Join us!
Financial Inclusion of Refugee and Migrant Communities
April 4, 2022 | 1:00 pm ET
Inclusiv, in collaboration with Cooperative Federal Credit Union, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Holy Rosary Credit Union, and Point West Credit Union, invite you to the first Juntos Avanzamos webinar of the year: Financial Inclusion of Refugee Communities. The webinar will be held on Monday April 4th at 1:00PM ET.
As recents international events have shown, war, famine, and natural disasters can befall any country or communities and force thousands of people to abandon their homes in search of peace, stability, and prosperity.
Thousands of refugees are resettled into the U.S. every year, looking to build a future for themselves and their families while contributing to the diversity of our society, economy and our country.
As refugees and migrants look to build a new future in the United States, their inclusion into the U.S. financial system is critical for them build wealth and integrate into our economy and society. This is an opportunity for community development credit unions to grow by serving a diverse and multicultural community of refugees while meeting their mission of financial inclusion.
Join Christina Sauve, CEO at Cooperative Federal Credit Union, Carole Wight, President at Holy Rosary Credit Union, Mary Beth Wilkinson, Program Officer at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and Stephen Pagenstecher, CIO at Point West Credit Union to learn more about the profile of the refugee population in the United States. Their financial needs, engagement with the financial services industry, bests practices, as well as stories of success serving communities that bring diversity to our country and strenghten our economy and society.
For more information, please contact René Vargas Martínez, Director of Puerto Rico Network at Inclusiv at rvargasmartinez@inclusiv.org.
Meet Our Panelists
Christina Sauve, CEO, Cooperative Federal
Carole Wight, President, Holy Rosary Credit Union
Carole Wight is the President of Holy Rosary Credit Union in Kansas City, Missouri. This is a small, $23 million, low-income designated CDFI credit union which serves a low-income population comprised largely of immigrants, people of color, disabled low-income seniors and other financially underserved populations. She originally came from a not-for-profit/church background but is now a 25-year veteran of the credit union industry. She has served as Senior Vice-President of Midwest United Credit Union in Kansas City and also as its Compliance Officer.
Carole feels fortunate to be part of the credit union movement because of the opportunities it affords to positively affect people’s lives. She is particularly passionate about helping low-income households build assets and financial security.
She received her BA in Sociology from University of Missouri-St. Louis and has benefitted from many Credit Union National Association (CUNA) programs including CUNA Management School and the Regulatory Compliance School. In addition, she is a Credit Union Developmental Educator (CUDE).
Steve Pagenstecher, Chief Innovation Officer, Point West Credit Union
Steve Pagenstecher is the Chief Innovation Officer at Point West Credit Union in Portland, OR, a low income designated, CDFI certificated credit union, where he oversees the credit union’s strategic initiatives, IT, and marketing, as well as leading Point West’s community, business, and product development initiatives. He previously served as the Vice President of Member Relations at Valley Credit Union in Salem, OR and has over 17 years of experience in financial services. Steve recently served on the boards of the Northwest Credit Union Foundation and Innovative Changes, a nonprofit specializing in financial education and credit-building for underserved communities. He is a certified Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) and received a B.S. in Marketing Communication from Oregon State University. Steve and his wife live in Portland and spend their spare time chasing around their young daughter.
Mary Beth Wilkinson, Program Officer, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Mary Beth Wilkinson is a Program Officer for the Matching Grant Program at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a program focused on economic empowerment through early employment for refugees, asylees, and survivors of trafficking. Mary Beth began working in refugee resettlement as an AmeriCorps worker in 2009, joining as a volunteer coordinator to help community members welcome refugees from Bhutan, Myanmar and Iraq as they integrated into American life. Additionally, she has managed interpreter services and ESOL programming, provided monitoring and evaluation oversight to unaccompanied children’s services, and coordinated pro bono mental health therapy programming for asylum seekers and survivors of torture. With a master’s in counseling, Mary Beth honed her passion to “help the helper” and effectively support refugee resettlement staff in the rewarding but often arduous work of resettlement. She currently lives in Baltimore, MD with her husband, Daniel, daughter, Lizzy, and their trio of cats. When not working you will find her hiking, cooking, or listening to an audio book while trying to get 4 other tasks done at the same time. Her motto in life is “Kindness wins. Stay patient. Stay urgent. Focus on the people!