Jamie Chase has alwayslooked for the opportunity that adversity provides as a way to helpmake the world a better place.

“Every bad thing that has happened in my life led to somethinggreat,” said the founder and “instigator of goodness” at CUStrategic Planning, a Tacoma, Wash.-based consulting firm. “I'mgrateful for the worst things that have happened to me because it'shelped shape who I am today and why I stand up for people.”

Having grown up in the historic cooperative village of Zoar,Ohio, provided the latest Women to Watch honoree with aunique perspective on the power and potential cooperatives have tooffer.

Built in the early 1800s, Zoar serves as an example of one ofthe most successful cooperative villages in the history of theUnited States. Today, it is made up of some 75 families living inhomes built from 1817 to the present who work together to promotetourism.

Raised in a family of entrepreneurs, between Chase'sgrandmother, who used to give tours on cooperatives, and an unclewho was an inventor, one could say it was a matter of time beforeshe landed in the credit union industry.

At a transition point in her career after working for the PublicBroadcasting Service television network, a friend and mentor whorecognized Chase could do anything next, urged her to write hervalues down as a mission statement first. Chase ended up applyingfor a job at the Washington Credit Union League. Before starting,she didn't realize the values were aligned with her own of socialresponsibility, stability and ongoing education.

Not able to deny the entrepreneurial pull in her blood, Chaseeventually founded CU Strategic Planning in 2008 as a way to helpcredit unions build innovative programs designed to reduce povertyand build on the credit union ideal of economic self-help.

“I'd advise everyone to create their own values-based missionstatement. We've only got one life. If you don't love what you aredoing now, then take a moment to think about what you might enjoydoing because you aren't doing anyone any favors by staying put,”she said. “It's okay if something doesn't meet our expectationsbecause that creates a fire for the next thing. Every career moveI've made, I've revisited that statement and it's clear to me whenit's time to do something new.”

Read more: Going beyond basic collaboration…

Chase said she started her business becauseshe wanted to be a solutions creator.

“We're not just grant writers; we are social engineers,” shesaid. “Our business model is about creating partnerships, exploringneeds where credit unions can provide the education and financingto create jobs, reduce poverty, increase assets and really helplocal communities grow. Credit unions were the first organizationsto give loans to women in their own names. What's going on in ourtime now that could use some economic justice?”

With the belief that the answer is always “no” unless you ask,Chase said sometimes, the industry could get in its own way. Forinstance, the assumption that low-income means homeless and all thejargon and negative associations that stem from that stereotype canprevent credit unions from better serving the poor.

“With the great income divide, legally when you talk aboutlow-income designation, it's your average blue collar, workingAmerican, every single enlisted man or woman, school teachers, cityworkers running our communities on their backs, and the majority ofworkers in the hospitals from the nurse's aide to cafeteriaworker,” Chase said.

“So, while sometimes we hear from boards concerned that'low-income members' would scare off existing members, most of thetime when we go in and look at the income of all the borrowers at acredit union, they are surprised when a majority are low-income,”she noted.

Once the inaccurate perception of low-income status has shifted,Chase would then like to see the words “financial literacy”eradicated.

“I know I don't want to be called illiterate, that's one of therudest words in our industry. It does us a great disservice;because that is how budgeting classes are advertised,” shesaid.

“The people who actually need budgeting classes are verydifferent than those we perceive to need them. Those with lowerincomes are some of the best budgeters in our country because theyhave to track every penny to pay for gas, food, and to keep theelectricity on,” Chase explained.

More than overregulation, and some bureaucracy that can stagnatethe industry, Chase said the disconnect of aging boards that out oftouch with their membership may be one of the greatest credit unionchallenges ahead. Misunderstanding the needs of members cansubsequently lead to a lack of vision and relevance in communitiesserved.

“The company that made the buggy whip recognized its mission tomake things go but it didn't change with the times,” she said.“With Apple Pay, new forms of predatory lending always evolving,the credit union industry has the potential to be the buggy whip ifwe don't identify the opportunities around us and change with thetimes.”

Pointing out that in the nonprofit arena alone, there areorganizations that would welcome a credit union to serve itsmarket.

“Why not have a nationwide Habitat for Humanity credit union? Isthere an opportunity to repurpose your existing charter,” Chaseasked.

For example, most of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Holy RosaryCredit Union's members were Italian immigrants. Over the years, asfirst generation Italians moved into new neighborhoods, the $18million credit union recognized the opportunity to help the newimmigrants settling into the community without changing itscharter.

“Find any way possible to engage the community. Have a system inplace to constantly find out what the community needs and theAmerican people need – that's how the credit union industry willthrive,” she said. “Imagine what we could accomplish if we put asmuch ieffort into innovating new products and being true to what wewere created for as we put into fighting banks?”

She suggested credit unions get community leaders togetheralongside those in the nonprofit sector to find out what consumerand community needs are as a way to create new lending pipelines,and the next generation of products.

“There is never a point in time where innovation stops orconsumer needs don't evolve. Women couldn't get loans in their name65 years ago,” Chase said. “I see an opportunity evolving in thearena of mental illness. At some point, most families will beimpacted by a relative with mental illness, including livabledisorders like ADHD. What unique services or account alerts can bedeveloped to mitigate the risk of serving these individuals who arealready our members? How can we design account features to increasetheir financial stability, reduce their vulnerability and preventlosses to the credit union?”