Tracy Verner Is Breaking Barriers In St. Louis Finance

It’s been a big year for Tracy Verner. The community development manager at Alltru Federal Credit Union ($364.3M, Wentzville, MO) was not only named a “Top 100 St. Louisans to Know to Succeed in Business” by St. Louis Small Business Monthly in April but was also honored at the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a statement, former U.S. Representative Cori Bush wrote, “[Verner] has been a champion for those who have been historically excluded and marginalized, developing innovative programs that serve those with the greatest need in our community.”

Verner says it’s an honor to be recognized for the work that she loves, but she’s just getting started.

“If you have the right mix of curiosity, people, and passion, opportunities will flood in,” she says. “There’s so much work to be done.”

From Industry Newbie To Community Pillar

Verner did not come from a finance background.

A single parent of four, she had been working as a personal trainer and with a local hospital for years when a friend approached her about the role at Alltru FCU. The friend was retiring and told Verner the credit union was having trouble finding a replacement.

“At the time, I had done some really great things with national organizations,” Verner says. “She told me that passion was needed and then asked me to come in and meet with her boss. So, I did.”

Verner joined the credit union in August 2013. Her curiosity and natural ability to empower others made her a natural fit for the job — so did her personal history, perhaps counterintuitively.

“At first, I felt imposter syndrome,” she says. “How could I teach financial empowerment while struggling myself? But that’s what made me effective. I’d been there.”

Since then, Verner has been a key advocate for financial empowerment in her region, playing a pivotal role in youth initiatives like the St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment’s College Kids program, which provides every kindergartener enrolled in a St. Louis public or charter school a college savings account with an initial $50 deposit. She is also heavily involved with organizations like the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and its workforce development programs.

The Power Of Asking “Why?”

Verner says the secret to her success lies in questioning everything. As an industry outsider a decade ago, she found herself always asking “Why?” and “Why not?”

For example, during Verner’s first class, which she taught in partnership with the Treasurer’s office, a woman told Verner an old debt at a previous financial institution prevented her from opening a bank account.

“That made me question if I could do this work in good conscience,” Verner says. “You can’t dig yourself out of a hole or pull yourself up by the bootstraps without access.”

So, she started asking questions, which ultimately led to Alltru turning off ChexSystems entirely. No more denying people accounts over old debts; instead, the credit union made real access possible.

A Major Need In The Midwest

As a born-and-raised St. Louis native, Verner was no stranger to the broader economic climate of her city when she came to Alltru.

“Predatory lending in Missouri is bananas, and so many lack access to holistic financial services,” Verner says. “Without direct deposit or an account to put their income into, many rely on rechargeable cards, but those come with fees when you use them.”

In response, Verner worked with Alltru to launch a salary advance loan as a free benefit for local small businesses to offer their employees. To date, the credit union has deployed more than $136,000; what’s more, it has only recorded one default.

“We’re in this nice place to deploy safe, affordable emergency loans and keep people away from high interest predatory loans, payday lending, and high interest credit card rates,” Verner says. “We’ve also seen credit scores go up because payday loans don’t report to the credit Bureau, but we do.”

When STL Youth Jobs, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting young people to paid work, reported 95% of its participants were unbanked, Verner worked with her team to change that.

“We didn’t just show up with pamphlets,” the community development manager says. “We built a product for them: checking accounts for youth ages 16 to 24 with no co-signer needed. Most banks don’t do it because they want a guardian responsible in case of fraud, but we accepted the risk.”

Impact doesn’t require a lightning-in-a-bottle moment. It needs passion, presence, and the right people at the table.

Today, 100% of those receiving help through STL Youth Jobs are banked.

And when Verner learned people living in shelters couldn’t open accounts due to proof of residency requirements, she questioned that, too. The credit union has one branch in downtown St. Louis — an area that claims 54% of the region’s unhoused population — and Verner saw the opportunity in serving this deserving population, which numbered roughly 1,200 in 2024.

“These are people who are working full-time, but they have nowhere to put their money,” she says. “I turned to our compliance team, and they ruled that if that’s where they live, it counts.”

Guided By Equity And Curiosity

Alltru FCU’s status as a CDFI aligns well with Verner’s determination to improve financial equity.

In 2023, the official poverty rate in City of St. Louis was 20.2%, with 19.8% of the population living below the poverty level. In 2024, the credit union extended more than $36 million in loans to individuals with credit scores of 659 and lower, and it opened 5,412 accounts for people within those census tracts.

“If you see a need, and you’re not meeting it, dig in,” Verner urges. “It takes a lot of bravery to do that.”

At the end of the day, she says any credit union can affect real change for their communities, big or small. It comes down to staying curious and not being afraid of the hard work.

“Impact doesn’t require a lightning-in-a-bottle moment,” she says. “It needs passion, presence, and the right people at the table.”