Troy Stang on stage at MAXX NWCUA President/CEO Troy Stang addresses attendees at MAXX. Behind him are photos of credit union professionals in action across the Northwest. Photo credit: NWCUA

As I was preparing to head to the Northwest Credit Union Association's MAXX Convention in Spokane, Wash., in mid-October, I noticed that the press releases sent by the league ahead of the event referred to Spokane as a "credit union town." It reminded me of a conversation I had a while back with Editor-in-Chief Michael Ogden and Staff Reporter Peter Strozniak about potential story topics, one of which was, why are credit unions more popular in some regions than others?

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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.