#110. Jennifer Budwig: From Ferndale Roots to Leading a Community Bank in Humboldt County

Send us Fan Mail Humboldt County has a way of making every big question feel personal. When an industry rises, families build their lives around it. When it falls, the whole community feels the aftershock in jobs, housing, nonprofits, and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s possible here. I’m joined by Jennifer Budwig of Redwood Capital Bank, a fourth-generation Ferndale local who’s about to step into the bank’s president role as John Dalby transitions to CEO. We talk about what community banking actually looks like on the ground: staying independent, making loans with local context, supporting nonprofits, and keeping money circulating in Humboldt County instead of leaking out. Jennifer shares how mentorship and a well-planned leadership handoff can protect culture while still pushing the organization forward. From there, we zoom out into the Humboldt County economy and the hard realities behind “boom and bust.” We dig into remote work, Cal Poly Humboldt’s expansion, housing affordability, and why rising costs drive more demand at places like the food bank. We also revisit Jennifer’s Pacific Coast Banking School thesis from 2011 that estimated cannabis contributed about $1.2 billion annually to the local economic base at its peak, and what it means now that production and prices have dropped so sharply. We close with service and legacy: Rotary, local giving projects, and why donating blood matters more than most of us realize. Subscribe to 100% Humboldt, share this with someone who cares about the North Coast, and leave a review with your take: what should Humboldt build next? Support the show About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world. We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean. We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%! Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt! Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!