Where purpose meets energy: Celebrating the 2026 Herb Wegner Award Winners
Each year at the Governmental Affairs Conference, we gather to celebrate leaders whose work reminds us what people helping people looks like in action at the Herb Wegner Memorial Award Gala.
This year’s celebration centered on a powerful idea: where purpose meets energy.
The purpose at the heart of the credit union movement is our shared belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve financial well-being. Energy is what turns that belief into action. The 2026 Herb Wegner Memorial Award winners embody both.
Many of the moments that change lives never make headlines. They happen quietly, every day, in credit unions across the country. The leaders honored this year represent a lifetime of creating more of those moments. And that everyday work is worthy of celebration.
Meet the 2026 Award Winners
The Herb Wegner Memorial Awards honor individuals who embody the credit union philosophy and whose leadership has shaped the movement for the better. Their contributions remind us that progress happens because dedicated people choose to make a difference.
At the National Credit Union Foundation, we believe recognition is about more than celebrating the past, it’s about inspiring the future. Get inspired by this year’s winners.
Kathy Chartier
For more than three decades, Kathy Chartier has led Members Credit Union with a bold vision: to ensure that everyone, especially those historically excluded from the financial system, has access to opportunity. Under Kathy’s leadership, Members Credit Union has opened doors for entrepreneurs, first-time car buyers, and families working to build credit and achieve homeownership. Kathy’s work reflects a deep commitment to meeting people where they are and ensuring they feel welcomed and valued.
Gigi Hyland
Gigi Hyland has credit unions in her DNA. Raised by two credit union attorneys, she grew up listening to credit union stories around the dinner table, and as a result, her career has spanned every corner of the movement including running the National Credit Union Foundation for more than 20 years, retiring in 2024. Along the way, she has been guided by one unwavering belief that credit unions have the power to improve the financial well-being of all people.
Steven Stapp
Throughout his career, Steven Stapp has served as a passionate ambassador for credit unions bringing cooperative principles to life through leadership, mentorship, and global collaboration. Through his involvement with the World Council of Credit Unions, he supported credit union development in places like Afghanistan and Libya. Closer to home, he has championed inclusion and community engagement, helping expand services to Latino and immigrant communities and building partnerships that connect credit unions across borders. Known as a mentor and advocate, Steven has inspired countless others to find their place in the credit union movement.
Come along with us for what comes next
At the Foundation Gala, we celebrated what has been built. Tomorrow, we keep building.
All three 2026 Herb Wegner Award winners are graduates of the Credit Union Development Education (DE) program, a transformational experience that deepens understanding of the credit union mission and the role we all play in improving financial well-being. You can deepen your impact and build a stronger understanding of the credit union philosophy by participating in DE.
The work of improving financial well-being continues in credit unions and communities across the country, and the National Credit Union Foundation is proud to support that work every step of the way.