Cathie Mahon has always fought for the underdogs – those whose voices aren't always heard.

In 1989 she went to El Salvador with one of the first delegations of Americans that was able to go into the country following a state of siege. She spent weeks darting from prison to prison, waiting in lines in an attempt to track down political prisoners and people whose families she knew and had been working with in Los Angeles.

It was that tenacious spirit that landed her at the helm of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, an organization dedicated to helping low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions.