8 Credit Unions Across 6 States Appoint New Top Leaders

The board of directors for the $2.1 billion Pen Air Federal Credit Union in Pensacola, Fla., on Monday announced the appointment of Delbert Lee Morgan as president/CEO.

He succeeds William C. Scarborough.

Morgan joins Pen Air from the $548 million ValleyStar Credit Union in Martinsville, Va., where he served as president/CEO. Prior to ValleyStar, Lee also served as president/CEO of the $302 million Southeastern Federal Credit Union in Valdosta, Ga.

Pen Air’s 335 employees operate 18 branches and serve 115,098 members.

Tonia Niedzialkowski was appointed president of the $870 million Point Breeze Credit Union in Hunt Valley, Md.

Bernie McLaughlin, who previously served as president/CEO, continues to serve as CEO.

In her new role, Niedzialkowski will continue to oversee the credit union’s operations as well as manage the senior leadership team.

She has served in various roles at Point Breeze since joining it in 1994, having most recently served as EVP and COO.

Point Breeze’s 119 employees operate five branches and serve nearly 60,000 members.

The board of directors of the $760 million Merck Sharp & Dohme Federal Credit Union in Chalfont, Pa., named Dana DeFilippis as president/CEO.

She succeeded David B. Whitehead who plans to retire in April after 24 years of service at MSDFCU.

DeFilippis has more than 25 years of banking experience, including 23 years at the executive level with MSDFCU.

She launched her career at the credit union in 1999 as vice president of finance and was promoted to SVP in 2019.

MSDFCU’s 85 employees operate eight branches and serve more than 30,000 members.

The board of directors for the $689 million Verity Credit Union in Seattle, Wash., appointed Tonita Webb as president/CEO.

She will succeed current President/CEO John Zmolek, who will retire in April.

Webb will join Verity from the $959 million Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union where she served as EVP-COO and as SVP-chief administrative officer for 15 years.

Webb, who will become the first woman to lead Verity, begins her tenure on April 5.

Verity’s 155 employees operate nine branches and serve more than 36,000 members.

Joshua I. Brier was named president/CEO of the $601 million GFA Federal Credit Union in Gardner, Mass.

He succeeds Tina Sbrega, who served as GFA’s president/CEO since 2009 and will retire in April,  the credit union said.

Brier served as GFA’s EVP and COO for more than two years. Prior to joining the credit union, he held executive leadership positions at Dime Bank and Bank of America.

GFA’s 91 employees operate 10 branches and serve more than 30,000 members.

The $177 million Somerset Federal Credit Union named Joseph Lajoie as president/CEO.

He succeeded Pamela Mello, who retired in January after serving as CEO for more than five years.

Lajoie joined the Somerset, Mass.-based credit union with more than 20 years of experience in banking and finance.

Before joining Somerset, he worked at the $648 million Greenwood Credit Union in Warwick, R.I., where he served as EVP and CFO. Lajoie also served as assistant vice president/controller at the $2.7 billion Navigant Credit Union in Smithfield, R.I.

SFCU’s 31 employees operate one branch and serve more than 11,000 members.

The $119 million Hopewell Federal Credit Union in Heath, Ohio named Chris Simmons as president/CEO.

He will succeed current President/CEO James G. Johnson, who is retiring at the end of March, Hopewell said.

Simmons most recently served as vice president of specialized lending at the $357 million CME Federal Credit Union in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to this position, Simmons worked as a consumer lending manager at the $1.7 billion Kemba Financial Credit Union in Gahanna, Ohio.

Hopewell’s 34 employees operate three branches and serve more than 8,000 members.

The $93 million PALCO Federal Credit Union in Muncy, Pa., appointed Scott Naughton as president/CEO.

He succeeds Tom Rachael who retired after 18 years as CEO.

Naughton holds more than two decades of experience in the financial services sector. Most recently he served as a vice president at Penn Woods Bancorp.

PALCO’s 17 employees operate one branch and serve more than 6,000 members.