CU Movement Professionals Advance in Their Careers

WEST

Columbia Credit Union ($2.2 billion, Vancouver, Wash.) announced two new hires to its credit and lending team.

Greg Younce was hired as vice president, credit risk. According to his LinkedIn page, his previous roles have included vice president, commercial credit risk review officer for Bank OZK in Dallas; vice president, credit officer for Citi; SVP, loan review manager for Hanmi Bank in Garland, Texas; vice president, credit and loan administration officer at Greater South Texas Bank and two SVP roles at Lone Star National Bank in McAllen, Texas.

Carlos Zuniga was hired as vice president, consumer loans. Zuniga brings more than 20 years of experience in consumer lending, underwriting and debt solutions, and most recently served as EVP of consumer lending for the $9.8 billion San Diego County Credit Union in San Diego.

Rogue Credit Union ($2.8 billion, Medford, Ore.) hired Kellie England as SVP of member experience.

England brings over 20 years of experience in the financial industry and most recently served at Umpqua Bank in Sacramento as SVP – retail region executive since 2002. Prior to that, she worked at Centennial Bank in Portland, Ore., as SVP from 2000-2002.

EAST

Suffolk Federal Credit Union ($1.5 billion, Medford, N.Y.) elected a new board member and reelected two others.

Tanya Palmore, executive director of North Fork Housing Alliance, Inc. in Greenport, N.Y., joined the board of directors as a new member. Palmore has worked for North Fork Housing Alliance, which serves low- and moderate-income residents in cooperation with community development offices and financial institutions to develop housing units in New York’s North Fork peninsula, for 21 years. With an established background in accounting, she is responsible for capital program strategies, business plans and housing network recommendations.

Publisher and local real estate developer Frank C. Trotta was reelected vice chairman of the board of directors. Trotta is publisher and owner of Fire News, which has served fire, rescue and EMS departments since 1973 on Long Island, N.Y., as well as in 12 states. He also is the publisher of Suffolk Lawyer and Legal Brief Magazine for the Suffolk County Bar Association. Trotta is a principal in a family-owned real estate company and has served as an elected official of the Village of Bellport for 31 years, including 27 years as its longest-serving mayor. Additionally, he serves on the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency board, as chaplain of the Bellport Fire Department and as chaplain for the Fire Chiefs Council of Suffolk County.

Phil F.T. Bauccio was reelected as secretary of the board of directors. Bauccio is the former executive director of the Suffolk County Risk Management & Benefits Division as well as the founder of Phil Bauccio Consultants & Associates, which provides consulting services in risk management and government administration. He taught business at Dowling College for 40 years and also served in the U.S. Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves from 1970-1994, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Alison DeTuncq, president/CEO for the $1.3 billion, Charlottesville, Va.-based UVA Community Credit Union, announced her plans to retire after a 32-year tenure with the credit union, including the last 22 as president/CEO. Her previous roles in the credit union movement have included serving on the Virginia Credit Union League’s budget and dues committee and as president of the Central Virginia Chapter; as an active member of the Virginia Credit Union League’s Estonia Partnership Committee; on the board of directors for VACORP Credit Union; as the first chairman of the board of Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union; and as president/CEO of Member Options, LLC, a wholly-owned mortgage company of UVA Community. She is a recipient of the Virginia league’s Eugene H. Farley Jr. Award of Excellence. In addition, she serves on the board of directors for the Piedmont Virginia Community College Foundation and Shenandoah National Park Trust, was appointed to serve as the Culpeper District representative of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, and previously served on the board of directors for the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, Albemarle Housing Improvement Program and United Way – Thomas Jefferson Area.

SOUTH

The $7 billion Redstone Credit Union in Huntsville, Ala., announced one new hire and one promotion.

Ericka Gorman was hired as SVP, chief lending officer. In her new role, she will oversee the consumer and business lending, business solutions, collections and mortgage areas. Gorman has more than 20 years of credit union experience and most recently served as SVP, COO at the $1 billion Great Lakes Credit Union in North Chicago, Ill., where she led improvements of its call center hold times, implemented change control processes and impacted organization efficiency through process improvements.

Mitchell ‘Mitch’ Peters was promoted to vice president of information security. Peters has been with Redstone for 27 years and most recently served as senior assistant vice president for information security. During his previous information security leadership roles, Peters helped build and maintain layered security, create a robust information security awareness employee program and implement an ongoing technology risk management process. In his new role, he will continue ensuring that the credit union’s information assets and those of its members are properly protected. He is a former Olympic athlete who competed as a sprinter for the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 1992 and 1996 games.

The $78 million Diamond Lakes Federal Credit Union in Malvern, Ark., hired Rachel Peters as vice president of member experience. Peters most recently served as branch manager/branch officer with BancorpSouth and vice president of business development with Bank OZK. She brings 11 years of financial experience to her new position. In her role as vice president of member experience, she will lead in all aspects of enhancing overall member experience.

