Lucy Ito joined NASCUS as its new president/CEO Monday, the Arlington,-Va.-based organization said.

Ito, the former EVP and COO for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, replaced Mary Martha Fortney, who retired from NASCUS after 22 years of service. She served the last 11 years as the association's president/CEO.

“I am so proud to have worked with such enthusiastic, dedicated and dynamic leadership, members and management,” Fortney said in a statement. “Leaving NASCUS is bittersweet, but I am excited about what the future holds. I wish Lucy all the best in her future with NASCUS.”

Ito served with the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues for the past 10 years.

“I am looking forward to leading a great staff and to working with the NASCUS Board and Advisory Council to advance the interests of consumers, safely and soundly, through a robust dual charter credit union system,” Ito said.

Prior to joining the leagues in May 2004, she served as SVP at the World Council of Credit Unions where she worked on technical programs and legislative and regulatory issues in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Asia, and the Pacific.

Ito earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and Asian studies from the University of California-Berkeley and a Master of Arts in linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her post-graduate work included research as a Regents' Fellow at the University of California-Santa Cruz.

She is also a graduate of the CUES Advanced Leadership Institute at Harvard Business School.

“We believe that the future of NASCUS under Lucy's leadership is bright, and look forward to what she will bring to the association” Stephen Pleger, NASCUS board chair, said.