Rogue Credit Union’s Gene Pelham Joins the Northwest Credit Union Foundation Board of Directors

The Northwest Credit Union Foundation is pleased to announce Gene Pelham, President and CEO of Rogue Credit Union, has joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors. As a Board Director, he will work alongside other credit union executives to help guide the Foundation in its future initiatives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Gene to the Board,” said the Foundation’s Executive Director, Sharee Adkins. “Gene brings a wealth of credit union movement knowledge and community involvement. He’ll be a great asset to the Foundation’s strategic vision and moving our work forward.”

Stephen Pagenstecher, Chief Operations Officer at Point West Credit Union, serves as the Foundation’s Board Chair, Shelli Millhuff, President and CEO of Nordstrom Federal Credit Union is Vice Chair, Jim McCarthy, President and CEO of Trailhead Credit Union is Secretary/Treasurer, and Troy Stang, Northwest Credit Union Association President and CEO, serves as the Foundation’s Board President.

Pelham joined Rogue in 2003 as the Executive Vice President and became the credit union’s fourth CEO in 2007. He has more than 40 years of experience in financial services, and spent the last 33 working in the Credit Union Movement.

“I am honored to be part of the Foundation’s work, which is contributing to the financial health of Northwest communities and credit union members throughout the region,” Pelham said.

Currently, Pelham also serves on the Western Credit Union National Association Management School Board of Trustees and was recently appointed to Southern Oregon University’s Foundation Board of Trustees. He serves on the NWCUA Governmental Affairs Committee, and is Chair of the Transportation Advisory Council for the Medford/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. He is a sought-after advocate for a variety of local community service initiatives.

The Foundation is focused on a number of initiatives, including workforce housing, financial literacy programs, and professional development scholarships. It plans to award a total of $620,000 in workforce housing grants to credit unions by the end of 2019 and is partnering with 23 credit unions to provide financial education to more than 3,500 students through Bite of Reality, an app-based financial reality experience. It also recently launched the Biz Kid$ Business Plan Competition, a program that engages young people and helps them develop life skills in the areas of entrepreneurship and financial management.

To learn more about its work, visit the Northwest Credit Union Foundation online.