Speakers -- 2019 Inclusiv Conference
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Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award | 2020 Save the Date
Bob Annibale
As Global Director of Citi Community Development (CCD), Bob Annibale manages Citi's partnerships with global, national and local organizations to support community development. Bob also directs Citi Inclusive Finance, which is globally responsible for Citi's commercial relationships with microfinance institutions, networks and investors working across businesses and geographies to expand access to financial services in underserved communities. Since joining Citi in 1982, Bob has held a number of senior treasury, risk and corporate positions in Athens, Bahrain, Kenya, London and New York. He has served on many external boards and councils, including the Board of Advisors for the United Nations Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. He currently is a member of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and the Policy Committee of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford. He represents Citi on the Board of the Microfinance Information Exchange, the Council of Microfinance Equity Funds, the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network, the Microfinance Network and the Executive Committee of CGAP (World Bank). Bob completed his B.A. degrees in history and political science at Vassar College in New York and his master's degree in African studies (history) at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies.
Aurelio Arroyo
Aurelio Arroyo is President/CEO of Jesus Obrero Coop.
Mariel Beasley
Mariel Beasley is a Principal at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University and Co-Director of the Common Cents Lab - a subcenter committed to improving the financial behavior of low- to moderate-income households in the United States. To date, the Common Cents Lab has used strategic product and service design to measurably increase the financial health of over 500,000 U.S. households. Working directly with banks, credit unions, non-profits, tech, and local governments, Mariel and her team incorporate findings from the behavioral sciences to help members, clients, and residents lead happier, healthier, and wealthier lives. They use quantitative methods to design and rigorously test ideas in the field, exploring what is needed, what works, and how to move forward. Mariel also teaches a Master's level course in Behavioral Science for Municipal Policy at Duke University.
John Bissell
John Bissell is President/CEO of Greylock Federal Credit Union, a $1 billion financial institution with 12 branches throughout Berkshire County, Mass. As CEO, he leads an organization of more than 250 employees, between the credit union’s core banking business and several subsidiaries offering insurance and investment services for families and businesses, as well as marketing and IT services for credit unions across the country. Under his leadership, Greylock earned its Juntos Avanzamos designation in 2019 for its commitment to serving and empowering Hispanic and immigrant consumers. Previously, John worked with a team of Greylock managers and consultants to earn Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) status from the US Treasury, enabling Greylock to increase its capacity for lending to people of low to moderate income. John’s passion for helping underserved communities extends into his volunteer work as well. In 2012, John co-founded Pittsfield Promise, an early literacy initiative. John currently serves as chair of 1Berkshire (a regional economic development organization), he sits on the Board of Directors for Berkshire Health Systems where he also chairs the audit committee, and he received a Freedom Award from the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP in 2017.
Deborah Boatright
Deborah Boatright is a national non-profit corporate executive and senior government administrator offering a wealth of leadership and expertise in organizational management, strategic alliances and community relations attained over decades in affordable housing and community development. Boatright recently retired after a ten year tenure at NeighborWorks America, a national non-profit created by Congress to support affordable housing and community development. At the time of her retirement, Boatright was the regional vice president, Northeast Region, overseeing operations across 11 states from Maine to Maryland, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. From 2003-2006, Boatright served as an Assistant Commissioner at New York State Homes and Community Renewal (NYSHCR), the state’s housing agency. There she developed statewide programs and policies, and supervised the housing and community and economic development activities of the department’s four regional offices. Boatright also worked for the city of New York in its Department of Housing, Preservation and Development for 14 years.
Susie Brins
Susie Brins is a TruStage Program Specialist with Cuna Mutual Group. In this role she aligns direct-to member marketing solutions to help credit unions deliver high-quality insurance products and enhance member relationships. She is passionate about evolving consumer trends and how to position today for tomorrow. She recognizes that a solid digital approach needs to recalibrate often and nimbly to satisfy consumer demands. Susie brings 22 years of insurance experience most and has spent most of her career at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield working in employee benefits and agency management. She focused on large clients and municipality’s that have over 1000 employees educating on how integrated solutions deliver on value. She attended University of Wisconsin and is originally from Madison. She currently lives in the Maryland/DC area with her husband Steve. In her free time she loves hiking, biking, cooking and gardening.
Gregg Brown
Gregg Brown is the President/CEO of the South Side Community Federal Credit Union (“SSCFCU”). It is the first and only community development credit union ("CDCU") that is owned and managed by African-Americans in Chicago. Opened in 2003, SSCFCU is a federally chartered not-for profit financial cooperative whose mission is to equalize economic power and fight poverty by improving financial education and providing access to fair and affordable credit and savings services for its members. It offers traditional and non-traditional products, services and programs designed to help its members save money, build credit, buy homes and start businesses. Under Brown's leadership the credit union has grown to over $4 million in assets and serves close to 2000 members. SSCFCU is a community development financial institution ("CDFI") certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is a HUD approved Housing Agency. It has trained over 3700 people in its free financial education classes, provided one-on-one credit/housing counseling to over 2700 people, and has saved over 1500 families from losing their homes to foreclosure. Gregg Brown has a passion for economically empowering low-income neighborhoods. He brings over 35 years of community development banking expertise to the credit union movement. He was born and raised on Chicago's South side where he now works. Brown is a graduate of Morehouse College and the National Federation CDCU institute. Brown is the recipient of several honors and awards, most notably; the Community Hero Award by the Local Initiative Support Corporation., the Frederick Sengstacke Award for Excellence in Community Financial Services by the Chicago Defender Charities, and he was named one of Chicago's 15 global visionaries by Chicago Public Radio. Brown serves on the Board of Directors of several civic and community-based organizations including the South Side Community Economic Development Center and Shaping America’s Youth Mentoring organization.
