Founder – LiftFund
CEO – Kirpa Tech

 

Ms. Janie Barrera is Founder of LiftFund. Ms. Barrera started LiftFund in 1994. The non profit organization provides loans and management training to enterprises of all kinds, from startups to long-established businesses. Operations began in San Antonio and now the organization has grown to serve 15 States. Since its inception, it has disbursed over 25,000 loans totally almost a half a billion dollars, to small business owners who are not eligible for traditional financial loans – with an impressive 96% repayment rate. Ms. Barrera recently retired from LiftFund and is now the CEO of Kirpa Tech, a technology company committed to assisting small businesses in embracing e-commerce through an innovative AI website builder.

From 2012 to 2017, she served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve of Dallas’ San Antonio Branch. From 2015 to 2019, she was a member of the FDIC National Advisory Board. She has served on the National Advisory Boards of BBVA Compass and Bank of America. She is also a board member of the San Antonio University Hospital Foundation, Our Lady of the Lake University, SAReport, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, The Village at Incarnate Word and the Adrian Dominican Sisters Trust Fund. Ms. Barrera received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of the Incarnate Word.