Gene Hummel
Joined the Board of Directors in 2020
I am a lawyer in Minneapolis. I grew up in Iowa and moved to Washington, D.C. after college. I came to Minnesota in 2016, after graduating law school, where I clerked on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and then joined a local private law firm.
I first became active in economic justice issues after moving to Washington and seeing the gross disparity of economic opportunities in that community. I began noticing how expensive it was to be poor. Neighbors who could not afford a $100/month parking garage would be hit with $200 parking tickets. Many lower-income neighborhoods would not have a local grocery store, and be forced to pay twice as much to shop at a convenience store. And payday lenders took advantage of people who did not have easy access to less-expensive credit.
I have been lucky to volunteer with a number of great organizations that work to assist people facing housing instability or overwhelming debt. As a volunteer lawyer, it was heartbreaking to realize that while I could help delay an eviction or garnishment, what my clients really needed was a few hundred dollars to pay their bills until they could get back on their feet. When I found that Exodus Lending was doing just that, I knew that I had to help and reached out.
Exodus Lending’s response to payday lending schemes is simple and powerful. It has also succeeded in attracting a group of exceptionally dedicated, intelligent, and diligent staff and volunteers. I am proud of the work that Exodus Lending has done, and expect it to do many more exceptional things in the future.
Who is one person who inspires you and why?
Dorothy Day – she was an incredibly intelligent and caring person who did not simply talk about justice, but sacrificed and worked to bring it about.