The Foundation Gala Presenting the Herb Wegner Memorial Awards

“Kathy didn’t just build a financial institution-she built a community catalyst.” – Vanessa Kuduk, VP of Lending, Members Credit Union

Fairfield County, Connecticut, is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and, as a result, its residents reckon with some of the highest levels of income inequality. Kathy Chartier, President/CEO of Members Credit Union, headquartered in Stamford, chose to face that dichotomy head-on.

While the teachers Members Credit Union (originally called Greenwich CT Teachers FCU) served were earning a living wage, Kathy recognized that the people supporting the schools – including bus drivers, staff, and nutrition workers, many of whom were immigrants – struggled to make ends meet. In response, she and her team worked to expand the credit union’s charter and launch a plan to address the needs of the diverse and underserved communities in her area.

Members Credit Union boldly redefined its mission, expanding its charter to serve all of Fairfield County – not for profit, but to transform into a community-focused cooperative that serves everyone, especially those of modest means, offering access, dignity, and empowerment.

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“There are leaders who manage. There are leaders who inspire. And then there are the rare few who do both – with grace, vision, and fierce determination. Gigi is one of those few.” – Tobi Weingart, SVP Member & Industry Engagement, The League of Credit Unions & Affiliates

As credit union professionals, we have the good fortune to work with people every day that are passionate about our movement and the impact they have on the people they serve. How often is it, though, that we encounter someone that has impacted generations of credit union members, even if they will never know it?

Gigi Hyland is a credit union legend of that magnitude.

She will likely say, and it is true, that an ideal as all-encompassing as “Financial Well-being for All” doesn’t gain traction on the national stage without the support of thousands of fierce advocates from credit unions across the country. But without her leadership at the National Credit Union Foundation, her care, her compassion, and her staunch belief in doing what is right, it may have never reached the ears willing to hear it, the teams ready to implement it as a strategic pillar, or the many hands eager to lift up those they have not been serving.

Jennifer Tescher, Founder & CEO of the Financial Health Network, reflects: “I engage with a wide range of financial services companies and leaders around the globe. From that perspective, I can say without hesitation that the U.S. credit union movement is far ahead of the pack in its adoption of a financial well-being approach. I am also confident that it would not have happened without the fearless leadership of Gigi Hyland.”

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More to come on Steven and his impact on the credit union system.