Empower FCU appoints Carhart interim president and CEO

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As Empower Federal Credit Union continues a search for its next CEO, the organization has turned to a longtime member of the executive team to lead the credit union on an interim basis.

At the same time, Empower is also working with a firm that provides an online financial-literacy program to provide access to the service to students and teachers in dozens of upstate New York schools. 

Interim CEO 

Empower’s board of directors recently appointed Brenda Carhart as interim president and CEO following the retirement of previous CEO John Wakefield. Carhart has been serving in the role since March 11.

Carhart has 38 years of credit-union experience, most recently serving as Empower’s senior VP and chief lending officer, per the credit union’s online news release. 

“The board is thrilled Ms. Carhart has accepted this position as we continue to fulfill our mission to create lifelong financial relationships that positively impact the financial lives of our members,” Robert Cummings, chairman of the Empower Federal Credit Union board of directors, said. “Brenda is a member-focused leader, who will continue to guide the credit union as we move into the future.”

The nonprofit Empower Federal Credit Union provides savings, loan, and transaction services to members in Central New York, and in eight counties throughout New York state. The credit union operates more than 20 branch offices.

Financial-literacy instruction

Empower Federal Credit Union is also working with Provo, Utah–based Banzai to provide free access to the web-based financial-literacy program to thousands of students and teachers in upstate New York.

With Empower’s sponsorship, nearly 72,000 students and teachers at 132 schools in Onondaga, Cayuga, Oswego, Madison, Fulton, Ontario, and Montgomery counties are benefiting, Banzai said in an April 15 news release. 

Banzai is an online financial-literacy program and content library of articles, calculators, and coaches. The resources are available to students at home or in the classroom through any device that can access the internet, Banzai noted. 

“Teaching financial literacy to middle school students with the help of Empower Federal Credit Union has been a wonderful hands-on experience for the students,” Roberta Mou, an educator at Chittenango Middle School, said in a release. “Empower presenter Cheryl Welles provides students with a real-life experience … The Banzai Life Scenarios online program then helps the students use this knowledge in a simulation of how finances work in the real world. The Banzai ‘game’ is the students’ favorite part of Banzai, as they make the decisions about how they spend their money and if they can manage to save their money to get into college.” 

Students get their own accounts, and they work through assignments that are based on real-life occurrences, Morgan Vandagriff, co-founder of Banzai, said.