11 Credit Unions & MDT Appoint New Professionals

WEST

Redwood Credit Union ($7.4 billion, Santa Rosa, Calif.) hired Sam Neylon as branch experience manager of its Windsor branch in Windsor, Calif. In his new role, Neylon is responsible for community and business development efforts, as well as overseeing member service, staff and branch operations. He brings 15 years of local banking experience and previously served as a bank manager for U.S. Bank in Sonoma County. Neylon also serves as a Junior Achievement USA ambassador and United Way of the Wine Country volunteer.

The $288 million Pacific NW Federal Credit Union in Portland, Ore., announced four promotions.

Jessica Nielsen was promoted to SVP/COO. Nielsen will continue to be responsible for leading member services and operations of branches, the contact center, mobile and online banking platforms, ITMs/ATMs, facilities and project management. Nielsen began her career with PNWFCU in 2005 as a teller and has since served in a variety of roles including support specialist, mortgage processor, call center manager, branch manager, operations manager and director of branch operations. She most recently served as vice president of operations.

Eric Keyser was promoted to SVP/chief information officer. Throughout Keyser’s 25-plus-year career, he has worked for a university, a video game company, multiple start-ups and Wall Street trading firms. He has been with PNWFCU for over 14 years, having previously served as vice president of IT. Keyser also serves as board chair of Schoolhouse Supplies, a local educational non-profit.

Karina Pérez was promoted to vice president of risk management. In late 2002, Pérez connected with PNWFCU through a high school internship program, and from there accepted a position as a teller and later as a compliance specialist and compliance officer. She was later promoted to risk and compliance manager. Pérez currently oversees the following functions: Audit, fraud, internal controls, risk management, collections and physical security. She has served as the credit union supervisory committee liaison officially since 2016 and informally since July 2013, as well as on the loss mitigation committee since 2016. Her active designations include CUCE, NCCO, and CFE; she is also the board-appointed compliance/BSA/OFAC/security officer.

Kaylee Brophy was promoted to vice president/human resources and training. In her new role, she will oversee both operational functions and the strategic direction of the HR and training department. Brophy joined PNWFCU in September 2021 as human resources manager and brings approximately nine years of combined experience as a manager and generalist. She launched her HR career within the retail industry before transitioning to human services and the not-for-profit sector. Brophy holds a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Adler University in Chicago.

The $2.1 billion, Hollywood, Calif.-based First Entertainment Credit Union hired Nick Levi as vice president of retail. In his new role, Levi will be responsible for the development and management of the credit union’s overall retail sales and services strategy. Before joining First Entertainment, he worked in senior management at a number of banking institutions. His experience includes strategic planning, lending, and being responsible for multiple financial centers and teams throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

MIDWEST

Alliant Credit Union ($15.1 billion, Chicago) hired Robert Perrelli as vice president, partnership development. In his new role, Perrelli is responsible for sourcing, developing and incubating fintech partnerships across diverse loan categories. He brings more than 15 years of experience building and managing products and partnerships. Most recently, he was SVP and group director of Huntington National Bank’s vehicle finance division. Before that, Perrelli was SVP at TCF Financial Corporation, where he spent over a decade in the commercial inventory finance and consumer lending divisions. He holds an MBA in strategy, execution and valuation from DePaul University in Chicago, and is an executive committee board member of the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at the university.

The $2 billion, Indianapolis-based Elements Financial Federal Credit Union hired a new executive and promoted another.

Craig Beaudry was hired as chief information officer. Beaudry brings more than 25 years of technology leadership within financial services, the majority from Travis Credit Union ($4.7 billion, Vacaville, Calif.). He has served as an executive sponsor and leader of complex and successful enterprise initiatives, including mergers, core conversions, data center relocations and other digital transformations. Beaudry is a graduate of the Western CUNA Management School.

Emily Wolfington was promoted to SVP of human resources and talent management. Wolfington, a Society of Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional, brings 15 years of human resources experience and a background working in tech startups. She joined Elements as vice president of human resources in 2020, and serves on the fundraising committee for School on Wheels of Indianapolis.

Community First Credit Union ($4.9 billion, Neenah, Wis.) announced three new hires and four promotions.

Lindsay Derencius was hired as vice president of learning and development. Derencius brings 11 years of prior experience and most recently served as director of training and development with Faith Technologies. She holds a master’s degree in business administration/human resource management.

Renee Petersen was hired as vice president of operations. Peterson brings more than 28 years of credit union and banking experience and most recently served as vice president of electronic banking for Investors Community Bank. Prior to that, she worked for Unison Credit Union ($286 million, Kaukauna, Wis.) as vice president of internal operations and Fox Communities Credit Union ($2.4 billion, Appleton, Wis.) as a project manager. Petersen graduated from the UW-Madison Graduate School of Banking/Digital Banking School.

Matthew Wilcox was hired as vice president of business lending. Wilcox has 26 years of banking/financial services industry experience, including 14 years as vice president/commercial loan officer/senior lender at BLC Community Bank (Little Chute) and most recently over five years handling Small Business Administration 504 loans as vice president/loan officer with WBD, Inc.

Kimberly Fermanich was promoted to regional assistant vice president of branch operations. She joined Community First in 2014 as a member service representative and was promoted to assistant branch manager in 2016. She was promoted to branch manager at the Darboy branch in Appleton in 2017.

