Most Influential: Tricia McKay

Under the guidance of the Medina Foundation, McKay helped broaden Express Credit Union's business model to include lending services for moderate- to low-income customers, making it the only credit union to provide such assistance in King County

Tricia McKay [ Executive Director, Medina Foundation ]

About four years ago, long before the current economic crisis, McKay was looking for a way to address the fact that a shocking 20 percent of Puget Sound–area residents, mostly in the low-income bracket, had no access to banking institutions. “Far too many low-income people in the county had nowhere else to turn except to predatory lenders like payday-loan and check-cashing services,” she says. The result of her efforts is the newly expanded Express Credit Union, a 75-year-old financial institution with 1,400 members. Under the guidance of the Medina Foundation, McKay helped broaden Express’ business model to include lending services for moderate- to low-income customers, making it the only credit union to provide such assistance in King County. Working closely with BECU (formerly Boeing Employees Credit Union) and eight nonprofit service provider partners, McKay helped set up 16 satellite Express offices, staffed with BECU customer service reps, in communities that have been traditionally underserved by banks.

The new Express, says McKay—who at one time directed the Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation and managed Seattle’s Team Read tutoring program—is another step in her lifelong goal of eradicating the root causes of poverty. “We saw a huge gap in affordability of financial services,” she says. It looks like Express is helping to close that gap. In its first three months after relaunching, Express signed up 500 new members and now has more than $9 million in assets. Over the next five years, McKay expects Express to serve between 6,500 and 7,000 low-income members.