Demeitrice L. Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Clayton State University. Collins owned and operated a financial lending business for twelve years, then went on to start the Literacy for Youth Foundation which strives to promote financial education and end hunger for children in southeast Georgia.
In 1998, he pursued a career in mortgage finance, after which he started his own mortgage corporation. For many years, he had to decline good people for loans because their credit made them ineligible. When he inquired about how clients got into their particular situations, he noticed a trend as responses were usually similar.