Hope Credit Union Announces Executive and Senior Leadership Appointments 

New Appointments Will Help HOPE Provide Premier Banking Services to Deep South

Jackson, MS – Today, HOPE announced major leadership announcements, appointing Kiyadh Burt to Vice President of Policy & Advocacy & Interim Director; Cheryol Cowan to HOPE’s Vice President of Retail Banking Administrator; Charity Hallman to Senior Vice President of Community & Economic Development; Alex Lawson to Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives; and Danielle J. Ware to Senior Vice President, Commercial Credit Officer.

“As HOPE continues to grow its membership base and product offerings, we are constantly looking for opportunities to strengthen and grow our internal capacity to meet our members’ needs and provide them with premier banking opportunities,” said HOPE CEO Bill Bynum. “I’m happy to congratulate Danielle, Charity, Alex, Cheryol, and Kiyadh on their well-deserved promotions. They each bring a wealth of experience that I’m confident will advance HOPE’s position as a leader in expanding access to financial services and its mission to close the racial wealth gap in the Deep South.”

Please find below more details about the new promotions and hires below:

• Kiyadh Burt is a Vice President of Policy & Advocacy & Interim Director at Hope Policy Institute. In this position, he uses quantitative and qualitative methods to understand and demonstrate the impact of social and economic policy across the Deep South. His primary areas of research include community and economic development, consumer protection, small business relief, and financial inclusion.
• Cheryol Cowan is HOPE’s Vice President of Retail Banking Administrator. In this role, she is responsible for supporting and leading efforts with retail initiatives, daily functions, compliance training, and mentorship of new hire retail branch staff. The position works closely with the branch, network and other departments to ensure increased member satisfaction and operational efficiencies. Cheryol has over 30 years of Credit Union experience, which includes 23 years in management.
• Charity Hallman is HOPE’s new Senior Vice President of Community & Economic Development. In this role, she leads the organization’s education lending across a five-state region, including the management of a $20 million U.S. Department of Education Public Charter School Facilities Credit Enhancement program, as well as HOPE’s commercial lending and community and economic development efforts across the state of Arkansas. Charity has over 15 years of leadership experience in private, public, and non-profit organizations focused on strategic growth, financial management, public policy, advocacy, and human resources, is a 2022 LISC Rubinger Fellow, and serves on the board of the Lower Mississippi River Foundation.
• Alex Lawson is the Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at HOPE. Leveraging more than a decade of experience in leading strategic economic mobility initiatives at high-performing social impact firms, Alex has helped deploy more than $200 million to communities of color by creating programs that aim to close the opportunity gap in homeownership, entrepreneurship, education, food systems, climate justice, and financial services.
• Danielle J. Ware is HOPE’s new Senior Vice President, Commercial Credit Officer. She will continue to provide leadership and strategic direction to the Commercial Lending team with added responsibilities of Portfolio Management and Special Assets. Danielle has over 20 years of progressive experience in the banking and lending industry with a focus on commercial lending, mortgage lending, underwriting and operations. She has a substantiated history of managing multi-million dollar portfolios, leading teams, collaboration and executive problem solving.

To learn more, visit www.hopecu.org/about/senior-leadership-team.