Her Story
About Sabrina
Sabrina Chambers is a financial services professional based in the Phoenix, Arizona area. She has been in the industry since 2012, beginning as a teller at Vantage West Credit Union on July 9, 2012. Prior to that, she worked full-time at a movie theater, advancing from cleaning bathrooms to supervisor, and then at Best Buy selling computers, where she became a manager within two years. She later spent 12 years at another credit union in Tucson, Arizona, overseeing the wealth management program before joining Desert Financial. There she started as an investment assistant, advanced to program manager of wealth management over five years, and now oversees business banking and mortgage programs.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sabrina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I was a teen mom without traditional support. Once I had my baby girl, I was determined to give her the life she deserved. I worked full-time at a movie theater cleaning bathrooms, moved up to supervisor, then to Best Buy selling computers and became a manager in 2 years, then teller at Vantage West Credit Union in 2012 where I excelled by asking good questions and seeing client needs.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Do not be afraid to ask questions. If you're asking that question yourself, it's likely that others in the room may have the same questions but don't have the courage to ask. Don't let that hold you back, and ask those what maybe feel like silly questions - they're not silly. Don't be afraid to ask the simple questions if they're unclear.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Everything is hard. You need to choose your heart. You can stay where you are and see how hard that is, but that doesn't mean you can't do hard things. Being in a situation where you're relying on other people or don't have a good job is hard. But so is being a big boss making decent income. Choose your heart. You get to choose what hard you have, but either way is hard.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenge: Wanting it all as an organization but having to make cutbacks, and the separation between C-suite/board making big decisions and the people who have to execute. Opportunity: Leveraging young smart people who see new opportunities and have different solutions to survive in changing times, even if older generations don't understand.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Hard work, honesty, collaboration, putting in your all (even if it looks different every day), learning, curiosity to understand the foundation of things, speaking up with ideas and questions, leaning on teammates, helping teammates, making meaningful change and outcomes happen together.
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