Gloria and Cindy: the women who opened doors for the immigrant community in Greylock
- alexahnder
- Jan 27
- 5 min read
Photos: Marina Dominguez
Two women, Gloria and Cindy , have helped open very real doors for the immigrant and Latino community in the Berkshires . Doors that for years seemed impossible to cross: something as basic as being able to keep money in a bank account without a Social Security number was, until recently, unthinkable. They didn't achieve this with flattering speeches, but with daily work, patience, and a deep conviction : dignity begins with language . That's what Spanish for Bankers is all about.
To tell the story of the Spanish for Bankers program, Spanish classes for Greylock Federal Credit Union employees , it's essential to also tell the story of those who made it possible. Gloria Escobar arrived from Colombia 25 years ago , holding hands with her two young children , ages 10 and 4, in search of “better opportunities for them, for us as a family.” As is the case for many immigrants, the beginning was difficult . The language barrier accompanied her everywhere, isolating her from the most basic aspects of her community: at the doctor's office, at school, at the supermarket, and, of course, at the bank .
There were times when, for something as basic as cashing her check , she had to pay someone else. “It was very difficult to open an account,” she recalls.
Even so, with that characteristic migrant resilience, Gloria made a decision that would change her course: to enroll in English classes , four days a week, from 6 to 9 p.m. , after long days cleaning houses in Great Barrington . She doesn't resent that job, but she says it clearly: “I knew it wasn't what I wanted for my future. I wanted to work in what I loved; in Colombia I had trained in accounting.”
Cindy , on the other hand, embodies the living history of Greylock . She has been with the institution for 40 years . She started "from the bottom," as a cashier, and worked her way through virtually every department until reaching the leadership of the Community Development Department . Greylock, she says, paid for her studies . Her story also reflects the transformation of Pittsfield and the Berkshires: when the institution was GE Employees Credit Union , to be a member you had to have a connection with General Electric, "you had to have a relative working there to have an account." Then came the historic blow in the 1980s, so well known and remembered by everyone: the GE cutbacks in the Berkshires . "To survive, we had to change our approach, adapt to the community," Cindy explains. That change wasn't just a new name: it was a new commitment .
That commitment took concrete form in 2016 , when Cindy and Gloria joined forces to create something that didn't even exist before : a community development department focused on financial education and access . Cindy puts it bluntly: “I was in risk management, but I told the CEO I didn't want that. I wanted to educate. I wanted to help.” Gloria contributed something equally valuable: real-world evidence, firsthand accounts of what the immigrant community experienced , marked by fear, misinformation, and abuse . She saw it clearly while working with farmworkers whose employers took out loans in their names: the immigrants would pay, but the credit was being built for someone else , and they would also be tied to the employer for six or seven years until they finished paying off the loan, in the best-case scenario . “There was too much misinformation… and a lot of people were trapped,” Gloria summarizes.
The response was practical and profoundly human : classes, workshops, personalized support, and bilingual materials . A key investment to offer information in more than 300 languages . For the first time, family budgeting, basic information such as how to buy a house , the differences between debit and credit cards , how to identify fraud , and how to understand what you're signing were all available in Spanish . Cindy recalls a pivotal moment: after a class in Berkshire South , people stayed for over an hour asking, "What did I sign? What did I do?" These weren't academic questions; they were life questions . That's where the key word they both repeat— trust— took root.
That trust from the community demanded internal changes . Previously, Greylock wouldn't open accounts without a Social Security number or ITIN . Gloria persisted with a simple yet powerful question: "Why not?" They sought national support, expedited processes, sought advice, and succeeded in opening deposit services for the immigrant community for the first time. For the first time, immigrants had savings and checking accounts at Greylock, debit cards, and online banking . They stopped carrying cash or hiding it out of fear . "Having everything in cash is extremely dangerous," they agree.
The transformation continued from within . This is how Spanish for Bankers was born, an internal, voluntary program where employees learn Spanish and culture to provide better service. It's not just symbolic : it has a formal curriculum, practice weeks, a hybrid format, and paid time . That's right, Greylock pays its employees to learn Spanish. Gloria provides the actual vocabulary ; Cindy shares stories that say it all: an employee who could barely greet people in Spanish , but did so with such warmth that people waited their turn . It wasn't perfection; it was a gesture of humanity .
Ultimately, Gloria and Cindy's work is about providing support . Gloria is a familiar face to the Spanish-speaking community at fairs and festivals ; she teaches without judgment and helps people overcome their fear of approaching banks. Cindy paves the way, pushes forward with ideas, and transforms them into programs . "Gloria makes me a better leader," she says admiringly. Gloria sums it up this way: "We learn from them, and they learn from us." And when she talks about her team, she speaks from a mission-driven perspective: "We want everyone to feel welcome."
In a region where many immigrant families continue to build their lives amidst work, paperwork, language, and dreams , Gloria and Cindy's impact is quiet but profound : that opening a bank account is no longer an act of fear , that taking out a loan doesn't depend on an intermediary , that understanding a contract is a right, not a privilege . Sometimes inclusion is seen at large events. But it's almost always sustained by the details : a "good morning and welcome" at the door, a class, a workshop, a question answered without haste . And there, in that daily sum of small actions, Greylock is helping the community not only survive, but thrive .
