The National Credit Union Foundation board has elected Laida Garcia, president/CEO for the $385 million floridacentral Credit Union of Tampa, Fla., as the foundation's new chairwoman.
The NCUF announced the election at its meeting this week in Anaheim, Calif., along with other board changes.
The foundation elected John Radebaugh, president/CEO for the North Carolina Credit League, vice chairman; Lee Butke, president/CEO for the $6 billion Corporate One FCU in Columbus, Ohio, treasurer; and Winona Nava, president/CEO for the $124 million Guadalupe CU in Santa Fe, N.M., secretary.
"Laida has been a tremendous asset to the foundation board over the past few years," said Bucky Sebastian, NCUF executive director and himself a former Tampa credit union CEO. "I look forward to her leadership and to working with her to help even more consumers achieve financial freedom through our programs and grants."
Garcia commented, "Board chairs before me have laid a solid foundation for NCUF and I hope to follow in that same tradition. We have an excellent board and executive director, and together we will continue to fulfill our mission as the philanthropic arm of the credit union movement."
The board also elected Angela McCathran, president/CEO for the $438 million People's Trust FCU in Houston, Texas, to fill the seat of the recently retired BECU President/CEO Gary Oakland, who also stepped down as board chair. Edwin Williams, president/CEO for the $130 million Discovery FCU in Wyomissing, Pa., replaced former New Jersey Credit Union League President/CEO Paul Gentile as a CUNA board representative.
The NCUF's 13 voting seats comprise representatives of natural person credit unions, national organizations serving credit unions, corporate credit unions, state credit union foundations, state leagues and one at-large position. The other board members are:
- Bill Cheney, president/CEO for CUNA
- John Graham, president/CEO for Kentucky Employees CU in Frankfort, Ky.
- John Gregoire, president for The ProCon Group in Madison, Wis.
- Joe Guilfoy, executive director for the Indiana Credit Union Foundation and vice president of consulting and education for the Indiana Credit Union League
- Rudy Hanley, president/CEO for SchoolsFirst FCU in Santa Ana, Calif.
- Stan Hollen, president/CEO for CO-OP Financial Services in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
- Christopher Roe, senior vice president of corporate and legislative affairs for CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, Wis.
- Mark Twisdale, senior vice president of human resources for State Employees' Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
