Board of Directors

We are member-owned and member-operated by a volunteer Board of Directors, elected directly by the membership of the credit union. Our current Board leadership is listed below where you can also learn about the diverse background of each Director.

A Culture of Caring: Board Statement on Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity. Inclusion. Belonging. These are more than just words at Affinity Plus. They breathe life into the everyday actions that improve the lives of our employees, members and communities.

Read the whole statement

Board Members

Chad Trench

Board Chair

Chad Trench joined the board in 2020, after serving 3 years as a volunteer of the credit union’s Supervisory Committee. He is currently a Director of Operations at Special Olympics Minnesota, where he also served in a Director of Development position. Trench holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Supervisory Management. Other interests include youth sports, inclusion and mental health awareness.
Demetrius Chester

Board Vice Chair

Demetrius Chester joined the Affinity Plus Board of Directors in March 2019. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, he brings professional experience spanning operations, finance, and information technology across the retail, healthcare, and financial services sectors. Chester serves as Director of Operational Shared Services at Portico Benefit Services, an organization that provides employee benefits to congregations and faith-based organizations nationwide. In addition to his professional role, Chester is actively engaged in the community and serves as an Adjunct Professor at North Central University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Religious Studies and a Master of Arts in Human Services and Executive Leadership.
Joe Khawaja

Treasurer

Joe Khawaja is an elected Board Director for Affinity Plus Credit Union. In addition to his responsibility as a Board Director, Joe serves as the Board Treasurer and is a member of the Executive and Governance Committees. Joe joined Affinity Plus Credit Union's Supervisory committee in 2019 and in the past served as the Chair of the Supervisory Committee. Joe is currently the Senior Vice President of Operations and Finance and the CFO at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS). Joe is responsible for finance, business development, risk, IT, accounting, property management, service design lab/innovation, data intelligence, and compliance.Joe is experienced in public, private, government, and non-profit sectors rebuilding balance sheets, raising capital, managing growth, operational excellence, transformation, corporate restructuring, innovation, and Mergers & Acquisition, and nurturing future leaders. Prior to LSS, Joe was CFO for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. He has held financial leadership roles with Federal Reserve Bank, Cargill Inc., and Aramark Corporation. Joe is a frequent speaker at Finance summits. He has earned an MBA in Finance from Capella University, Executive Certificate in Artificial Intelligence: implications for Business Strategy from MIT Sloan School of Management, and in Executive Leadership from University of Notre Dame and a B.S. in Accounting from City University of New York. Joe was named a 2020 CFO of the Year by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.
Margaret Egan

Secretary

Margaret Egan brings to her role on the Board of Directors experience as a public sector finance officer and local government consultant. She joined the Board in 2017 after serving on the Credit Union’s Supervisory Committee. Special interests for Margaret are advocating for underserved communities and supporting services for Greater Minnesota. She has been active in leadership with the Credit Union, serving as chair of the Supervisory Committee, chair of the Governance and Nominating Committees, and Treasurer and Secretary as a member of the Executive Committee. Volunteering has been a life-long passion for Margaret with service on the board of a Minneapolis neighborhood council, appointment as a child advocate for the guardian ad litem program, and she currently serves on a heritage preservation commission. Margaret has a master’s degree from the University of Kansas and resides in Ely, MN.
Deb Bednarz

Director

Deb Bednarz was appointed to the Board of Directors in November of 2018, while concurrently serving as chair of the credit union’s Supervisory Committee. Bednarz has spent more than 8 years on the Supervisory committee in the past 15 years. She has more than 20 years of budget and financial experience in the public sector, including positions with the Minnesota State system, the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, and Minnesota Management & Budget. Her passion for credit unions began as Peace Corps volunteer where she worked with village-based credit unions and cooperatives in Lesotho, Africa. She has a Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Robyn Cousin

Director

Robyn Cousin joined the Affinity Plus Board of Directors in 2015. She retired in December 2019 as business representative with Middle Management Association (MMA), an independent unaffiliated public employee union which represents over 3,200 supervisors employed by the State of Minnesota. Cousin remains active on the State of Minnesota Rule 114 Qualified Neutrals Roster. Prior to joining MMA, Cousin had a long career in public education in the Minneapolis Public Schools, managing the district’s community partner and volunteer programs. She brings a multitude of experiences serving on several boards, primarily with nonprofits at both the local, state and national level. Cousin’s special talents are strategic planning, organizational development, training and development and work in the field of volunteerism, community involvement, equity and inclusion and racial justice. Cousin holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial education and a Master of Education degree in vocational education from the University of Minnesota.
Isaac Durant

Director

Isaac Durant has been a member of Affinity Plus for many years, along with a member of the Affinity Plus Supervisory Committee for 5 consecutive years where he has served multiple terms as Chair. With a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Durant works as a Software Engineering Leader leveraging cutting-edge technology to drive innovation and modernization while mentoring the next generation of engineering leaders.
Leslie Nagel

Director

Leslie Nagel recently retired following a distinguished career, culminating in her role as the Internal Audit Director at the Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association (TRA) in St. Paul, Minnesota. Leslie built her foundation as an audit manager for LarsonAllen LLP (now CliftonLarsonAllen), where she specialized in audits of employee benefit plans. In this capacity, she provided quality technical review of audits, conducted firm-wide training on employee benefit plans, and analyzed service providers' internal control reports for firm-wide use. Her broad experience prior to internal and external auditing included various accounting positions for a multi-specialty physician organization and other organizations. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration – Accounting and attained several key professional certifications: Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS), and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). She also dedicated time to professional service, previously serving as president of the Association of Public Pension Fund Auditors.