Victoria Coker: Community Ambassador Examining the Factors Behind Unbanked Households in America

I want to reintroduce myself to old friends and introduce myself to new friends in the Interledger community. I am Victoria Coker, the 2024 Interledger Foundation Community Ambassador. I have been a part of the ecosystem since 2021; in 2022, I was a grant recipient of the Grant for The Web for a project I led through my organization, Black Web Fest. I also have had the privilege of speaking at the last two summits.

I am passionate about social impact and mission-driven work. As I mentioned previously, my experience with the Interledger Foundation has been through my work as the founder of Black Web Fest, a non-profit that celebrates and amplifies the voices of Black creatives and entrepreneurs. I am a multidisciplinary artist, software engineer, and marketer.

Most of my work has a thorough line of fighting for economic justice for underrepresented communities, directly correlating with Interledger's long-standing mission to build equity and inclusion. My ambassadorship project is heavily focused on this topic. During my ambassadorship, I will explore three US states with large populations of unbanked people: Mississippi, Louisiana (New Orleans), and New York. According to the 2021 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, Mississippi has the highest rate of unbanked households at 11.1%. The same report identified New Orleans as having 8.1% of their households unbanked, and the New York Tri-State area has 5.9% unbanked households. The culmination of this research will be a documentary sharing the factors that cause these communities to have large unbanked populations in hopes of building awareness about this important issue and helping inform real solutions within the Interledger ecosystem. I will also work with local stakeholders in these communities to expand the Interledger Foundation network and increase financial literacy.

I have learned so much from the Interledger community and plan to educate others about Interledger's mission and the amazing work the community is doing to create more economic justice and financial inclusion. This is such a kind community, and I look to pay all the kindness forward and support others with questions, ideas, and projects. Please feel free to contact me; I am here to lend a helping hand.