Professionals Reach Career Milestones at CUs, CUSOs & Leagues

WEST

The $5.1 billion, Pasadena, Calif.-based Wescom Credit Union promoted Carina Hollis to SVP and general counsel. In her new role, Hollis will be responsible for legal affairs, government relations and enterprise risk management. She joined Wescom’s risk management department in 2014, where she developed the credit union’s centralized vendor management program. In 2017, she was promoted to vice president, general counsel, forming Wescom’s legal affairs department and becoming responsible for government relations. Prior to joining Wescom, Hollis practiced law at a boutique firm in Newport Beach, Calif., for four and a half years, where she routinely defended employers and individuals in civil, bankruptcy, probate and labor matters. She holds a Juris Doctorate from the Western State University College of Law in Irvine, Calif., and an MBA from Argosy University in Ontario, Calif.

The $1.7 billion, Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Horizon Credit Union promoted two employees.

John Cotner was promoted to vice president of lending. He previously served as director of commercial and mortgage lending. In his new role, Cotner will oversee consumer, mortgage, small business and commercial lending. He joined Horizon through its recent merger with Icon Credit Union in August 2020 after serving Icon as vice president of member service since 2009.

Stefanie Robinson was promoted to vice president of marketing and digital strategy. She previously served as director of marketing. Robinson joined the credit union in 2004 as a market research analyst and has since helped grow the department from a team of three to 15. In her new role, she will oversee and continue to drive Horizon’s marketing and branding efforts, as well as focus on evolving digital marketing efforts and impact, doing so in partnership with other departments throughout the organization.

MIDWEST

The $134 million, Heath, Ohio-based Hopewell Federal Credit Union hired three new employees.

Mariya Hyryk was hired as a teller. She brings retail experience and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s in business and economics at Ohio State University in Newark.

Angela Van Fossen was hired as a teller. She also brings retail experience and is a graduate of Muskingum Area Technical College in Zanesville, Ohio.

Paige German was hired as a teller. She brings hospitality and retail experience and is working toward a double major in applied management and sports/lifestyle studies at Ohio University in Zanesville.

The $1.6 billion Consumers Credit Union in Kalamazoo, Mich., announced three new hires.

Amy Jones was hired as a CUSO Financial Services, L.P. investment services representative. She brings professional experience working in various capacities across many industries, and in her new role, Jones will provide financial guidance to Consumers members, including pre- and post-retirement planning, asset accumulation strategies and college funding planning.

Melissa Marietti-Evans was hired as a business development manager. She brings more than 20 years of experience as a commercial lender in the state’s Muskegon and Kent areas. In her new role, she will help local businesses achieve their goals by acting as a financial partner for entrepreneurs within Michigan’s Lakeshore market.

Joe VanBrocklin was hired as a business development manager serving the Grand Rapids, Mich., market. He brings 20 years of experience in the financial industry, including 14 years assisting entrepreneurs as a business adviser. In his new role, he will assist members by providing them with capital solutions, sound advice and responsive service.

Advia Credit Union ($2.6 billion, Parchment, Mich.) hired Jennifer Foster as the branch service manager at its 10th Street location in Port Huron, Mich. In her new role, Foster will oversee branch operations, including managing the frontline staff, to maintain smooth operations and a high level of member satisfaction. She comes to Advia from Ulta Beauty, where she recently served as a retail sales manager. Foster previously served for four years as a member services representative at Genisys Credit Union ($3.8 billion, Auburn Hills, Mich.).

SOUTH

The $645 million, Jacksonville, Fla.-based 121 Financial Credit Union announced two new hires, one promotion and one appointment of an executive to an external committee.

Daryl Pressley was hired as vice president of operations. He brings two decades of experience in member service and contact center operations, and most recently served as associate vice president of centralized lending and call center operations at Sunstate Federal Credit Union (now the $661 million Radiant Credit Union) in Gainesville, Fla., and held previous positions during his seven years at the credit union. Before that, Pressley held several positions at banks in Lake City, Fla., and Atlanta. In his new role, he will lead the credit union’s contact center and lending center teams, handling nearly all electronic and digital communications with 121 Financial members. Pressley will also work closely with 121 Financial’s IT department to optimize the credit union’s digital mainframe for better member service and third-party integration.

