Meet Columbia's Board: A Diverse Group With Varying Backgrounds

Nine people serve on Columbia’s Board of Directors. The group includes a stay-at-home mother, two men with a background with media organizations, one former World Council of Credit Unions Employee, two entrepreneurial brothers, an environmental consultant, a former human resources director at a company which makes malt for brewing beer and a former banker now Columbia’s CEO. *Board Chair Karen Martel is aged 43 and has been a stay-at-home mother and community activist since 1999. In her previous career she had been a consultant on health care management. She holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. *Vice Chair Ed Bell is aged 58 and a former manager of the shipping floor for The Columbian, the local paper in Vancouver, where Columbia Credit Union makes its headquarters. He has a degree in Recreation Administration from the University of Oregon and has previously been affiliated with the board of the Columbian Newspaper Credit Union. *Secretary/Treasurer Dale Majers is aged 64 and a former employee of the World Council of Credit Unions in which capacity he worked both at the headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, and in the field. He was instrumental in helping establish credit unions in Poland and other Eastern European nations. *Board Member William Byrd III is aged 53 and has been co-owner with his brother, Robert, in Pacific Die Casting in Vancouver for the past 22 years. He has a degree in Geological Sciences from University of Washington and served 26 years in the Navy including three years as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. *Board Member Robert Byrd is aged 50 and has been co-owner with his brother William in Pacific Die Casting for the past 22 years. He has a degree in business administration from the University of Washington and has a banking background in addition to having been a member of one previous credit union board. *Board Member Dennis McClachlan is aged 53 and works as a consultant for a recycling and environmental company. He holds an associates degree from Clark College and has also served previously on credit union boards. *Board Member Mark Ail is aged 55 and currently directs some of the operations of six radio stations spread across Washington, Oregon and California. He also has a background at the Columbian as well as a degree in Sociology from Willamette University as well as two others. *Board Member Connie Jones is aged 64 and is a retired human resource manager for The Great Western Malt Company, based in Vancouver. *Interim Board Member and Columbia CEO David Doss does not reveal his age. He is the current CEO of Columbia and has a background in banking before coming to the credit union industry. Doss’ eligibility to be a board member appears to conflict with Columbia’s bylaws and the credit union has yet to respond to requests for clarification of his history on the board.