California and Nevada’s Credit Unions Senior Vice President of Federal Advocacy Stephanie Cuevas and Vice President of Regulatory Advocacy Lisa Quaranta recently delivered opening remarks at America’s Credit Unions’ Human Resources and Organizational Development (HR & OD) Council Conference.
Speaking to a national audience of credit union human resource and talent development professionals, Cuevas and Quaranta highlighted the “people helping people” mission in action as they reflected on a year of advocacy and community resilience.
“Our core value is advocacy — bringing one unified voice to the capitol to strengthen the operating environment for credit unions,” Cuevas said.
They highlighted the successful completion of a $1 million scholarship endowment for Washington, D.C. interns. This initiative — the California State University in DC program — is an investment in the next generation of public policy professionals. By reaching the $1 million mark, this endowment and the California league’s partnership with the CSU program will permanently generate up to 12 scholarships annually to offset the high cost of living for students interning in the nation’s capital.
Cuevas and Quaranta also discussed the role credit unions played during the devastating wildfires that swept through Los Angeles and Ventura counties in early 2025. They shared stories of how credit unions across the region mobilized to provide immediate relief through emergency low-interest loans for displaced members, fee waivers, loan payment assistance, and corporate donations to the National Credit Union Foundation’s CUAid initiative to support impacted credit union staff.
In addition to disaster relief, they celebrated the industry’s continued philanthropic spirit, citing the $3 million raised for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) — a record-breaking contribution that supports life-saving pediatric care.
The presentation concluded with a call to action for HR and OD professionals. Advocacy is not just for credit union executives, but for every employee within the credit union ecosystem. They encouraged attendees to leverage available grassroots tools to amplify the credit union voice in state and federal legislatures.
California and Nevada’s Credit Unions remain champions for change — a mission thriving on advocacy. There are two ways for your credit union to fuel that momentum:
For more information, contact Angelica Pappalardo.
