CU DEI Collective Completes Board
Six new members are elected to a new group to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
The CU DEI Collective has elected six new members to the governing body of a Madison, Wis., group formed this year to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
The board now has 21 members chosen “to reflect broad and deep diversity of voices and life experiences within the credit union space,” according to a Dec. 8 news release.
Victor Miguel Corro, chair of the Collective and CEO of Coopera, a Hispanic marketing company based in Des Moines, Iowa serving credit unions, said he was pleased that the Collective received many applications.
“The nominations showed unrivaled aspirations and a firm commitment to making the credit union space a place of inclusion and belonging,” Corro said. “We have remarkable people on the governing body to build a strong Collective.”
The following organizations now complete the Collective’s governing body with their voice and vote:
- John Pembroke for CUES, representing the Other Trade/Professional Organizational category. He is president/CEO for the Madison, Wis.-based membership association for credit union executives.
- CU Pride representing the LGBTQ+ Credit Union Community and the Diversity-centric organizational category.
- Susan Mitchell for Mitchell, Stankovic & Associates, representing the At-Large organizational category. She is CEO of the management consulting company based in Boulder City, Nev.
- Jacqueline Ortiz Ramsay for NAFCU, representing the At-Large organizational category. She is vice president and head of public affairs and communications, for the Washington, D.C., trade organization.
- Jackie Martinez-Vasquez for BECU, representing the Credit Union category. She is vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Seattle-based credit union ($25.6 billion in assets, 1.3 million members).
- Diana Cervantes for Premier America Credit Union, representing the Credit Union category. She is vice president for community and business development for the Los Angeles-area credit union ($3.1 billion, 114,734 members).
Cervantes said the Collective shows the power of bringing people together.
“People who come together have power, power causes change and change brings opportunity,” Cervantes said. “We often talk about doing the right thing and by joining DEI as a collective we will concrete change. At the end of the day, who does not want to make a difference for many years to come?”
The first convening of the full governing body will be Jan. 19. The CU DEI Collective has many plans in the works, including the launch of an online DEI resource hub in Q1 of 2021.
CU DEI Collective is still building its foundation, said Alison Carr, Executive Committee member of the Collective and chief strategy officer at Your Credit Union Partner, a consulting company based in the Seattle area.
“We will need many more voices, perspectives and experiences,” Carr said. “We hope to broaden our reach to engage others in the future, at such time as these opportunities become available.”