Marcela Celorio
Marcela Celorio is the Consul General of Mexico in LA. She graduated as a lawyer from the “Escuela Libre de Derecho” in Mexico City, pursuing two masters, the first in Diplomatic Studies from the Matias Romero Institute (IMR) and the second in Security and Defense from the National Defense College, part of the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). She continued her academic training in the Center for U.S.–Mexico studies from the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), and attended American University (AU), in Washington D.C. as the first diplomat from the Mexican Foreign Affairs. In 2000 and 2001, she conducted Public International Law teachings in the Ibero American University (UIA). She has also directed research and investigations in topics such as dual nationality and citizenship; National Security and Northern American Integration. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs she has fulfilled the duty of National Director of Naturalization, the position from which she helped to promote and encourage the recognition of dual nationality. These efforts culminated with the constitutional reform of 1997 and the approval of the new nationality law of 1998 in Mexico.
Jim Coronado
Jim Coronado is Director of Business Development for Univision Los Angeles where he leads business development and strategic partnerships efforts for Univision Los Angeles. He is an accomplished sales and marketing executive with over 25 years of marketing and sales experience with expertise in the U.S. Hispanic consumer, Mr. Coronado consults with senior marketing and C-Suite executives across industries to help them understand and harness the power of the U.S. Hispanic consumer. His experience includes television, radio, digital, social media, as well as experiential. He joined Univision Television Group (now Univision Communications Inc.) in 1998 as part of the National Spot Sales Team based in Los Angeles and has held various positions including senior account executive, local sales manager and national sales manager with the company. He later joined Hispanic Broadcast Corporation in 2001 before it merged with Univision Communications Inc. and later became Univision Radio in 2002. Prior to joining Univision Communications Inc., he held various sales positions at Spanish Broadcasting System and Greater Media, Inc. with an internship at Emmis Communications (KPWR-FM). Mr. Coronado earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
Monica Davy
Monica Hughes Davy is the Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. As Director, Ms. Davy oversees the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 involving diversity, civil rights and the promotion of minority and women hiring and contracting practices throughout the credit union industry and at the NCUA. Prior to joining the NCUA, Ms. Davy served as Executive Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the Internal Revenue Service. She also served as Acting Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management, and as Acting Director and a senior trial attorney at the Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Davy holds degrees from the Howard University School of Law and George Mason University.
Carla Decker
Carla Decker is President and CEO of DC Federal Credit Union. She joined DCFCU as President/CEO in 2001. Carla advanced DCFCU’s community charter through ACCESO, an innovative collaborative and credit union service organization that linked multiple credit unions in addressing the financial needs of the local immigrant and under-served community. Under her leadership, DCFCU attained the designations of Low Income Credit Union and Community Development Financial Institution. Carla is a founding member of the Network of Latino Credit Unions & Professionals, and was elected to the charter Advisory Council of the National Credit Union Foundation’s Development Education program. She was appointed Chair to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s inaugural Credit Union Advisory Council, and was President Obama’s nominee to the Board of the National Credit Union Administration. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions named her “CU Grassroots Activist of the Year”. Carla currently serves on the boards of the Inclusiv, the Cooperative Development Foundation, and the National Cooperative Business Association & Cooperative League of the U.S.A. (NCBA/CLUSA). She is the U.S.A.’s delegate to the Board of the Co-operatives of the Americas, a Region of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA).
Pablo DeFilippi
Pablo DeFilippi leads Inclusiv’s membership development and engagement strategies and manages Inclusiv/Network, a network of community development finance practitioners that provide valuable consulting services to CDCUs. Mr. DeFilippi has more than 20 years of experience in community finance, working with regulated financial institutions both in the domestic and international arena. Originally from Chile, DeFilippi came to the US in the early 90s and almost immediately became involved in credit unions. After working at MCU, a large credit union serving New York City employees, he joined the Lower East Side People’s FCU (LESPFCU) a credit union serving Hispanics and other underserved populations in the New York City area and acted as its CEO until early 2004. From then and until the end of 2005, Mr. DeFilippi managed the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU)‘s International Remittance Program (IRnet), a world-wide initiative to provide alternative remittance services to consumers both in the US and in recipient countries through the credit union system. Mr. DeFilippi holds a B.A. in Social Studies from Universidad de Chile, as well as a Professional Accounting Certificates from Baruch College and New York University. He has a Masters of Business Administration from Pace University, and is a graduate of CUNA’s Management School and NCUF’s Social Impact Management Institute. He is also a Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) and a UK Credit Union Development Educator.
Kathy Deloney
Kathy Deloney is President/CEO of Engage Federal Credit Union (formerly Red River Mill Employees FCU) which is located in rural Northwest Louisiana and serves members who predominantly reside in Persistent Poverty Counties. Under Kathy’s leadership since 1983, Engage has grown to $11M in assets and holds an NCUA Low-Income Designation and CDFI certification. In spite of having served a single select employer (the Red River Paper Mill) until 2013, Engage has expanded to now serve five parishes. Kathy and her team have steadfastly met the needs of an increasingly low-income membership during some of the most challenging economic and natural disasters in Louisiana’s history. For her innovative work in building bridges to fill gaps to traditional finance, Kathy’s credit union has been featured in the Huffington Post and in the Credit Union Journal. Engage has also received numerous grants – including four CDFI grants – and participates in several Inclusiv programs. Notably, Engage was one of two credit unions nationwide that participated in the award-winning 2016 CDFI Prize Competition as a Co-Applicant with Inclusive. As a result, the credit union has implemented the innovative core processing system provided by EPL, Inc. which provides CDFI tracking software as well as online and mobile banking apps. Most recently, in 2019, Engage was awarded an Inclusiv grant to implement online bill pay which will be offered in the coming months. Kathy has a B.S. Degree in Accounting from Northwestern State University, is a Certified Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE), and Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor (FiCEP). She is active in the Louisiana Credit Union League and is also highly involved in her community where she fosters local partnerships with other CDFIs, businesses and non-profits to promote socio-economic well-being, financial opportunity and access for underserved residents of some of Louisiana’s poorest communities.
