VACU Hosts First Financial Success for Women Summit

Registration opened this week for Virginia Credit Union’s Financial Success for Women Summit, which takes place on April 17. Celebrating Financial Literacy Month, an esteemed lineup of speakers are poised to inspire and empower women, wherever they are on their journey to financial success.

Hosted at Richmond Marriott, this one-day experience is a unique opportunity for women in our community to gain valuable insights into personal finances, building wealth, and career development. Attendees will have the chance to connect with community leaders, participate in engaging workshops, and build a network of like-minded individuals.

The summit is anchored by keynote speaker, Michelle Singletary, an award-winning personal finance columnist for The Washington Post, with opening remarks from Suzanne Youngkin, First Lady of Virginia.

Additional speakers include:

• Naomi Boyd, Professor of Finance, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Elnetta Burke, Senior Financial Advisor, VACU Investment Group
• Sonya Ravindranath Waddell, Vice President & Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

The Financial Success for Women Summit is the first signature event of Virginia Credit Union’s women-focused financial health programming that began as a virtual series during the pandemic. At that time, financial health, a national measurement of a person’s resilience to financial hardship, dropped for the first time in five years. Women were most impacted by this drop in financial health, and have historically trailed men in this measurement overall. While women are more likely to be the decision-makers when it comes to money in their households, they also, on average, earn less than men and carry more debt. To combat these downward financial health trends, the Financial Success for Women Summit programming is designed to empower and inform women on how to take control of their finances by giving them the tools to make the right financial decisions for themselves and their families.

“We believe in the power of knowledge and community to propel women towards financial success,” said Cherry Dale, Senior Vice President of Financial Education and one of the visionaries behind the event. “This summit is an extension of our mission to strengthen financial confidence in our community. It’s a platform for women to gain practical insights, share experiences, and connect with peers and mentors who can guide them on their journey.”

Hosted in collaboration with the VCU Financial Success Center and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the summit is open to women of all ages and backgrounds, fostering an inclusive and accessible environment for learning and growth. Attendees referred by partnering nonprofits United Way WomenRise, YWCA, and the Forward Foundation, will receive a voucher to help cover costs associated with attending.

Summit attendees will also have an opportunity to put together “Born Healthy Kits” and tuck in a hand-written note for new moms receiving the kits. The contents will be collected through a Virginia Credit Union employee drive and delivered to the United Way for distribution.

Other participant perks include a plated lunch, cocktail networking hour, and free professional headshots. You can find the full agenda, speaker line-up, and registration by visiting vacu.org/summit.

A financial cooperative serving more than 320,000 members, Virginia Credit Union offers a variety of affordable banking services, loans, mortgages, and free financial education resources, with a focus on helping people feel more confident about their finances. Virginia Credit Union is an equal housing opportunity lender and is federally insured by NCUA.