11 Credit Unions Welcome Employees to 12 New Roles

WEST

The $1.7 billion Columbia Credit Union in Vancouver, Wash., hired Jim Wood as SVP and chief human resources officer. Wood comes to Columbia from Confluence Health, where he led operations as chief administrative officer. His leadership experience in human resources extends back more than two decades through positions with Halifax Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center of West Michigan and Saginaw Valley State University.

Ventura County Credit Union ($945 million, Ventura, Calif.) hired Melissa Miller as community development manager.

In this role, Miller oversees the credit union’s community partnerships, events and sponsorships. Prior to joining VCCU, Miller spent 14 years working in the multifamily property sector managing large resort properties, and served as member retention and advertising manager for the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce for four years.

The $104 million Aurora Federal Credit Union in Aurora, Colo., promoted Andrea Sargic to vice president of member services. Sargic has worked for the credit union for over five years as operations manager. In her new role, she will oversee all member services and direct the credit union’s loan department. Her key responsibilities include overseeing main branch operations, assisting management with NCUA compliance, loan and member service staff development and management, and employee implementation and retention.

EAST

The $1.14 billion Merrimack Valley Credit Union in Lawrence, Mass., expanded its senior leadership team by filling two newly-created positions.

Cherie Lisee, Esq., joined Merrimack Valley as vice president of risk management. Lisee started her career as a litigation attorney in Connecticut before moving into the compliance and regulatory affairs space, serving in legal and regulatory compliance roles at Santander Bank and UniBank, where she developed privacy, compliance and risk management programs.

Robert Piepenburg joined as the organization’s vice president of commercial lending. He brings more than 30 years of financial and lending experience to the team, most recently serving as SVP and chief credit officer at Radius Bank in Boston. Previously, he worked at Bank of America, Putnam Investment Management and BankBoston Corporation.

Kendra Rubin, Esq. joined the executive team of the $4 billion SEFCU in Albany, N.Y., as chief legal officer.

She brings nearly a decade of legal experience in the credit union industry, government and the private sector, most recently serving as vice president of government affairs for the New York Credit Union Association. Rubin will serve as SEFCU’s general counsel, working closely with both internal and external business partners, providing legal advice and strategy to senior management, and managing external legal counsel relationships. She will also oversee contract administration, regulatory compliance and advocacy.

MIDWEST

Alliant Credit Union ($135 million, Dubuque, Iowa) hired John Sutter as senior director of marketing. Sutter has over 23 years of marketing, public relations and business development experience. Prior to joining Alliant, he held many roles with the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and Loras College in Dubuque, and most recently at Enlivant in Chicago.

Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union ($290 million, Auburn Hills, Mich.) hired Mark Evenson as vice president of retail services. In his new role, Evenson is responsible for overseeing CCF’s network of retail branches and branch management, as well as leading the credit union’s sales strategies and service experience. A CUES-certified senior executive and CUNA-certified credit union financial counselor, he has worked in the financial services industry since 2004, most recently as manager of finance, administration and compliance for AMDG Financial in Plymouth, Mich.

The $2.8 billion Royal Credit Union in Eau Claire, Wis., hired Paul Stednitz as vice president of retail operations. Stednitz has 25 years of retail banking experience with credit unions and community banks. At Royal, he will focus on building high performing teams, and leading efficient branches to provide consistency in processes, relationship building and member experiences across all branches.

SOUTH

Sharonview Federal Credit Union ($1.6 billion, Indian Land, S.C.) named Rob McFarland vice president of business services. McFarland will lead the organization’s new business services division, which is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2020. Prior to joining Sharonview, he was chief lending officer at the $189 million Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union in Gray, Tenn., and has held roles such as vice president of commercial banking for First Citizens Bank, senior lending officer for ASB Bancorp and vice president of business services for Truliant Federal Credit Union ($2.87 billion, Winston-Salem, N.C.).

The $1.5 billion Achieva Credit Union in Dunedin, Fla., hired Hilary Blackburn as vice president – deposit products and services. Blackburn brings over 18 years of financial services experience. Her most recent role was principal vice president, small business banking program manager for Burke & Herbert Bank in Northern Virginia. As part of her new role, she is in charge of products and services such as treasury management, ACH wires, debit and credit card payment systems, and digital wallets.

Abound Credit Union ($1.7 billion, Radcliff, Ky.) hired Mark Philpott as retirement and investment advisor through its partnership with CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. Philpott has more than 25 years of experience providing financial services such as mutual funds, annuities, retirement and investment solutions, and insurance. He will work with Abound’s current Financial Professional Jeff Schriner to assist members throughout the credit union’s service area with their retirement and investment planning needs.

Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.