Power Station with Carla Decker

Published: March 23, 2020, 4:24 p.m.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed our nation’s dysfunctional systems, but it also reveals what works. As our president equivocates about what can be done, mayors and governors are stepping up to fill the void. They are setting up testing sites, procuring ventilators, and building hospital units. And nonprofit leaders are using their expertise to advocate for families and communities. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition is organizing calls to members of Congress to ask them to include protections for homeless people in their spending bills. NALEO Educational Fund is helping immigrant families to participate in the 2020 Census. And Carla Decker, President and CEO of DC Credit Union, is maintaining 2 open branches (with social distancing and caution) to serve members. They include dislocated workers from DC’s normally booming hospitality industry, new immigrants and multi-generational African American households who are not adequately served by mainstream financial institutions. Credit union members receive access to credit, flexible underwriting, help in sending remittances to their home countries and the support that only a staff with shared experiences cannot provide. Carla is a leader in the credit union, CDFI and cooperative movements, both locally and through her considerable national networks. Hers is the voice we are fortunate to hear now.