Erin Mendez

Patelco Credit Union

Erin Mendez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Patelco Credit Union, where she leads culture, performance and strategic planning, and upholds a strong commitment to improving the financial health and well-being of more than 500,000 members with the majority in Northern California. Since her arrival at Patelco in 2013, Erin has transformed the organizational culture to building financial wellness for members, team members and the communities the credit union serves. During this time, Patelco has grown from $3.9 billion to $9.5 billion in assets, while growing membership from 275,000 to over 500,000.

Prior to joining Patelco in 2013, Erin served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union. Her career began as a part-time teller for American Savings Banks, progressing to SVP of Retail Banking. Erin’s more than 30 years’ experience in the financial industry also includes CIO and SVP of Operations at Western Financial Bank and Chief Technology Officer of Health Net, Inc.

Erin earned the designation of Certified Chief Executive from the Credit Union Executive Society, is a graduate of the Advanced Leadership Institute at Harvard Business School and holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration. In 2015 and 2016, she was honored as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, and in 2017 was inducted into the Forever Influential honor roll and recognized by San Francisco Business Times as one of the Most Admired CEOs 2017. In 2021, Erin was recognized by the California Credit Union League with their Distinguished Service Award, inducted into CUES Hall of Fame, and was recognized by American Banker in their inaugural top powerful women in Credit Unions.

Erin also serves on the World Council of Credit Unions Board.

Erin and her husband Mark live in San Ramon, California, where they enjoy the outdoors and wineries. They have three sons and five grandchildren.