Sierra Central Credit Union President/CEO John Cassidy (left) and Redwood Credit Union President/CEO Brett Martinez (right) discuss disaster preparedness strategies.

Hollywood, Calif. – In October 2017, wildfires near Redding, Calif., destroyed more than 7,000 homes and impacted thousands of Redwood Credit Union members in the way of lost property, lost jobs and suffered psychological damage. Speaking to attendees at the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues' REACH conference Thursday, Brett Martinez, president/CEO of the $4.4 billion, Santa Rosa, Calif.-based RCU, described how the credit union offered members 0% interest loans, waived ATM fees, halted loan payment collections and launched a construction loan program during the fire's aftermath. The ordeal cost the credit union about $1 million.

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.