Jennifer Strebig was promoted to branch manager at the Darboy branch. She joined Community First as an assistant branch manager at the Ballard branch, also in Appleton, in 2016 after 19 years as a manager in retail. In 2018 she transferred to the Forest Avenue branch in Neenah.

Jon Ganzen was promoted to branch manager at the Oneida Street branch in Appleton. He joined Community First in 2018 as member service representative at the Oneida branch. He was named assistant branch manager at the new Lake Park branch in Menasha, Wis., when it opened in spring 2019 and transferred to the Oneida branch in October 2021.

Brittany Calaway was promoted to branch manager at the Winneconne branch in Neenah. She joined Community First as a student teller at Appleton West High School and continued as a travel team teller during summers. She worked as a bank credit analyst before returning to Community First in 2017 as a member service representative. She was promoted to assistant branch manager in 2018.

The $1 billion Wildfire Credit Union in Saginaw, Mich., hired Susan Moody as assistant vice president of business services and workplace perks specialist. She brings over 20 years of experience in the sales and business development industry. Her community involvement has included serving as a membership mentor for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, a board member of the Great Lakes Bay Economic Club, a member of the Saginaw County Crime Prevention Council and a program chair of the Saginaw ISD Entrepreneur Academy Program.

Corporate Central Credit Union ($3.1 billion, Muskego, Wis.) announced two new hires.

Amy Brown was hired as a business analyst. In her new role, Brown will analyze and develop business processes and requirements for software application development. She will also design, test and implement new systems, and modify existing systems to meet business needs. She started her career as a technical writer but quickly moved into a business analyst role while working as a consultant with Compuware and then Whittman-Hart, both in Milwaukee, Wis. Throughout her career as a business analyst, she worked for GE Healthcare Financial Services followed by another consulting role with Tushaus Computer Services. From there she worked for several years in the e-commerce/retail space, starting at Kohl’s IT and followed by Ashley Furniture and Boelter Beverage. Her most recent experience was as a business analyst for 7 Summits (an IBM company).

Pete Xiong was hired as a systems engineer. In his new role, Xiong will provide design, installation, migration and support services for cloud solutions primarily from Microsoft. He will also provide pre-sales support to determine business and technical requirements, and identify appropriate technology solutions. In addition, he will stay abreast of emerging technologies and serve as a resource and mentor with team members, while providing ongoing technical support for new and existing technology. Xiong spent over 10 years at a manufacturer of highly regulated computer equipment for the medical and simulation markets. Over the last five years, he held the position of lead systems administrator, where he oversaw internal technology selection, implementation and management.

SOUTH

The $938 million Alabama ONE Credit Union in Tuscaloosa, Ala., announced two promotions.

Martin Houston was promoted to chief growth officer. Houston joined Alabama ONE in 2016 and most recently served as senior director of the growth team, which encompassed Alabama ONE’s financial wellness and outreach, business and development, media and insurance teams.

Jacquie Johnson was promoted to senior director of financial wellness and community outreach. Johnson joined Alabama ONE in 2019 as financial wellness manager. In this role, she was responsible for leading all community outreach efforts for the credit union.

The $892 million, Summerville, S.C.-based REV Federal Credit Union hired Jenny Michaels as chief administrative officer. In her new role, Michaels will lead human resources, enterprise risk management, compliance, vendor management, legal and field of membership expansion, and act as the liaison between REV and the NCUA/auditors. She will also continue serving on the South Carolina Board of Financial Institutions. Prior to joining REV, Michaels served as chief administrative officer at Safe Federal Credit Union ($1.5 billion, Sumter, S.C.), where she was responsible for developing and implementing business and strategic plans while creating an exceptional culture for employees.

The $952 million Greater Texas Credit Union in Austin hired Molly Daniels as chief human resource officer and SVP. Daniels brings nearly 25 years of HR management and talent development experience. In her role, Daniels spearheads the entire HR strategy, including employee relations, talent management, compensation and benefits, retention, and training and development. She previously served in senior level leadership positions with GECU ($3.7 billion, El Paso, Texas), Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, Security Service Federal Credit Union ($10.4 billion, San Antonio, Texas) and Harland Clarke. Daniels is certified by the Society of Human Resource Management and HR Certification Institute.

CUSOS

Member Driven Technologies (MDT), a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based core processing and IT CUSO, promoted Daniel L. Schneider to vice president of project, training and professional services. In his new, expanded role, he will oversee training, core conversions, mergers, and implementation of new software and services. In addition, Schneider will oversee MDT’s consulting services, which help clients evaluate and optimize business processes and their use of technology.

AGENCIES

The NCUA hired Elizabeth A. Eurgubian as director of external affairs and communications and policy advisor effective Feb. 14. In her new role, Eurgubian will lead the agency’s communication and congressional affairs initiatives, and serve as a policy advisor to Chairman Todd M. Harper. Prior to joining the NCUA, Eurgubian was the deputy chief advocacy officer and senior counsel for regulatory and executive branch relations at CUNA. At the Independent Community Bankers of America, Eurgubian served as vice president and senior regulatory counsel. She also worked as assistant general counsel for Sallie Mae, Inc. and as an attorney for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prior to her legal work at the Federal Reserve, she was the assistant director of legislative affairs for the National Mental Health Association. She also worked as a law clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the General Counsel. Eurgubian earned her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law.

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