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Karen Benedict Kehrer Bielan Research & Consulting, a provider of research and insight for the financial advice industry, honored Karen Benedict, SVP of Northwest Financial Advisors (NWFA), as the No. 1 director of mid-sized financial advice firms on its inaugural Top Directors Awards list during a virtual ceremony on Dec. 13. NWFA is owned by NW Capital Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the $4.3 billion, Herndon, Va.-based Northwest Federal Credit Union. The list recognizes the most successful investment services directors among the nation's banks and credit unions. Kehrer Bielan defines mid-sized firms as those employing between seven and 24 financial advisors, and assessed the performance of 406 banks and credit unions to form a list of 26 directors who have risen above their peers.
Gina Vecchi GFA Federal Credit Union ($675 million, Gardner, Mass.) promoted Gina Vecchi to assistant vice president/retail mortgage originator. Vecchi began her career at GFA in 2014 as a part-time teller and was promoted to member service supervisor in 2015, financial service supervisor in 2016, assistant branch manager in 2018 and retail mortgage originator in 2019. She also received the credit union's Rising Star Award for her continuous display of GFA's core values and serves on GFA's student advisory board.
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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.
