06/11/2026
On Wednesday, I had the privilege of speaking on a panel at the 2026 Credit Builders Alliance Summit. Four other women and I, all representing rural areas across America, shared a very real and raw picture of the banking and credit challenges so many people face.
The for-profit lenders in the audience were surprised by several things: the wide range of predatory lenders in our communities, the cost to repay a payday loan, how many people don’t have access to borrow even $500–$1,000 or have it in savings, how expensive utility bills were this winter, and the limited availability of jobs (particularly in Alaska).
Each of us was able to talk about the challenges in our respective regions. While the details were slightly different, one factor was constant: people are struggling with credit and with accessing the resources they need to improve it.
So, when a representative from a national bank said, “We’re mucking things up there, aren’t we?” I knew we’d been heard.
