Charter Oak Appoints New Directors

The Board of Directors of Charter Oak Federal Credit Union is proud to announce that they voted to expand the Board of Directors at a meeting held on December 18^th. At that time, they appointed Joyce Gresh and Brian Orenstein as directors effective January 2, 2026, joining the 7 existing members of the Board.

Joyce Gresh has served as a member of Charter Oak’s Supervisory Committee since November of 2016 assisting with various oversight and audit responsibilities for its Board of Directors. Ms. Gresh was the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee from January 2019 to May 2022.  Ms. Gresh is retired after many years as a teacher and administrator at Woodstock Public Schools in Woodstock, Connecticut. She has also been an active volunteer in various civic and church organizations, including the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, where she was awarded Volunteer of the Year in 2015, at Saints Thomas and Anne Church in Voluntown, serving on the finance and parish councils, and as a Tribunal Advocate for the Diocese of Norwich. She has been actively involved in the past with the Griswold Booster Club, Jewett City Little League Parent Auxiliary, and the Jacques Cartier Club’s activity board in her hometown of Griswold. She is a longtime resident of southeastern Connecticut and has been a member of Charter Oak since April 1986.

Brian Orenstein served as Charter Oak's President and CEO from November 2007 thru December 2025. Mr. Orenstein had been employed in the banking industry since 1986 and had worked at several Hartford area banks, before becoming the Chief Financial Officer at Charter Oak in 2004. He was promoted to CEO in 2007 and then President and CEO in 2011. Mr. Orenstein recently retired from Charter Oak after 21 years of outstanding service. During his tenure, the Credit Union grew its loans, deposits and assets in a significant and safe fashion, while building its Headquarters in Waterford and donating millions of dollars back into its local communities. Mr. Orenstein has served on numerous Boards over the years, including being Chairman of the Board for the United Way of Southeastern CT and a Board member of the Eastern CT Chamber of Commerce. He currently is the Treasurer of the SBM Charitable Foundation, and Chairman of its Investment Committee. Mr. Orenstein has been a resident of Quaker Hill, CT since 2009.

"Each of these Board members offers a wealth of experience in terms of their deep understanding of our credit union and the communities that we serve in eastern Connecticut," said Guy Henry, Charter Oak's Chairman of the Board of Directors. "I know that their new responsibilities will further strengthen Charter Oak's Board of Directors and, in turn, our entire credit union," he said.

All of Charter Oak's Board members serve on a voluntary basis without any compensation for their Board of Directors responsibilities.

Charter Oak is eastern Connecticut’s largest credit union with assets of $1.6 billion as of September 30, 2025. Charter Oak has an expansive and convenient network of 15 branches serving New London and Windham counties, providing one of the largest and most convenient branch networks of any financial institution serving eastern Connecticut. For more information about Charter Oak’s broad range of products and services, please visit any of our convenient branches, or visit our website at CharterOak.org, or call 860.446.8085 or 800.962.3237. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Housing Lender.