William J. (Bill) Bynum is the founding Chief Executive Officer of HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute), a family of organizations dedicated to strengthening the financial health of people in under resourced Deep South communities. Since 1994, HOPE’s efforts have benefitted more than three million people in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, while shaping policies and practices that have improved conditions in opportunity deserts nationwide.
Born in New York City, and raised in Bynum, North Carolina, he earned his B.A. in Political Science and Psychology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and is a recipient of the university’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Bynum began his professional career in North Carolina by helping to establish Self-Help, a pioneer in the development finance industry, and later built nationally recognized programs at the NC Rural Economic Development Center.
Appointed by President George W. Bush, Bynum chaired the Community Development Advisory Board, and chaired the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Consumer Advisory Board during the Obama Administration, served as a member of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team, and on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Advisory Committee on Racial Equity.