Russell Buck was hired as vice president of retail services. Buck brings more than 30 years of banking, finance and sales experience and most recently served as regional vice president for VyStar Credit Union ($11.4 billion, Jacksonville). Prior to his credit union experience, he served in regional and sales management positions at several Jacksonville-area banks, including Southtrust and First Union. In his new role, Buck will oversee 121 Financial’s retail staff of 70-plus employees and its growing physical footprint, which currently includes eight branches across Northeast Florida. He will also lead local business development initiatives, which include modernizing 121 Financial’s services across its physical network, and work alongside 121 Financial’s digital team to ensure consistency and continuity across all member touchpoints. Buck currently serves as a board member for the Clay Florida Economic Development Corporation and Haven Hospice in Jacksonville.

Nicole Vander Kolk, who leads 121 Financial’s community involvement and sponsorship initiatives, was promoted to marketing manager. Vander Kolk began her career at 121 Financial in 2018 as marketing coordinator and earned a promotion to marketing specialist earlier this year. In her new role, she will manage all of 121 Financial’s community involvement, sponsorship, branding and general marketing initiatives.

Tillery Durbin, director of business services for 121 Financial, was selected to join the City of Jacksonville’s (COJ) Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund (NWJEDF) Advisory Committee. She is one of seven committee members who oversees the COJ’s grant and loan program focused on reinvestment and economic development in Jacksonville’s northwest quadrant.

The $3.6 billion, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Truliant Federal Credit Union announced one new hire and two promotions.

Bijal Gami was hired as vice president of payments, a newly-created role at the credit union. In this position, he will be responsible for the architecture and vision of Truliant’s enterprise card payment strategy and card payment transformation. Gami has more than a decade of experience working with credit unions, most recently serving as vice president of operations for the $83 million Civic Federal Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C. He is a past participant of the Filene Institute’s i3 innovation leadership program, a graduate of The National Credit Union Foundation’s Credit Union Development Educator program and a graduate of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Raleigh program.

Jeremy Cline was promoted to the newly-created position of senior director of member success and loyalty. Cline previously served as director of member satisfaction. In his new role, he will take on lead responsibility for coordinating Truliant’s Client Relationship Management system. Cline has held a variety of roles during his 15-year career at Truliant and will continue to oversee the Member Satisfaction group, which collects, interprets and disseminates survey responses. The team then develops and leads initiatives to take specific action based on member experiences in the surveys. He is scheduled to earn an MBA from the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, N.C., in December.

Laura Dezarn was promoted to chief information officer. Previously, Dezarn was Truliant’s vice president of IT infrastructure and operations. In her new role, she will be responsible for developing the strategic direction for Truliant’s technology landscape, with a goal of providing member-owners with unique technology solutions that help them achieve their financial goals. She will also be responsible for enterprise service delivery, application engineering and development, enterprise architecture, IT infrastructure and operations, information security, IT support services, IT service desk, telecom and disaster recovery. Dezarn holds an MBA from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, and since 2010 has served as the executive chapter advisor of the university’s chapter of Alpha Delta Pi. She’s also in Leadership Winston-Salem’s class of 2021-22, and began serving on the Piedmont Triad Advisory Council of the Ronald McDonald House in 2016 and will become a board member of the organization in 2022.

Piedmont Advantage Credit Union ($440 million, Winston-Salem, N.C.) hired Carla Hooker as a financial advisor. As a member of the investment solutions team, Hooker will provide financial advice on investment and insurance strategies for Piedmont Advantage members interested in asset and wealth management, retirement planning, comprehensive financial analysis and more. She has nearly 20 years of financial planning experience, specializing in retirement planning, portfolio management, life insurance, disability income insurance and long-term care insurance. She is a Certified Financial Planner professional from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.

CUSOS

Member Support Services, LLC, a middle- and back-office operations CUSO based in Cranbury, N.J., hired Justin Hendrickson as SVP of lending and collections. Focus areas in his new role will include implementing the industry’s latest best practices and innovations; deep-diving into processes, procedures and policies to ensure they are aligned with MSS’s goals and vision; and working collaboratively with credit unions to update and redefine processes so the CUSO and credit unions can embrace a culture of constant improvement. Hendrickson brings 22 years of financial services experience with a focus on member experience and lending.

LEAGUES

The Cooperative Credit Union Association, which represents credit unions in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, recognized James F. Toohey, longtime board member for the $987 million, Marlborough, Mass.-based St. Mary’s Credit Union, with an Award of Excellence in its Hall of Fame category. Toohey’s exposure to St. Mary’s Credit Union began at a young age when he rolled coins at the bank after school working alongside his mother, one of the first female employees at the credit union. He began serving as a director in 1970, and would later serve on the board of directors as a clerk and membership clerk, and as a member of the credit committee, nominating committee and community service committee. In addition, in the early 1970s, Toohey along with the other board members each provided $1,500 of their own money to self-insure the credit union’s assets until formal insurance could be obtained.

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