David Derryck
David Derryck is Chief Impact Officer for EARN. David is a core member of EARN's executive leadership team, leading the development and implementation of EARN’s overall strategic direction and holding primary day-to-day operational responsibility for EARN’s success. David has been working in the intersection of business and social impact for over a decade. During that time, he advised, launched, and restructured numerous enterprises. An experienced executive and social entrepreneur, he has led revenue model development, operations, systems development (finance and technology), talent management, strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and sales. Previously, David was founder and Principal of Social Impact Ventures, a specialty consulting firm that provides hands-on interim executive management and advisory services to organizations seeking to accelerate performance and maximize impact. He has also held leadership positions at REDF and Juma Ventures. Prior to entering the social enterprise space, David worked in corporate development and co-founded a start-up in international trade. He began his career as a private equity Analyst with Rosecliff, a private merchant bank. David received his MBA from Columbia Business School and BA from Wesleyan University.
Joe Duran
Joe Duran is Executive Vice President of Self-Help Federal Credit Union. Joe has played numerous leadership roles since joining Self-Help Federal Credit Union and currently leading strategic growth, external relations and activities tailored to serving immigrant communities. He was directly responsible for building partnerships and organizing our branch launch in Fresno. He has over 30 years of credit union executive management experience, including serving as CEO of Community Trust Credit Union for almost 20 years before recommending to his board that they merge into Self-Help Federal Credit Union. He is nationally recognized as an innovative leader in providing financial services that meet the needs of the emerging Hispanic market, and has received numerous awards, including the Cultural Diversity Award for Individual Work by the California Credit Union League and the Dora Maxwell Award for Social Responsibility by the Dora Maxwell Foundation.
Diana Dykstra
Diana Dykstra is a dynamic chief executive with more than 40 years of experience in leading top organizations in the financial services industry. She is currently the President/CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues. Previously, Diana served as President/CEO of San Francisco Fire Credit Union and CoastHills Federal Credit Union, as well as a Senior Vice President of Patelco Credit Union. During her tenure as Senior Vice President at The Golden 1 Credit Union, Diana led her team to develop the prototype of the now successful Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL) program. Diana, a certified International Credit Union Development Educator (ICUDE), is a 1992 graduate and current President of Western CUNA Management School. She was awarded the James D. Likens Alumni Recognition Award in 2001, the California League’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002, the Phil Greer Lifetime Achievement Award from the CUNA Lending Council in 2012, the American Association of Credit Union Leagues’ highest honor—the Eagle Award—in 2014 and most recently is The National Credit Union Foundation’s 2019 Herb Wegner Memorial Award Winner. Diana previously served as chairman and board member of the California Credit Union League. She is currently serving on the board of directors of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL), CUNA Strategic Services, World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), Global Women’s Leadership Network, PolicyWorks, and Plexcity—a cooperative business for member credit union leagues.
Adrian Franco
Adrian Franco, Ph.D. is Officer & Director of Community Development Finance (CoDeFi) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he supervises a portfolio of community development finance initiatives that aim to increase the impact of community investments in low- and moderate-income communities. These initiatives include programs to attract capital to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, regional reports to facilitate flow of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) capital to distressed areas and tools to support communities in Opportunity Zones. He also chairs the New York Fed’s Community Advisory Group, an advisory board of nonprofit organizations, and is a member of the Bank’s fintech steering committee. In his previous role as the New York Fed’s Director of Education, Franco oversaw the Bank’s programs for students and educators and implemented an internship program to foster the institution's diversity goals. Before joining the New York Fed, Franco served as executive director of Qualitas of Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization advancing financial inclusion. He also held policy related roles at the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs and Secretariat of Public Education, and was responsible for community engagement at President Elect Vicente Fox’s transition team. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, and holds a Masters in International Affairs and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. His doctorate dissertation is on financial inclusion of Latino immigrants.
Carlos Garcia
Carlos Armando García is a serial entrepreneur with 16 years of financial and technology experience. Carlos is the CEO and founder of Finhabits, a new financial service that helps close the retirement savings gap among minority communities in our country. Finhabits, a mobile-first platform, makes retirement services more inclusive. As the first automated platform of its kind to provide a bilingual service - in English and Spanish - it combines fiduciary advice with behavioral nudges, making it easy for everyone to get into the habit of investing in their future. Between 2012 and 2014 he was the Founder and Managing Director of Madison Quant Labs, an institutional investment fund that was selected in 2014 as a Futures Star by CTA Magazine. In 2009, he Co-Funded Fundspire, the first web-based risk management and reporting platform for institutional investors. Fundspire was acquired in 2012 by eVestment. Carlos has a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
Daniel Garcia-Velez
Danny García-Vélez is Senior Marketing Program Manager at MGIC. He and his team are responsible for developing and executing MGIC’s community lending efforts. Additionally, Danny is responsible for leading and organizing MGIC’s business and marketing strategies across the organization’s various customer channels including Credit Unions, Community Banks, and Housing Finance Agencies.
Martin Guerrero
Martin Guerrero is Customer Success Associate at Square.
Jodie Harris
Recently appointed to the position of U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund Director, Jodie Harris has worked in both the public and private sectors for over 25 years. She joined Treasury in 2007 as an Associate Program Manager with the CDFI Fund, and later served as Senior Advisor to the Director of the CDFI Fund. During her time with Treasury, Jodie has managed grant programs and developed legislative and policy proposals for a wide range of issues with a focus on access to capital, community development banking, and financial inclusion. Most recently, as the Director of Treasury’s Office of Small Business, Community Development and Affordable Housing Policy, Jodie led a team of policy analysts in the development of policies and programs that support community and economic development nationwide.
John Haslam
John Haslam is Member Relationship Manager at ABCUL.
