Shaida Samimi, Financial Wellness Partner and Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor at Patelco Credit Union, has been a human lighthouse for many vulnerable communities in Northern CA. She has supported organizations that resettle displaced Afghans, Ukrainians, and many others who fled their home country for the U.S., destined for Northern California, for many years. Shaida has since expanded her support to many non-profits supporting Reentry Populations, She is making an impact teaching financial literacy to many men and women in programs such as Project Rebound and Integration Academy at UC Davis, Sac State, SFSU, CSUEB, and UC Berkeley. She believes that the more education, tools, and resources are available to this population the less they will reoffend and be better citizens in our society.
Shaida was awarded the Financial Health Hero award by Patelco’ s CEO, Erin Mendez. She was also nominated and awarded the Social Impact Award by the California and Nevada Credit Union League at the REACH Conference in Palm Desert, CA, in the Fall of 2022. Shaida pushes for positive and impactful changes in everyone's financial livelihood. Her wish is to see everyone achieve financial freedom.