Sarah Chenven | Chief Operating & Strategy Officer, Credit Builders Alliance

Sarah joined CBA in October 2011. As Chief Operating & Strategy Officer she focuses on organizational and programmatic development — helping CBA meet its mission by strengthening internal systems and identifying innovations in the field in order to best support CBA’s hundreds of members in order to help their clients gain access to responsible credit- and asset-building financial products and services.

Prior to joining CBA Sarah was the Founding Executive Director of Innovative Changes, one of the few CDFI nonprofit loan funds in the country dedicated specifically to consumer lending, financial education, and credit building as a responsible alternative to payday lenders. Prior to Innovative Changes, Sarah was with Mercy Corps where she advised low-income entrepreneurs in the Portland Metropolitan area on the development of their small businesses; she also directed the organization’s Hurricane Katrina recovery program in New Orleans. Sarah has over a decade of experience in nonprofit and public sector organizations whose missions are to help disadvantaged groups create systemic change. She has managed numerous programs with sizeable budgets and staff and has worked in diverse and challenging contexts, including post-war Bosnia.

Sarah has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a J.D. from the University of Texas, and is a member of the Oregon State Bar.