For one Deloitte professional, social change is built on financial inclusion for all

His role at Deloitte: Principal, Financial Services, Deloitte & Touche LLP, New York. Courtney came to Deloitte in 2005 after years in the banking industry and began providing risk and capital management services, in addition to regulatory reform, for banking and securities clients. A few years ago, he joined a campaign associated with social impact where he focused on financial inclusion. From there, he began working with the Purpose and DEI Office to support financial inclusion initiatives. Now, in addition to his focus on client service, Courtney continues building support and awareness across Deloitte and works on third-party collaborations, such as Deloitte’s work with the Black Economic Alliance Foundation to create research and thought leadership. Financial inclusion, he says, is a building block for broader social impact – and it generally starts with stability. “When you look at the challenges that historically disadvantaged communities have had in building wealth and economic stability, they tend to be complex,” he says. “I often feel that driving improvements in financial stability and well-being can be an important first step in being able to support community development, sustainability and the environment. For me, financial inclusion tends to be foundational to create meaningful, long-lasting change.”

Purpose in action: Just as Courtney has worked on building broad strategic collaborations, his work with clients has been equally purposeful. This past year, his team worked with one community development financial institution (CDFI) to help them reimagine how they underwrite and think about credit applicants, devising tactical enhancements to processes. “Think about the credit histories that may exist in certain communities, in part because maybe they don’t own a home, but they’ve been renting for years. This won’t help their credit since rental payments don’t necessarily show up on a credit report,” Courtney says. “Being able to consider additional data to assess creditworthiness allows you to think differently and potentially be able to help a broader group of people, so they can build their credit.” Lacking access to capital in the United States, he says, tends to be an expensive proposition: “If people can’t build a base of financial stability and wealth, it can become really challenging for them to face other concerns in their day-to-day lives.”

His impact: For Courtney, the pursuit of financial inclusion is deeply personal. Born and raised in Brooklyn and a son of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, he watched his father work hard, often at multiple jobs, but the family still experienced financial insecurity. “As I have been able to achieve some measure of success, now being able to leverage my role as a leader to drive social impact has been very meaningful to me,” he says. “I’m able to directly impact and influence change and serve communities, and it’s been one of the most rewarding aspects of my twenty years at Deloitte.”