Hunkpati Investments Hires Executive Director

March 16, 2010

Hunkpati Investments, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Krystal Langholz as its first Executive Director.

As Executive Director, Ms. Langholz will be responsible for continuing the development of Hunkpati Investments as a Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI). Ms. Langholz comes to Hunkpati Investments at a critical point in the organization’s advancement and will be focused on meeting the institution’s goals of increasing access to affordable small business financing and entrepreneurial assistance on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation.

“Native CDFIs have been important catalysts to business development on Indian reservations around the country,” said Langholz. “I am looking forward to leading Hunkpati Investments as it matures and, hopefully, becomes a model in the industry.”

Ms. Langholz plans to begin her role at Hunkpati Investments in early April, moving from Ft. Collins, Colorado where she completed her graduate studies at Colorado State University. Ms. Langholz studies in the field of economic anthropology focused on Lakota community development. As part of her research, she was able to work with Lakota Funds, a Native CDFI serving the Pine Ridge Reservation, and the entrepreneurs it serves.

Hunkpati Investments will work with individuals to overcome the barriers to affordable business credit and capital. NCDFIs are unique entities due to their grassroots nature and ability to provide financial products where traditional financial institutions have not historically been active.

Hunkpati Investments, which was formed in 2009, will continue to work closely with The Harvest Initiative, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to increase economic opportunity on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation.

For more information about Hunkpati Investments or The Harvest Initiative, please contact Jason Yates, Director of Operations & Strategy for The Harvest Initiative, at (605) 301-4808.