Kristy Bartak, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Nebraska State Bank & Trust Company in Broken Bow, Callaway, and Merna, has been recognized for her leadership in banking and her contributions to the local community.
Bartak received the 2026 Alice Dittman Trailblazer Award for Women in Banking from the Nebraska Bankers Association during its Women in Banking Conference. The award recognizes a female banker for professional achievement, leadership and community service.
In addition to her work helping guide Nebraska State Bank through financial planning, regulatory changes and other challenges facing the industry, Bartak has taken an active role in supporting the communities she serves. She sits on the boards of the Custer Economic Development Corporation and the Anselmo-Merna Foundation and volunteers with the TeamMates Mentoring Program.
As part of the award, Bartak will direct a $1,000 donation to the Anselmo-Merna Foundation.
Bartak said she never initially expected to pursue a career in banking. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a business administration degree, she began her career examining national banks with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency before eventually joining Nebraska State Bank.
Over time, she said, she gained a greater appreciation for the role community banks play in supporting local residents and businesses.
“The vast majority” of the bank’s loans are local, Bartak explained during an interview on the Get Up and Go Breakfast Show, meaning deposits from area customers help provide financing for people and businesses in the surrounding communities.
“We take those funds and loan it out to people who need loans,” Bartak said. “So if we didn’t have local deposits, it would be a lot harder to loan out those funds.”
Bartak also serves on the Nebraska Bankers Association Board of Directors and was a member of the association’s 2018 Leadership Class. She is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado.
In reflecting on her career and the opportunity to speak at the conference following the award presentation, Bartak shared a message about the pressure people can feel while balancing leadership, work and family responsibilities. Even with years of experience, she said, there are still times when she questions whether she is doing enough as a professional, supervisor and parent.
Her advice is to give yourself some grace while continuing to learn and grow.
The award honors Alice Dittman, a pioneering Nebraska banking leader who began her career at Cornhusker Bank in Lincoln in 1948 and eventually served as the bank’s president, CEO and board chair. Dittman also became the first woman to chair the Nebraska Bankers Association.
The Nebraska Bankers Association says the award recognizes women who are making a difference in their banks and communities, carrying forward the leadership and mentorship that defined Dittman’s career.
The full press release announcing Bartak’s award is available here.
View the full interview from the Breakfast Show with Bartak below.
