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Blaine Wren

The $5.5 billion, Richland, Wash.-based Gesa Credit Union promoted Blaine Wren to vice president of finance and accounting. In his new role, Wren will help drive Gesa’s financial strategy, oversee the finance and accounting teams, and support the organization toward its goal of reaching $10 billion in assets. He will also continue building on this work by leveraging financial data to drive decision-making, support Gesa’s growth and further strengthen its financial foundation. Since joining Gesa in 2013, Wren has held various roles including financial analyst and finance manager/team leader.

Peggy Pollard

The $1 billion Valley First Credit Union in Modesto, Calif., announced three new hires.

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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.

Community/People News