small business development, and build assets within the Tribe’s jurisdiction among tribal members, improving the quality of life for its peoples and communities.”