James Hunter
James Hunter is Director of Real Estate Lending at New Orleans Firemen's FCU. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President for Mortgage Lending at HOPE, where he provided leadership and direct oversight to HOPE’s mortgage division and strategic initiatives. During his tenure, mortgage lending increased by 117 percent, generating more than $50 million in loans across the Deep South, one of the most impoverished regions of the nation. In 2017, 99 percent of HOPE’s mortgage loans were high impact loans, which are made to first-time homebuyers, minorities and women. These loans support and highlight the community development financial institution’s mission to improve lives of vulnerable families in a five-state service region. Prior to joining HOPE, Hunter managed the mortgage department for Arkansas Federal Credit Union, the state’s largest credit union. He was responsible for the leadership and direction of multiple departments, including originations, underwriting, processing and closing, servicing and secondary market sales. Hunter has also held prominent roles at some of the largest financial institutions in the country. He was an Area Underwriting Manager for Wells Fargo and head of the Tele-Sales Division for Washington Mutual Bank. Hunter earned his undergraduate degree in Communication and Marketing from Western Illinois University. He is a member of Habitat for Humanity and Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.
Noelle Hylton
Noelle Hylton is the Chief Technology Officer at MyPath, a national nonprofit on a mission topower youth potential and seed economic mobility. She joined the MyPath team in 2018. In herrole, she is responsible for defining and executing strategic technology initiatives while alsokeeping her finger on the pulse of IT operations. She oversees the MyPath Money Platform,Salesforce, Teamwork’s: Desk, Projects, Chatter, Knowledge Base and other ERP solutions.MyPath has initiatives running in seventeen cities with over seventy partner sites, engaging6,500+ low-income working youth in banking, saving and credit-building.Prior to joining MyPath, Noelle worked in higher education technology for over 18 years. Hermost recent roles are Director of Administrative Information Systems and PrincipalAdvancement, Consultant. She has worked with over 60 colleges and universities in the US andabroad. Noelle has served as a Board Member for a K-8 charter school and a K-12 non-profittutoring organization. She holds a BA and an MHA from Hofstra University. In her spare time,she enjoys traveling and mentoring young women.
Blake Jones
Blake Jones is a cooperative entrepreneur with 18 years of renewable energy industry experience. He is a co-founder of four cooperatives: (1) Clean Energy Credit Union, a federally chartered (in 2017) and online-only credit union that provides loans solely to help consumers throughout the USA afford to purchase clean energy (and energy saving) products and services; (2) Namasté Solar, an employee-owned cooperative and certified B-Corp that has installed over 6,000 solar electric systems totaling over 100 MW of generating capacity; (3) Amicus Solar Cooperative, a purchasing cooperative and certified B-America; and (4) Kachuwa Impact Fund, an investment cooperative and impact investing fund with multiple impact themes including renewable energy, certified B-Corps, and companies owned by women, people of color, and/or employees.
Amber Kuchar-Bell
Amber Kuchar-Bell is the CDFI Program and NACA Program Manager at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Prior to joining the CDFI Fund, Amber was an investment officer for the Calvert Foundation, a CDFI, where she managed a $68 million investment portfolio of CDFIs including Native CDFIs, CDEs, and social enterprise organizations. Before joining Calvert Foundation, Amber worked at NCB Capital Impact, also a CDFI, as a commercial loan underwriter where she underwrote loans for healthcare centers, affordable housing cooperatives, and charter schools. Early in her career, Amber was an Export and Marketing Associate for a coffee cooperative in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and Sr. Consumer Lending Loan Officer at Bay Federal Credit Union. She has a Master of Public Policy from Duke University located in Durham, North Carolina and a Bachelor of Science in International Development from the University of California Los Angeles.
Andrea Lally
As the Accounting and Compliance Specialist, Andrea provides a range of member services, including but not limited to technical assistance, education and compliance training, auditing, and accounting support services to Inclusiv Member Credit Unions. In addition, Andrea is responsible for promoting and helping grow the CDCU Help Desk by providing support to Member Credit Unions over the phone. Andrea has over 20 years of combined experience in business management, auditing, compliance and accounting. Prior to Inclusiv, Andrea has held positions as a Business Development Executive, a Branch Manager/Compliance Officer, an Account Manager, and a Regional Manager for credit unions in New Jersey. Andrea is a graduate of William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance.
Jack Lawson
Jack Lawson is President and CEO of Clearwater Credit Union (formerly known as Missoula Federal Credit Union). Clearwater FCU is a $485 million Low Income Credit Union located in the southwest corner of Montana. It is Montana’s second largest credit union, and its largest CDFI, with a membership of roughly 48,000 and a staff of 140. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Inclusiv, a position he has held since Inclusiv’s 2016 Annual Meeting. Prior to joining Clearwater, Lawson worked for 5 years as Chief Operating Officer of Self-Help Federal Credit Union. At the time of his transition, SHFCU was serving about 52,000 members from 20 dispersed retail branches spread throughout the Los Angeles, Central Valley, Bay Area and Chicago markets. Total assets were $590 million. Prior to working at Self-Help Lawson spent about 10 years at Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union, working first as the credit union’s founding organizer and then as its Chief Executive Officer. While in New York City, he also served as board chair Bethex FCU for 2 years, board chair the New York City Financial Network Action Consortium for 3 years, and as board treasurer of Make the Road NY, an immigrant and labor rights organization, for 4 years.
Adam Lee
As Incubator Director, Adam leads Filene’s efforts to make a difference in the lives of financially vulnerable consumers by seeking programs to solve the challenge, testing those solutions in the real world, and sharing results with the marketplace. Currently, Adam is working with credit unions to test innovative programs to close the financial service access gap in the Reaching Minority Households Incubator. Adam started his professional career serving communities through Americorps*National Civilian Community Corps and City Year. As a consultant with Deloitte, Adam honed his ability to build capacity within communities, non-profits, and government agencies. He also supported credit unions as a former project manager with CUNA Mutual Group. Adam earned his Master of Public Affairs, with a focus on Community Development and Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When Adam is not raising a ruckus to serve those in need, he is a dedicated father and husband exploring the great outdoors with the family’s loyal K-9 in tow.
