Erika Lindholm

Erika helps shape Craft3's rural strategy, makes large and complex loans, and supports conservation lending in Washington. She is happiest when Craft3 closes a loan for a business or project that wouldn’t otherwise get off the ground.

Erika has spent her career in community and economic development, working in both urban and rural communities. “Communities cannot be successful without everyone having access to resources,” she says. She started out as a Small Business Development Center counselor, later worked in urban renewal, and then in affordable housing development before joining the CDFI industry. Ever since then, she's been making nonprofit, small business, community facility, and affordable housing loans for mission-driven lenders across the country. Now based in Port Angeles, Erika is committed to serving the rural communities of the North Olympic Peninsula and beyond.

Erika first joined Craft3 in 2014. After leaving in 2023, she advised other mission lenders, including Craft3, on loan programs, credit policy, and risk. She returned to Craft3 in 2026. “Craft3 is big enough to take risks with its borrowers,” she explains, “and small enough to have close ties in the communities we serve.”

Outside of work, Erika has served on the board of the North Olympic Land Trust since 2015. She values how the land trust protects what makes the North Olympic Peninsula special, and also builds climate resilience. She volunteers with Sequim Wheelers, a nonprofit that takes people who can’t ride on their own out for bike rides. She also enjoys cycling, hiking, gardening, and cooking.