Chiquita D. Board is the co-founder of Checking Network USA and serves as its Eastern Region National Director responsible for managing educational partnerships, facilitating marketing initiatives and identifying strategies to partner with financial institutions, regulatory agencies and community-based organizations throughout the Eastern part of the U.S. Ms. Board has been involved in financial education training, asset-building initiatives and non-profit administration for over eighteen years and continually lends her expertise to various community-based organizations seeking leadership and organizational development.

Previously, Ms. Board served as the National Education Director for Get Checking, a financial education initiative helping the unbanked, providing leadership to the program's national, regional and local education partners that included 164 community-based and non-profit organizations and supervising over 100 educators facilitating Get Checking classes across the country. Under Ms. Board's leadership, the number of community-based and non-profit organizations teaching Get Checking doubled and over 5,300 consumers received financial education, successfully graduated and opened deposit accounts at mainstream financial institutions.

Ms. Board simultaneously served as the State Facilitator for Get Checking in Georgia and provided leadership and program direction for 7 community-based and non-profit organizations, 20 class facilitators and 8 financial institutions with over 600 branches. Under her leadership, the Georgia program was consistently Get Checking's top performing program with over 3,941 unbanked consumers in Georgia successfully graduating and opening deposit accounts at mainstream financial institutions. As a result, Ms. Board was selected by eFunds Corporation as one of the first recipients of the Get Checking Recognition of Excellence Award.

Ms. Board began her career as a County Extension Agent with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service in DeKalb County and played an integral role in developing, implementing and securing funding from the U.S. Treasury's First Accounts grant allocation for a statewide collaborative of organizations in Georgia, focusing on financial literacy and asset-building.

Ms. Board serves on numerous committees and has been recognized for her outstanding contributions assisting consumers learn about personal finance management. She is extremely passionate about her work and committed to closing the disporportionate gap for the unbanked.

Melanie Trausch is the co-founder of Checking Network USA and served as its Western Region National Director responsible for managing educational partnerships, facilitating marketing initiatives and identifying strategies to partner with financial institutions, regulatory agencies and community-based organizations throughout the Western part of the U.S. Ms. Trausch is a financial consultant who offers unique outreach and education strategies helping financial services companies connect with the interests of emerging markets and provides financial management consulting and asset-building strategies for minorities, women and small business owners. Her consultancy connects innovative products, programs, services and partners together to create new opportunities for servicing specialized populations.

Previously, Ms. Trausch served as the National Program Director for Get Checking, a financial education initiative helping the unbanked, providing leadership and guidance; strategic planning; program management and execution orchestration for local program sponsors, facilitators and volunteers of multiple community-based and non-profit organizations, financial institutions and social service groups delivering Get Checking in multiple markets throughout the U.S.

In 2006, Ms. Trausch appointed and directed a select group of notable program leaders to serve on Get Checking's Advisory Council to evaluate program impact and provide industry peers with key data and analysis. Ms. Trausch expanded the visibility and impact of Get Checking from a local program operating in 2 markets with 486 program graduates to a national initiative operating in 61 markets across 24 states with 164 community-based and non-profit organizations offering Get Checking classes and 11,400 actively participating bank branches accepting Get Checking graduates and offering them deposit accounts. Under her leadership, 11,000 unbanked consumers went through the Get Checking program of which 10,890 became new account holders at mainstream financial institutions. As a result, Ms. Trausch was selected twice by eFunds Corporation as a recipient of the eFunds Recognition of Excellence Award.

Ms. Trausch also held the position of Product Solutions Manager for eFunds Corporation and was responsible for developing, implementing and marketing integrated account-opening solutions to eFunds' financial institution customers to help open accounts more efficiently, with a focus on solutions that would attain and productively service the unbanked.

Throughout her career Ms. Trausch has presented at various conferences alongside consumer advocates and public officials on topics concerning the unbanked and financial literacy issues and takes pride in lending her time to work with individuals and coalitions committed to improve financial education and asset-building opportunities in the U.S.