Margaret Libby
Margaret Libby is the CEO and Founder of MyPath, a national nonprofit that promotes upward economic mobility for low-income working youth. Since her start in January 2007, Margaret has led MyPath’s pioneering work to demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating banking, saving and credit-building into youth employment settings. Under her leadership and in partnership with young people, MyPath launched MyPath Savings, the nation’s first model to integrate banking, saving and peer support directly into youth employment settings, and MyPath Credit, the nation’s first youth-focused credit-building model. MyPath Savings is the only rigorously tested and proven youth financial capability model in the nation and has supported low-income working youth to save over $2.5 million. MyPath has initiatives running in thirteen cities with over seventy partner sites, engaging 6,500+ low-income working youth in banking, saving and credit-building. Prior to MyPath, Margaret led a statewide youth-led research and evaluation project while at Youth Leadership Institute and engaged in advocacy related to inequities in the subprime mortgage market while at California Reinvestment Coalition. She has co-written numerous publications around youth financial capability, youth leadership development and evaluation, and predatory lending. Margaret currently serves on the Credit Builders Alliance Board of Directors and is a founding member of nLIFT (Nonprofit Leaders in Financial Technology). She holds a BA from Brown University and an MSW from U.C. Berkeley.
Dr. Linda Lopez
Dr. Linda Lopez is the Chief of the Office of Immigrant Affairs for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office. With more than 20 years of experience, she has led a variety of initiatives and created innovative public private partnerships with philanthropy and the private sector, including the LA Justice Fund, a $10M legal defense fund for victims of domestic violence, children, refugees and asylum seekers and low-income families. In the financial inclusion space, she has worked with the private sector and corporate foundations to deliver critical financial education tools to underserved communities who do not have access to the financial mainstream. Dr. Lopez was responsible for developing a program with the Mexican Consulate known as the Ventanilla Financiera or “the financial window” to provide critical financial tools and services to individuals seeking access to capital to grow their business and other integrated financial education services. This program has delivered financial services to more than 30,000 residents in the LA region. At the Mayor’s office, she is the primary spokesperson for Mayor Garcetti on issues impacting immigrants, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable communities.
Stef Luck
Stef Luck is a Lending Consultant for CUNA Mutual Group. In this role, Stef consults with credit unions throughout the west, providing lending insights and strategies that increase member interest and help credit unions remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market. Stef has been with CUNA Mutual Group since 2013. Prior to her current position, Stef served as an e-Lending Consultant where she was responsible for implementing and supporting mobile and internet based lending solutions for credit unions. Stef began her career as a Member Service Representative at a credit union in Kimberly, WI in 2008. She then progressed into lending, training, and supervisory roles at Summit Credit Union in Madison, WI before joining CUNA Mutual Group. A native of Wisconsin, Stef now resides in San Diego, CA and earned a degree in Business Management from University of Phoenix. Stef also holds Life/Health and Property/Casualty Insurance licenses in the states she serves.
Cathie Mahon
Cathie Mahon oversees all of Inclusiv’s programmatic and investment activities. Ms. Mahon was selected as the President/CEO following a nationwide executive search and joined Inclusiv on October 1, 2012. She is committed to continuing Inclusiv’s role of bridging the credit union movement to the community development field, promoting financial inclusion and identifying and connecting credit unions to unserved and untapped markets and communities. Ms. Mahon most recently served as Deputy Commissioner at the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs where she started and led New York City’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE). OFE was the first initiative of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s anti-poverty efforts and was the first local government initiative in the nation with a mission aimed expressly at helping to educate, empower and protect low income residents to help them make the most of their financial resources. Ms. Mahon was a co-founder of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition and Fund, and has worked to integrate financial capability programming into municipal service delivery systems. Prior to joining the Department, Ms. Mahon worked as a private consultant on issues of community development, financial empowerment and asset building, launching and directing the Asset Funders Network and serving as a lead researcher for the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. She previously served as a Program Officer and then Director of Policy and Program Development at Inclusiv and served on the Boards of the Lower East Side People’s FCU and Transfiguration Parish FCU. Ms. Mahon earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Duke University in Durham, NC and a Master’s of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Teresa Manning
Teresa Manning is CEO of Clockwise Credit Union. Teresa was a founder member of Clockwise, based in Leicester, England, which began in 1992. Serving first as volunteer Treasurer, she then became the first member of staff as administrator. As the credit union has grown, Teresa has held roles including Loans Officer, Finance and Compliance Manager, Operations Manager, General Manager and, since 2016, Chief Executive. Teresa is a member of the ABCUL East Midlands Forum Executive and has been actively involved in the credit union movement regionally and nationally.
Fernanda Martinez
Fernanda Martinez is Director of Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy at Univision.
Lucia Mattox
Lucia Mattox joins the Center for Responsible Lending’s State Policy and Outreach teams as Outreach Associate with over five years of experience working with young people of color on matters of education access and community development. In her work with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, she supported the CEO in expanding and deepening the organization’s impact to ensure black men and boys across the country thrive. She has recently served as the Community Outreach Associate on the External Relations team for Achievement First, a network of 30 high-performing K-12 public charter schools in traditionally underserved communities across Brooklyn, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In this role, she executed several initiatives to engage and partner with families, community leaders and elected officials in improving education outcomes for black and brown students. This work has deepened her interest in fostering empowerment alongside leaders in the field. Prior to joining Achievement First, Lucia was the Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer for The Posse Foundation, Inc., a national organization that identifies urban public high school students with academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by the traditional college admission process. Hailing from San Francisco, Lucia received her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies with a specialization in Sociology from Barnard College.
Gloria McClendon
Gloria McClendon has held several high-tech senior management positions over the past 34 years of experience in the credit unions industry. She is currently the CEO of Greater Cleveland Community Credit Union (“GCCCU”), formerly known as Civil Service Employees Association Credit Union in Cleveland, Ohio. She has worked for three different credit unions located in Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio. Gloria began her career as a teller and quickly rose to Branch Manager and Senior Loan Officer. Gloria was the Senior Vice President of Lending at Faith Community United Credit Union (“FCUCU”), Cleveland, Ohio for 25 years. At FCUCU, she created and implemented the First Alternative to Payday Lending Loan product. Gloria partnered with the SBA in Cleveland, Ohio to offer and approve small business loans to borrowers with less than perfect credit. Gloria played a major role at GCCCU with the expansion of the field of membership county-wide, several new programs and other initiatives of growing a stronger and heathier credit union. She has a proven executive management track record for over 25 years of experience driving loans and mortgages growth in the credit unions industry. She has traveled around the United States to other credit unions conducting training classes in Consumer and Real Estate Lending. Gloria has also attended many industry trainings including those offered by Consumer Lending School, National Federation of Community Development Credit Union, NCUA, CUNA and the Ohio Credit Union League. Gloria holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Chancellor University.
