4.04.2007 - 02:30pm ET

(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, DC - April 4, 2007 – Bill Myers, a widely recognized leader in the community development credit union field and CEO for 28 years of Alternatives Federal Credit Union in Ithaca, NY, has been named a Senior Fellow in the Economic Opportunities Program (EOP) at the Aspen Institute. The appointment became effective on April 1, 2007.

Myers, a founding member of Alternatives, announced last year that he planned to retire from the credit union on June 30, 2007. At the Institute he will contribute to new research into how access to mainstream financial services can be improved for low-income individuals and communities.

Under Myers' leadership, Alternatives has become a model for the field, serving 8,500 members, while also developing and providing training for other community development credit unions in small business and mortgage lending.

Myers is well known as the developer of the Credit Path®, a framework outlining the financial stages individuals pass through on their way to asset accumulation and greater economic security. Alternatives used the Credit Path® model to design new products and services to help people improve their financial circumstances.

Earlier this year, Alternatives and the Aspen Institute released a report that expanded on the Credit Path® concept and revealed that people do not necessarily progress in a sequential fashion through stages leading to assets and ownership. In fact, the research showed that people often hopscotch among stages and sometimes can be in two stages or more simultaneously. The report, "Toward a New Credit Path®," also revealed that shifts in the financial services industry over the last decade have fundamentally impacted the way people advance economically.

Kirsten Moy, director of EOP, said Myers' extensive knowledge of community economic development and financial services will be tremendously valuable in upcoming research projects. "Bill has led the asset-building field in thinking about how individuals become more financially engaged and empowered over time. With his expertise, we'll be able to deepen our research on the Credit Path® and enhance our potential to design innovative financial products," she said.

EOP, housed at the Washington, DC-based Aspen Institute, examines innovative and promising strategies that connect the poor and underemployed to the mainstream economy. A significant portion of its work focuses on issues and trends in community development finance and consumer financial services, and how they impact low-income populations.

The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India.

More information about the Economic Opportunities Program is available on the Aspen Institute's Web site: www.aspeninstitute.org

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