One phrase, "do the right thing," has been at the core of what drives Kristina Derkos, senior vice president of employee relations/development at Redwood Credit Union.

"At 18, I was working at an employment labor law firm and I'd go through these files wondering why are these large employers continuing to make the same mistakes over and over again costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Derkos. "At that young age I thought there shouldn't be these kind of lawsuits. They just needed good advice on how to better navigate their business and improve the treatment of their employees because it's the right thing to do. I quickly realized there was a whole field dedicated to this and being able to guide employers to make a sound business decision by treating employees fairly has been very rewarding. I learned the compliance associated with the laws is more complicated than I thought when I was 18, but still I wouldn't want to do anything else."

Prior to joining the Santa Rosa, Calif.-based credit union she worked at a Fortune 500 company but wanted to be part of an organization that did more meaningful work.