LUMINARY BIO
Bill Bynum is CEO of HOPE, a credit union, loan fund and policy center dedicated to advancing economic opportunity in the lower Mississippi Delta. Since 1994 HOPE has provided financial services, leveraged resources, and shaped policies that have benefited more than 650,000 residents. Bynum began his career by helping to establish Self-Help, a pioneer in the development finance industry, and later built nationally recognized programs at the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center. Bill has advised Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama on financial service matters, and served as chair of Treasury’s Community Development Advisory Board and the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board. He is a member of the US Partnership for Mobility from Poverty, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His current board service includes: NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Aspen Institute, Corporation for Enterprise Development, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and Millsaps College. Bill is a recipient of the NFCDCU Annie Vamper Award, National Credit Union Foundation Herb Wegner Award, Opportunity Finance Network Ned Gramlich Award, E&Y/Kauffman Foundation National Entrepreneur of the Year, Aspen Global Leadership Network John P. McNulty Prize, and UNC Distinguished Alumnus Award.
