Kathy Luria, the senior vice president of community affairs and director of philanthropy at Webster Bank has been named to the American Bankers Association Foundation Board of Directors, the bank said in a statement.

The ABA Community Engagement Foundation, known as the ABA Foundation, provides leadership, partnerships and national programs to support bankers on several initiatives, including financial education for people at every age, issues around affordable housing and community development, and corporate social responsibility objectives to improve the well-being of their customers and their communities.

“Kathy is one of banking’s most dedicated and innovative philanthropic leaders,” Corey Carlisle, ABA Foundation Executive Director, said in a statement. “We are grateful to have her advice and counsel as we provide our industry essential tools and resources to help consumers and communities navigate these unprecedented times.”

During her tenure as head of philanthropy and community affairs at Waterbury-based Webster Bank, Luria has redefined the bank’s corporate giving platform and advanced its work with Junior Achievement and United Way. She has also fostered a bankwide culture of employee volunteerism engagement, the bank said in the statement.

She was the 2019 recipient of the ABA Foundation’s George Bailey Distinguished Service Award for helping Webster bankers find ways to forge meaningful partnerships and make a real difference in the communities the bank serves.

Luria oversees Webster’s annual United Way campaign, which has raised nearly $20 million since she joined the bank in 2006, bringing funds to more than 70 United Ways and thousands of agencies across the country. Under her leadership, nearly 1,000 bankers have taught more than 15,000 Junior Achievement students. Senior bank officers serve on all JA boards throughout Webster’s market in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

In addition to the ABA Foundation, Luria is a member of the CT Working Cities Challenge advisory council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, director and assistant vice president of the Harold Webster Smith Foundation, and is on the board of the Elisha Leavenworth Foundation, both based in Waterbury. She is the immediate past board chair of the Connecticut Council of Philanthropy and has been an adjunct professor in the School of Business at the University of Connecticut for 11 years.