Kawanza Humphrey
Board Member
Kawanza Humphrey serves as Chief Human Resources Officer for VyStar Credit Union. In her role she is responsible for leading the credit union’s human resources efforts, including diversity, equity and inclusion, talent acquisition, employee relations, benefits, compensation, organizational performance and development.
Since joining VyStar in 2021, Kawanza and her team have prioritized their efforts around talent acquisition, compensation and benefits offerings and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She has helped lead the growth of over 10 employee resource groups, called VyStar Resource Groups (VRGs), execution of educational summits such as the upcoming Juneteenth Summit and much more. These efforts display Kawanza’s passion for creating positive change in the work environment and in the community.
In addition to her role at VyStar, Kawanza is passionate about volunteerism and economic development. She has volunteered with several nonprofit organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors for the Sisters Hospital Foundation and the Ralph C Wilson Foundation’s Program Committee. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and The Links, Inc. Kawanza was named to Buffalo Business First’s Power 200 Women and has been recognized as a Woman of Influence, a 40 under 40 recipient and a Black Achiever in Industry. Kawanza has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry. Most recently, she served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility for the Eastern Region of KeyBank.
Prior to joining KeyBank, Kawanza held several positions at HSBC, including Retail Management, after completing the organization’s Executive Development Program. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English/African American Studies from the University of Buffalo and a master’s degree in Executive Leadership and Change from Daemen College. She is a Phi Beta Kappa.