We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kathleen Roark. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kathleen below.

Kathleen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In partnership with Lake Michigan Credit Union and AMIBA (the American Independent Business Alliance), People First Economy launched a community conversation called Move Your Money (https://www.peoplefirsteconomy.org/move-your-money/) – an initiative that puts the focus on financial literacy and the impact of where we hold our accounts. Through the digital campaign, our organization lifts up the ways in which our local financial institutions keep your money close to home by investing in people, place and planet. We encourage businesses and consumer to make a change by taking the Move Your Money pledge.

This project has endless meaning to me personally and professionally. We all have “money stories” (a phrase I learned from the team at ReValue Investing) from the environments we grew up in, which continue to impact how we interact with our own budgets, spending and generally view money. Early in my career, I was going through a tremendous amount of personal change and found myself in a challenging financial situation. It was during this time that I became more and more curious about financial systems, building generational wealth and couldn’t soak up enough information, be it conversations with local professionals, podcasts, you name it! During this time, I learned the importance of creating a baseline for myself by first tracking my budget without providing any value-based judgement. Once I had that data, I started asking myself a couple of core questions – Does this align with my values? Why or why not? What “money stories” do I want to tell? How can I bridge the two and take small steps?

On a community-scale, these are the questions we desire our local businesses and consumers to likewise ask. Where do I hold my accounts? How does my financial institution invest in local businesses and neighborhoods? Are my deposits invested back in my community? And the great part about lifting this community conversation is that Michigan has numerous resources to support our businesses and residents. People First Economy has an opportunity to be a community connector between credit unions, community banks, financial planners, CDFIs and more to those seeking opportunities to move their money – creating a ripple of connections made and change in our place-based economies.

We couldn’t do this work without AMIBA and partners on the ground. Matt Cook, Vice President of Community Relations at Lake Michigan Credit Union had this to say about the value this project brings Michigan:

It’s exciting to share the why behind our accounts. Move Your Money not only lifts up and applies the think local first message to the financial industry, it digs deeper into the ways that financial institutions and our credit union community provide access to capital on a neighbor to neighbor level. Move Your Money does an amazing job highlighting the importance of keeping your money and banking close to home.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Kathleen Roark is a West Michigan native and the current Director of Engagement with People First Economy (PFE). PFE is a team dedicated to building programs and empowering people who are working toward an economy that puts people first. They connect consumers to local businesses and help business owners build sustainable practices. Kathleen joined the People First Economy team in 2017 to champion the development of a human-scale economy and PFE’s member businesses in the Local First program. Today Kathleen supports PFE with direction, leadership, and implementation of programs across the organization. Her small-town upbringing instilled the value of a place-based economy grounded in relationships. She works to build relationships with the business community and to provide value and benefit through businesses’ involvement in programs.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am a place-based gal in my heart! I’ve always been fascinated by what makes a community function well and how residents feel and build connection into the places they live. It’s an ethos I carry with me in my community and the communities I have the pleasure of visiting (Travel Like a Localist – https://www.peoplefirsteconomy.org/2023/08/travel-like-a-localist/). Our lives are much more congruent when we are connected to people and place. All of the initiatives we launch at People First Economy seek to get at this core concept by highlighting the human-scale economy that brings our communities vibrancy, resiliency and joy.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

People First Economy got its start more than 20 years ago (named Local First at the time) and it’s been a joy furthering the mission, name and value in partnership with the PFE team. Because of our strong belief in developing human-scale economies, our staff has been able to cement the value of our flagship Local First program and iterate on additional programs that meet our business community’s needs. Practically, this looks like our small but mighty team remaining accessible to the community and taking a relationship-first approach. When we put people first, we build connection, trust, and a more holistic understanding of the business owner’s motivation for launching, the types of opportunities they’re creating for their employees, and how they desire to serve the community through their products and services. It allows us to better inform the types of services and network connections we can make and ultimately lead to more valuable and tailored outcomes. These touchpoints – be it coffee meetings, event invitations, business and personal celebrations – have built real relationships and a commitment to the mission and vision of People First Economy. None of this can be done without the supportive team of people that make up our organization.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peoplefirsteconomy.org/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-roark-a4878765/

Image Credits
Matt Cook, Vice President of Community Relations Kathleen Roark, Director of Engagement