Source: Shutterstock.
CUNA has appointed Samira Salem, Ph.D to the newly-created position of vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the trade association announced Monday.
In her new role, Salem is responsible for leading CUNA's progress toward reaching its internal DEI goals, as well as CUNA's programs and initiatives designed to fulfill its "Roadmap to Inclusion," CUNA said. She will also be charged with fulfilling CUNA's DEI strategy roadmap, architecting CUNA's DEI Learning & Training efforts, leading CUNA's internal DEI Advisory Group and Employee Engagement Group relations, and driving DEI metrics and data-driven insights, according to the trade association.
"We have been on a journey to advance DEI at CUNA and throughout the credit union industry, and Samira has played a significant role in helping us articulate to policymakers the work that credit unions do to serve diverse communities," CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said in a prepared statement. "There is not a more passionate and suitable candidate to lead CUNA and credit unions as we promote inclusiveness and equity through the delivery of essential financial services to our members."
Samira Salem Salem, who has nearly 20 years of experience in international economic development, community development, policy research and social finance, previously worked for Forward Community Investments, a Madison, Wis.-based community development financial institution that supports initiatives throughout Wisconsin that address racial, social and economic inequities. She joined CUNA in 2018 and most recently served as the senior policy analyst on CUNA's Research and Policy Analysis Team, focusing on analytics to support the organization's advocacy efforts. She also leads CUNA's DEI eSchool.
"DEI is in the credit union DNA," Salem said in a prepared statement. "Advancing DEI makes our organizations and our movement stronger. It's vital if we want to grow and continue to be relevant to our members and our communities in a changing marketplace. I am thrilled to lead this critical work within CUNA and support DEI across the industry."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
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.