Robert Meloche
Robert Meloche is Senior Director, Social Impact at Visa, Inc. Rob directs programs and partnerships for Visa focused on support for women-led small businesses and other underserved populations around the world. Since joining Visa in 2012, Rob has led a variety of the company’s partnerships with NGOs and civil society organizations, directed Visa’s financial inclusion efforts in the U.S., and currently serves as the Program Officer of the Visa Foundation. Rob Joined Visa from the non-profit microfinance field, previously serving as a vice president at Opportunity International. In 2016, Rob was named an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow.
Rob Miller
Robert Miller is President and chief executive officer for VSECU. Rob graduated from the University of Vermont and started a career in financial services with Citibank in New York and Chicago. He relocated back to Vermont as a state employee and public servant; working for the Vermont Department of Economic Development where he ultimately served as commissioner. Prior to joining VSECU, Rob spent well over a decade in various executive roles in the institutional investment management industry with Dwight Asset Management (now Goldman Sachs) and Conning.
Sheilah Montgomery
Sheilah Montgomery currently serves as Secretary of 1st Choice Credit Union Board of Directors. For four decades, Sheilah has been advancing the mission of the credit union movement, while increasing the economic viability of individuals and communities. She is a retired credit union President/CEO, Co-founder of the African-American Credit Union Coalition, international CUDE designee, managing consultant for the Atlanta Westside Financial Capability Center and a member of the Executive Committee for the Inclusiv. She was recognized as an Outstanding Georgia Citizen by Georgia Secretary of State.
Alexis Moore
Alexis Moore, was born and raised in San Francisco, and is currently a business major at San Francisco State University. She was originally a MyPath program participant in 2017 as a senior in high school. She rejoined MyPath as a Youth Program Assistant in 2018.She feels learning money management at a young age is super important because it's better to establish yourself and get used to positive banking habits now rather than doing it later and struggling. Having early exposure to the banking world has led her to create good banking habits such as paying her credit card bill on time, and or asking bank tellers questions no matter how big or small. She has been a credit union member since 2017
Winona Nava
Winona Nava is President/CEO of Guadalupe Credit Union (GCU) and has served the credit union industry in many roles, including board positions for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF). Winona currently serves on the NCUF Board as Immediate Past Chair. Since 2000, Guadalupe Credit Union has been focused on meeting the needs of the underserved including the recent immigrant population. GCU provides several products and services that provide an alternative to predatory lenders saving members thousands of dollars. GCU recently piloted a Predatory Debt Relief Loan that saved 65 members over $265,000.00 in interest during the pilot phase. It is now available to the entire membership. Due to the success of that product and identified member need GCU has now implemented a Predatory Title Debt Relief Loan. The first two loans to members in this program saved them over $40,000.00 in interest. GCU’s Financial Coaching staff plays an important role in the success of this program. Guadalupe Credit Union has seven branches with assets of over $175 MM.
Erin O’Hern
As Director of League Compliance Services, Erin O’Hern oversees PolicyWorks' credit union league compliance services managing compliance inquiries, informing credit unions of new compliance requirements and providing a comprehensive resource of state and federal credit union regulations. Erin previously held the position of Regulatory Counsel at PolicyWorks. Prior to joining PolicyWorks, Erin worked as a staff attorney for Iowa Legal Aid in the Waterloo, IA Regional office where she handled a variety of civil law cases. Erin received her law degree from University of Iowa College of Law and graduated from the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts. She is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Erin has also earned CUNA’s Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE) designation.
Pamela Owens
Pamela Owens has over 20 years of experience supporting community development credit unions' delivery of products and services to underserved communities. Ms. Owens has accomplished this with special attention to innovative product development, training and technical assistance. Since joining Inclusiv in 1998, a major focus of her work has been capacity building for small and faith-based credit unions. Her first assignment with Inclusiv, the CDCU Institute, successfully graduated eleven classes and trained more than 300 credit union professionals. Ms. Owens also developed and coordinated Inclusiv’s Each One, Teach Many financial literacy train-the-trainer program. This national program was taught in more than forty states to over 1000 trainers. The trainers returned to their communities and taught to more than 25,000 members. Ms. Owens also coordinated the Cooperative Finance Leaders for America (CFLA) fellowship program, which brought new and emerging thought-leaders to the credit union movement. Ms. Owens currently serves as Senior Vice President of Organizational Development and Capacity Building, and is responsible for developing the African American Credit Union Initiative (AACUI), which focuses on supporting legacy MDI credit unions as they look towards sustainability and growth through membership expansion and building efficiencies through technology. Ms. Owens served as a judge on CUNA’s Desjardins Youth and Adult Financial Literacy Committee for nine years and was as a Board Member of the National Disability Institute (NDI) for a decade. She worked on several steering committees throughout New York looking at the need for bilingual adult education programs. Ms. Owens is certified as a Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) Class of 2006, best ever! Prior to joining Inclusiv, Ms. Owens worked in higher education, developing post-secondary training, counseling and academic advisement programs for adults and at-risk youth. She holds a Master of Science in Adult Education and Human Resource Development and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Fordham University.
Kimberley Parsons
Kimberley Parsons is a senior learning strategist with Tech College at Capital One with a passion for helping leaders and teams maximize their growth. In over 10 years as an IT professional (doing everything from delivering code to leading people) and nine years of coaching and training, she has sharpened her talents in leadership and team development, change leadership, strategy execution, learning and development, and coaching. Kimberley obtained her leadership coach certification from Georgetown University. She holds an MS in information systems from Virginia Commonwealth University and a BBA in computer information systems from Georgia Southern University.
Dr. Manuel Pastor
Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California (USC) where he directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII). He is the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change, and holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He writes and speaks widely on issues including demographic change, economic inequality, and community empowerment. Pastor’s latest book is titled, State of Resistance: What California's Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Means for America's Future.
Gregory Perryman
Gregory Perryman Sr. has served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Cleveland Community Credit Union, Cleveland, Ohio for the past 18 years. He now serves as the Board Chairman for one of the fastest growing credit unions in northeast Ohio. Gregory brings 20 years of experience in Economic Development and Finance with the City of Cleveland. He received his Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. Gregory is deeply committed to building of low income communities through small business development and partnerships.
Heather Powell
Heather Powell leads communication, design and engagement with Tech College at Capital One. She has over 8 years of experience as at learning strategist in IT supporting Cyber and more recently Cloud. Heather holds her Certified Scrum Master certification and a certificate in project management from the University of Delaware.
Ida Rademacher
Ida Rademacher is a vice president at the Aspen Institute and executive director of the Aspen Financial Security Program. Since joining the Institute in 2015, Ida has combined her expertise in economic inclusion research and policy with her reputation as a collaborative and creative thinker to expand FSP’s efforts to bring to the national forefront a solutions-focused discussion of how America can actually improve economic growth by addressing growing levels of wealth inequality and household financial insecurity. Her efforts have resulted in the creation of several new cutting-edge initiatives, including the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC), the Reconnecting Work and Wealth Initiative, and the Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings. Through these projects Ida and her team are building a cross-disciplinary community of leaders and change agents who, together, are deeply probing critical financial challenges facing U.S. households and shaping market and policy innovations that can improve the financial security and financial well-being of all Americans. Throughout her career, Ida has developed a reputation for shaping applied research projects and cross-disciplinary teams capable of using complex data to fuel new insights and fresh thinking about how to build economic inclusion. She remains relatively obsessed with understanding the ways that policy and market conditions and other contextual factors shape human behavior and decision-making. As Chief Program Officer at Prosperity Now (formerly CFED), she created the multi-institutional team responsible for leading the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Financial Well-Being Metrics Project, and also led the creation of Upside Down, a program examining ways the U.S. income tax code generates disparate wealth building opportunities and contributes to growing levels of wealth inequality. Earlier in her career she led research and evaluation projects at the Aspen Economic Opportunities Program and the Center for Behavioral and Evaluation Research at the Academy for Educational Development. She currently serves on several advisory boards and is a Director on the Boards of two of the nation’s leading nonprofit financial technology organizations, The Financial Clinic and EARN. Ida pursued postgraduate studies in economic anthropology at the University of Melbourne, Australia; holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland; and a Bachelor of Science degree.
Terry Ratigan
Terry Ratigan leads Inclusiv’s fundraising efforts and plays an important role in program development, training, technical assistance, managing Inclusiv’s Housing Counseling Network and Inclusiv’s advocacy work. He is also a member of the CU Breakthrough consulting services team, providing expertise on CDFI certification, recertification, grant writing, strategic planning CDCUs around the country. In 2008, Mr. Ratigan developed the Emerging Markets Review (EMR), an analytical tool that helps credit unions to grow by expanding services throughout their field of membership. In 2009 he developed a statistical random sampling methodology for target market analysis that has helped to double the number of CDFI certified credit unions. This breakthrough methodology also served as the basis for NCUA’s 2011 revision of the Final Rule on Low Income Designation and the 2012 CDFI Fund guidance on target market analysis for CDFI certification. Prior to joining Inclusiv, Terry worked in community development overseas as a senior manager for CARE in Bangladesh and Mozambique and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
Richard Romero
Since joining Seattle Credit Union as President and CEO in 2012, Richard Romero has succeeded in raising the credit union’s net worth by more than two percent. As a result of the credit union’s improved financial position, he has been able to build his team’s ability to provide education and services to Seattle’s underserved communities. Prior to reaching executive levels, Richard rose through the ranks at financial institutions all along the West Coast – Great Western Bank, Fidelity Federal Bank, Washington Mutual, and Telesis Community Credit Union and Firefighters First Credit Union in Los Angeles. It was along this path he cemented his understanding of retail banking, customer service, and technology. He has served on several local committees and boards including, the YearUp Leadership Council and Inclusiv of Community Development Credit Unions Board of Directors and Leadership Eastside Board of Directors. In 2015 he received the Desjardin’s Youth and Adult Financial Education Award and in 2016 he received the Crosscut Courage in Business Award, for his work with immigrant communities.
Angela Russell
Angela Russell is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and is the Vice President of the CUNA Mutual Foundation at CUNA Mutual Group. Angela is responsible for leading the development, direction and implementation of short and long-term strategies and programs that support Diversity & Inclusion and overseeing CUNA Mutual’s Corporate Social Responsibility program. In 2018, Ms. Russell was named as one of the nation’s most powerful diversity executives by Black Enterprise magazine. Ms. Russell has nearly 20 years of professional experience involving diversity and inclusion, external relations and outreach, communications, policy development, and research and evaluation. Prior to joining CUNA Mutual she worked in various roles in public health including serving as a Health Equity Coordinator for Public Health Madison Dane County and she was the Community Engagement Lead for the National County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Program at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Ms. Russell has also worked in a variety of roles in Wisconsin state government including Division Administrator for the Division of Early Care and Education, and Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Department of Children and Families, and Policy Advisor to Governor Jim Doyle.
Sarah Sable
Sarah Sable is Chief Program Officer at Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, whose mission is to empower low-income individuals to become productive participants in the U.S. financial system and achieve their financial goals. In 2015, NTFP and Inclusiv launched Pathways to Financial Empowerment, a first-of-its-kind outcomes tracking platform that leverages technology to strengthen credit union financial counseling and improve members' financial well-being.