Achieva Credit Union ($2.3 billion, Dunedin, Fla.) hired Rocio Smith as Hillsborough market vice president. Her initial focus will be on establishing Achieva’s first Hillsborough County branch in Carrollwood, Fla.

Following the opening of the Carrollwood branch in 2022, Smith and Achieva will continue to look for other sites and opportunities to further grow the credit union’s presence in the market. Smith grew up the daughter of migrant workers and was the first in her family to receive a college degree. She spent 17 years working for Wells Fargo and is heavily involved with the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, which provides child care and early education to children of migrant farmworkers around Florida.

Robins Financial Credit Union ($3.7 billion, Warner Robbins, Ga.) promoted Amy Etheridge to vice president of delivery channels. In her new role, Etheridge will focus on leading the credit union’s strategy for digital and remote channels. She has worked for Robins Financial for nearly 20 years and held many positions throughout the organization, most recently marketing and digital services manager. Etheridge holds an MBA from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah, and currently serves as a board member for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Georgia as well as secretary and board member for the Houston County Volunteer Medical Clinic.

CUSOS

Sherpa Technologies, a wholly-owned CUSO of Corporate One Federal Credit Union ($6.7 billion, Columbus, Ohio) appointed Haley Murph, vice president of e-services and payments at the $975 million Gulf Winds Credit Union in Pensacola, Fla., to its board of directors. With almost 20 years of financial institution experience, Murph previously held the positions of deposit operations supervisor and digital banking/first impressions contact center supervisor for United Bank in Atmore, Ala., before joining Gulf Winds in 2016. She also served on Sherpa Technologies’ Innovation Council prior to becoming a member of the board of directors.

TRADES

NAFCU hired Gregory Mesack as SVP, government affairs. He brings over two decades of experience in financial services policy advocacy. In his new role, Mesack will lead the association’s legislative, political, regulatory, compliance assistance, research and economic divisions. He joins NAFCU from the law and lobbying firm of GrayRobinson, where he advocated on behalf of clients to policymakers and regulators. Prior to that he was at Eris Group, where he was managing director and partner. His clients have included the Mortgage Bankers Association, Financial Services Institute, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, TransUnion, PayPal, Western Union and Nike. Previously, Mesack was vice president of government affairs for America’s Community Bankers. Before joining the private sector, Mesack worked on Capitol Hill, where he advised several members of Congress. He holds an MBA from the George Washington University and has been named one of the top lobbyists by The Hill newspaper.

LEAGUES

The Indiana Credit Union League elected four board officers at its reorganization meeting held on Sept. 10 during its statewide convention in Indianapolis. Dave Abernathy, president/CEO for Via Credit Union ($484 million, Marion, Ind.), was elected chairman.

Karen Madry, president/CEO for Afena Federal Credit Union ($79 million, Marion, Ind.), was elected vice chairman.

Nina Baker, president/CEO for ProFed Federal Credit Union ($612 million, Fort Wayne, Ind.), was elected board secretary.

Cari Palmer, president/CEO for Energy Plus Credit Union ($43 million, Indianapolis), was elected treasurer.

VENDORS

The Trust for Credit Unions, a family of institutional mutual funds offered exclusively to credit unions, appointed Lisa Ginter and J. Mark McWatters to its board of trustees.

Ginter is CEO of CommunityAmerica Credit Union ($4.2 billion, Lenexa, Kan.) and has served in a leadership role at CommunityAmerica since she joined the organization in 1995. She became CEO in 2015 and also serves on the executive boards of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Kansas City Area Development Council.

McWatters is the former chair of the NCUA. He also served as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee and NeighborWorks America. Prior to joining these organizations, McWatters served as the assistant dean for graduate programs and as a professor of practice at the SMU Dedman School of Law, and as an adjunct professor at the SMU Cox School of Business, both located in Dallas, where he taught courses in tax policy and international, corporate and partnership taxation. He has also practiced law for over three decades including as a partner with three international law firms and as counsel to a cross-border hedge and private equity firm, where he specialized in taxation, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions.

CUTEK, a provider of IT products/services for credit unions, hired Tavia Lee as a project management consultant. In her new role, Lee will work to enhance project delivery and quality through disciplined project management methods, processes and skills, as well as use PM tools to assist CUTEK teams and clients with keeping their projects within scope, budget and schedule, and delivering them with the highest quality. She has more than 15 years of banking experience, including stops at American Express, Wells Fargo and Credit Human (previously San Antonio Federal Credit Union). Lee holds two certifications with the Project Management Institute and is a certified Project Management Professional and PMI Agile Certified Practitioner.

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