Company: Xceed Financial Credit Union, El Segundo, CA, U.S.A.
Company Description: Xceed Financial is a workplace credit union, with 14 Financial Centers (branches) in five states, but our nearly 65,000 members are located throughout the country. When they choose Xceed, members get a financial partner that delivers all of the conveniences associated with big banks, with a level of personal service and value the big guys just can’t match.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Mentor or Coach of the Year – Government or Non-Profit

Nomination Title: Teresa Freeborn, President and Chief Executive

Describe for the judges the nominated individual's activities and accomplishments that supported women in business since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

Teresa Freeborn became President and Chief Executive for Xceed Financial Credit Union in September of 2006. With 200 associates and fourteen Financial Centers in five states, Xceed currently serves 65,000 members and has $1.1 billion in assets under management. A passionate advocate for the credit union movement for 40 years, Freeborn is also committed to the values of diversity and inclusion. Throughout her career, she has devoted considerable personal time and effort to mentoring and nurturing the careers of women who report to her and to leading industry efforts focused on expanding opportunities for women to thrive in leadership roles. Leading by example, Freeborn’s own executive management team is 75% female and five of her organization’s nine board volunteers are women.

As she looks forward to the prospect of her own retirement some years from now, Freeborn feels a sense of urgency to make others aware of the shortage of women in credit union leadership – a condition that exists in spite of the fact that the industry’s workforce as a whole features high female participation. Through numerous event appearances, media interviews, and speaking engagements, she shares concrete solutions that credit unions and others can implement to achieve gender balance and give women more opportunities to lead.

Since July 2013, Freeborn has been particularly active on a national and global level to provide support and guidance to other women in the workplace:

• A champion for the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), she was an inaugural member and is an active participant in WOCCU’s Global Women’s Leadership Network. She’s also a recent appointee to WOCCU’s World Leadership Development Committee.

• Freeborn is a sought-after keynote speaker on the subject of women in leadership, regularly delivering her hard-hitting, warm and witty presentation entitled “Houston, We Have a Problem” that illustrates and offers solutions to the shortage of women in leadership. Among the venues she has participated include the Women and Leadership Colloquium, an interactive event hosted by Filene Research Institute and the World Council of Credit Unions at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (June 2014); and keynoting the Cornerstone Credit Union League Conference in Texas (September 2013).

• Her efforts to sound the alarm about gender imbalance among credit leadership, combined with her bold and effective communication style, have also made Freeborn a popular source for a diverse collection of news media covering the topic. For example, since July 2013, she has co-hosted the Radio Free CU radio program, been interviewed by Credit Unions Online, and been published on the topic in CU Management’s Digital Magazine, www.cues.org/article/view/id/5581.

• Reaching beyond her own industry, Freeborn also seeks to nurture women’s success in business by supporting groups such as The Women’s Alliance (TWA), a worldwide diversity group of Xerox Corporation (one of Xceed Financial’s largest employer partners). In October 2013, the Credit Union was a major sponsor of TWA’s annual conference and Freeborn led a well-attended, interactive workshop in which participants explored concrete ways that each could help shape a better future for women in the workplace as well as business and community leadership.

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Provide a brief biography of the nominated individual (up to 125 words):

Teresa Freeborn oversees all aspects of Xceed Financial’s operations and represents Xceed globally. Previously, she was Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications for Kinecta Federal Credit Union, and President of Kinecta Financial and Insurance Services. Prior to moving to the United States from Canada, Freeborn was Vice President, Services & Communications at Central One Credit Union in Vancouver, British Columbia. A passionate advocate for the credit union movement, Freeborn serves on the boards of numerous professional organizations, is the immediate past chair of the Credit Union for Kids Advisory Board – Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and continues to serve on its Wine Auction Committee and the SacTown 10-Mile Run Committee.