Samira Salem, Ph.D.
Samira Salem, Ph.D., is the Senior Policy Analyst at CUNA. Samira has nearly 20 years of experience in international economic development, community development, policy research, and social finance. She joined the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in 2018 as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Research and Policy Analysis division. Prior to joining CUNA, she worked for Forward Community Investments (FCI), a Madison-based community development financial institution (CDFI) that serves communities throughout Wisconsin. Earlier, Samira worked at the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. where she was a Senior Trade Analyst for Labor and studied the impact of globalization on U.S. labor market outcomes. Prior to that, she had an eight-year tenure at Washington-based DAI where she was an international economic development specialist. Samira earned her Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy and her M.A. in Economics from the University of Southern California.
Joe Schroeder
Joseph Schroeder, a long-time leader in the California Credit Union movement, is President/CEO of Ventura County Credit Union. Schroeder became a CEO of one of the 50 largest Credit Unions in California at the age of 35. He has more than three decades of senior-level Credit Union management experience as President/CEO at three of southern California’s largest Credit Unions and as a vice president over both operational and marketing departments. Schroeder earned his bachelor’s degree in communication arts and an MBA from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is active and well-regarded in the industry, having served on the Board of the CO-OP ATM Network, an FSCC audit committee and was a founding member of the Marketing Association of California (now Marketing Association of Credit Unions), and served as chairman. He has served as the representative from California on the Credit Union Legislative Action Committee, serves on the Government Affairs Committee and formally served on an advisory committee to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). He is also Chair of the Board of Member Business Lending (MBL) based in Salt Lake City, Utah. His community involvement includes Chairman on the Board of FOOD Share, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting hunger in Ventura County. He is also a Board Member of the Foundation of Ventura County Credit Union. In 2013, the California and Nevada Credit Union League awarded Schroeder with the Unsung Hero Award for his leadership. In 2014, the California Credit Union League awarded Schroeder the Distinguished Service Award which is given to recognize efforts that have significantly benefited the Credit Union community. In 2015, the Credit Union House in Washington D.C. inducted Schroeder in to the Hall of Leaders. Schroeder has been recognized by El Concilio Family Services during its 28th Annual Latino Leadership Awards for outstanding contributions to improve the quality of life of the underserved Latino Community. In 2019, he received the "HE for SHE" award from the World Council of Credit Unions' Global Women's Leadership Network. Ventura County Credit Union is the largest Credit Union headquartered in Ventura County, with eight offices, nearly 80,000 members and over $900 million in total assets. VCCU has been selected as the Best Financial Institution in the county for nine straight years by the readers of the Ventura County Star.
Thomas Settino
Thomas R. Settino is Vice President and Director of Sales at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. He is responsible for managing a team of Relationship Managers who provide product support to banks and credit unions located throughout the FHLBNY district, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tom has been with the FHLBNY since January 2011. Tom’s experience includes a long tenure working in the Banking Supervision Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Tom was also employed at the United States Trust Company of New York where he worked as VP of Treasury Services in charge of Cash Management and Asset/Liability Management. Tom earned his undergraduate degree from Manhattan College in New York City and also earned his MBA at Pace University in New York City.
Ed Sivak
Ed Sivak first joined Hope Credit Union (HOPE) as an intern, and today serves as HOPE’s Chief Policy and Communications Officer, leading teams that drive HOPE’s advocacy agenda, and its communications with members, community allies, investors, media and other key stakeholders. Since 2016, Sivak has been an active member of the Inclusiv Government Affairs Committee, and has been a presenter at several Inclusiv conferences, on topics such as Advocacy, Communications and Impact. He served as part of the leadership team in support of the recent Juntos Avanzamos designation of HOPE’s branches in Arkansas and Tennessee. During his 18 years at HOPE, Sivak spearheaded the establishment of the Hope Policy Institute; represented credit unions as an advisor to the Federal Reserve Board, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and has provided testimony to state and federal policymakers on numerous issues affecting low-income people and places. He led the development of HOPE’s systems to track the effectiveness of HOPE’s service to formerly unbanked members, its Borrow and Save program, its mortgage lending program to women and African American borrowers, and gains associated with HOPE’s small business lending. These systems have been leveraged to attract millions in investment and secondary capital for the credit union from banks, foundations and public sources. As a member of the Inclusiv Board, Sivak will draw on this experience to increase access to capital for community development credit unions and leverage the power of Inclusiv’s collective voice and expertise. He will also bring over 15 years of experience in nonprofit and public governance garnered from board service with One Voice, Operation Shoestring, the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative, and the Jackson Public School Board of Trustees. Sivak holds graduate degrees in public policy and administration from Jackson State University and Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University.
Dawnnesha Smith
Dawnnesha Smith leads the Center for Financial Empowerment (CFE) within the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA). In this role, Dawnnesha oversees initiatives to improve the financial wellbeing of low to moderate income County residents through cross-sector collaborations. She is also responsible for guiding the operations of the department’s foreclosure prevention unit. A longtime consumer advocate, in her previous roles, she served as a Supervising Investigator overseeing real estate fraud and identify theft investigations, some of which lead to prosecution. She also implemented the department’s first-ever Consumer Education and Public Outreach Unit and spearheaded initiatives to support the financial education and consumer protection needs of foster youth. Dawnnesha is an alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Sociology and received her Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.
Maurice Smith
Maurice Smith is the CEO of Local Government Federal Credit Union and Civic FCU. Both are financial cooperatives serving the financial needs of employees, appointed officials, elected officeholders and volunteers of local governments in North Carolina. Smith began his career in financial services as a loan officer for State Employees’ Credit Union. Smith served in several capacities including vice-president/city executive and vice-president of marketing/training. Smith joined LGFCU in 1992 as the Executive Vice-President and was promoted to President in 1999 and later CEO. Smith received his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and earned a Juris Doctorate from the NC Central University School of Law. Smith is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, the District of Columbia and before the United States Supreme Court. Smith is also a North Carolina Certified Superior Court Mediator.