NEW YORK— Inclusiv has named Shayna L. Ferguson and Winona Nava as the 2026 recipients of its Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award, recognizing two longtime community development credit union leaders for their work expanding access to financial services in Native and Hispanic communities.
The Annie Vamper Helping Hands Award is Inclusiv’s highest honor and is presented to individuals who have made what the organization described as extraordinary contributions to the mission of community development credit unions. Inclusiv said Ferguson, manager of Lakota Federal Credit Union, and Nava, retired president/CEO of Guadalupe Credit Union, will be honored during its annual conference.
Ferguson, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been with Lakota FCU since it opened in 2012 and now leads the only federally insured financial institution on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, with the credit union recently winning NCUA approval to expand into the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
Inclusiv said Nava spent 45 years in credit unions, including leading Guadalupe CU after taking over the institution while it was in conservatorship and growing it from roughly $10 million in assets to more than $260 million. During her tenure, Inclusiv said, Guadalupe expanded branch-based financial coaching, increased outreach to immigrant communities and played a role in advocacy that helped lower New Mexico’s maximum allowable APR from 175% to 36%, a change Nava said reduced the reach of predatory lenders.
“I am so excited to honor two very deserving veteran CDCU leaders who embody the legacy of Annie Vamper through their service to the Hispanic and Native communities, Like Annie Vamper, Shayna and Winona have committed their lives to helping their communities become financially empowered through credit unions. We can't wait to celebrate them at our annual conference,” said Cathie Mahon, president/CEO, Inclusiv.