Featured in Green America: Fighting Financial Gatekeeping with Ethical Banking
Megabanks deposit billions into fossil fuels, while marginalized communities face steep barriers to financial literacy and equitable access. In Green America’s latest feature, Clean Energy Credit Union CEO Terri Mickelsen shares how we’re breaking down those walls—from our eco-friendly Student Accounts to purpose-built loans that empower the next generation to build credit while protecting the planet. Read the full story
We are incredibly proud to be featured by Green America in a national spotlight highlighting a healthy financial future at every age, for every age
In “Fighting Financial Gatekeeping: Ethical Banks and You,” Green America highlights how credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) serve as vital alternatives to megabanks that continue to fund fossil fuels and perpetuate systemic wealth gaps. While traditional banking systems often leave marginalized groups and younger generations behind due to widespread financial literacy deficits, ethical financial institutions reinvest member deposits directly into local community growth and green initiatives like solar energy. Featuring Clean Energy Credit Union’s CEO Terri Mickelsen, the article showcases how practical, hands-on solutions—such as the Carbon Zero Teen Account and transparent, purpose-built green loans—are bridging the literacy gap, helping members build credit safely, and empowering communities to align their financial choices with environmental sustainability.
Eight in 10 Americans who attended high school say they wish they had taken a personal finance class, but over half of all students added their school didn’t offer any, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education.
Community banks and credit unions are trying to pick up the slack from a flawed public education system.
“It started with listening to our members and to the students in our own community as well,” explains Terri Mickelsen, CEO of Clean Energy Credit Union. “When we looked at our rewards program, we realized it was leaving a whole generation out.”