"Because I'm the bleeding heart type, I knew that was something I wanted to be involved in," Nelson said.

Nelson started volunteering at Coastal as a member of the supervisory committee. She served there for three years, and when an opening became available on the board, she joined as a member. She held various positions on the board until becoming vice chair, and in 2012 she was named chairman of the board.

She said she's most proud of how the credit union impacts its members and the community.

"We've worked very hard to make a difference for our members … we really believe in the people helping people mission as a credit union and we strive to make that first and foremost in everything we do. We try to make an impact, not just on our credit union members, but on our community at large and be seen as an institution that wants to make a difference and help those who are less fortunate," Nelson said. Giving back to the community isn't just part of a fluffy mission statement for Coastal – it's deeply embedded in its culture and actions. Coastal has a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and nearly every year, the credit union helps raise money to build a house for a local family and credit union employees take part in building it. Nelson said she will never forget when the credit union raised $100,000 to build a house for a local family.

"Their reaction when they walked into their home is one I will never forget. They had a housewarming and they invited us in, and as they blessed the house, their daughter sang a song and everyone was in tears," Nelson said.

She said she loves that story because it was about Coastal, the community and everyone coming together to support a family, and participants were then able to experience the difference they made for the family and know they did something well.

And the credit union's work didn't end there. Every year the Coastal team holds an annual celebration, and that particular year, they invited the family. The Coastal team had raised money and bought housewarming gifts for the family, and presented them on stage. "That family's reaction, again, was one I will never forget," Nelson said.

Nelson said the board's overarching theme for 2018 is impact, and that goal is fully aligned with the credit union. She said it's about ensuring the credit union brings best-of-class products and services to members and becomes their primary financial intuition. Nelson emphasized the goal is also about providing support to the community and making a difference in terms of helping the community grow from a financial health perspective.

"We want to make sure we continue our legacy as being seen as one of the best places to work in the triangle. So we want to make sure again, that that theme is around impact. When you think about donations, it's not just around giving money, it's about making a difference and having [programs] that help sustain the community for a long period of time," she said.

Nelson helped impact members through a teller machine upgrade project. The credit union partnered with another institution to create personal teller machines, which have built-in video screens where members can interface with a teller who is at an offsite location. All traditional ATMs have now been replaced by the personal teller machines.

This allowed the credit union to consolidate all tellers to a central location, allowing it to better leverage its resources based off the ebbs and flows of member traffic. The credit union can now support members from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week via the personal teller machines. The program, dubbed "seven by seven by seven," has greatly improved flexibility for members who may not be able to make it into a branch within traditional banking hours. Nelson pointed out the credit union still has member service representatives and loan officers in the branch. "There's always someone there if you have a question or need help during normal banking hours," she emphasized.

But impact for Nelson isn't exclusive to her professional life. While mentoring children through a program at her full-time job at IBM, Nelson hit it off with a student named Alisha, so much so that she came to stay with Nelson for a week. When the week was over, Alisha's mom called to tell her she got evicted and she had nowhere to take Alisha. Nelson then picked up Alisha's brother, Charles, and the two were scheduled to stay with Nelson for another few days. Three days eventually turned into a permanent move for Alisha and Charles. The children were always loved by their biological mother, but Nelson assumed the role of their primary caretaker. Alisha would later become the first member of her family to go to college.

Sadly, Charles passed away at the age of 20. At his funeral, Coastal employees filled an entire row of seats, providing a sliver of comfort.

"That's what Coastal does, they support you through thick and thin," Nelson recalled. "What I learned through that process is that quite often, people of modest means don't have the knowledge and expertise to manage through situations … so it became my personal mission to help those who are less fortunate than I am. And that's one of the reasons why I support many different non-profits. That's why the credit union is near and dear to my heart – because quite often, the root of many people's problems is financial."