10 CU Professionals Receive New Titles & Awards

WEST

The $2 billion, Hollywood, Calif.-based First Entertainment Credit Union hired Janet Gaspard as vice president of human resources. In her new role, Gaspard will be responsible for establishing and administering all HR policies, procedures and best practices for the credit union. She will also help First Entertainment evolve the employee experience by facilitating and coordinating compensation and benefit programs to attract and retain top talent. Before joining First Entertainment, Gaspard worked for Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union ($1.3 billion, Van Nuys, Calif.), where she spent more than 20 years directing human resources programs, most recently as LAPFCU’s head of human resources.

Heather Diamond, SVP of business development and community relations for the $11.6 billion, San Diego, Calif.-based San Diego County Credit Union was named among SD Metro Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. The award recognizes outstanding young leaders who are positively impacting their organization and the San Diego community, and Diamond was selected in part for her leadership and passionate commitment to positively impacting the San Diego community through financial education, business development and community relations. Diamond joined SDCCU as business development and community relations manager in 2018, bringing nearly a decade of experience in marketing, business development and communications. She was promoted to vice president, business development and community relations in 2021, and to SVP in 2022. She holds a master’s degree in management from San Diego State University.

The $3.4 billion, Chatsworth, Calif.-based Premier America Credit Union announced two new hires.

Ie-Chen Cheng was hired as SVP/CFO. Cheng brings over 25 years of experience in the credit union industry, having held executive leadership roles with credit unions in the areas of finance and audit. She also spent 10 years at McGladrey LLP. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, finance and accounting, with a focus on operational efficiency and a collaborative approach to plan for, and embrace, future change.

Shelley Tam was hired as SVP/chief human resources officer. Tam brings over 20 years of experience leading talent strategies within a variety of industries including fintech, financial services, banking, management consulting, non-profits and utilities. Prior to joining Premier America, she held several senior HR leadership roles, most notably as chief human resources officer for AmeriHome Mortgage Company. In her new role, she will provide vision and leadership around Premier America’s “Employer of Choice” strategy, building a transformative company culture and driving innovation through the HR and organizational development divisions.

The $4.3 billion Technology Credit Union in San Jose, Calif., hired Sunder Srinivasan as chief information officer and EVP. In his new role, he will be responsible for driving Tech CU’s information technology strategy and implementation. Srinivasan brings more than 30 years of experience leading IT in banking/financial services, and holds expertise managing technology transformation strategies, vendor relationships, data management, banking regulatory requirements and governance. Prior to joining Tech CU, he held leadership positions at Revolut, Silicon Valley Bank, Alta Devices, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo.

Orange County’s Credit Union ($2.4 billion, Santa Ana, Calif.), promoted Fabiana Burkett to chief risk officer, a new position on the credit union’s leadership team. In her new role, Burkett will work to collaborate and create solutions for the credit union’s community, focusing on risk management, vendor management, regulatory compliance, business resumption and loss prevention. She will also oversee day-to-day operational risk management functions and serve as a corporate partner for leaders across the credit union. Burkett, who previously served as vice president of enterprise risk management for Orange County’s CU, has more than 20 years of experience in credit union regulatory compliance and risk management. She previously served in leadership roles at Xceed Financial Federal Credit Union and the $6.6 billion, Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based Kinecta Federal Credit Union (Xceed merged into Kinecta in 2021). Burkett holds a Doctor of Law degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Brazil, as well as the following certifications: CUES Chief Executive, Credit Union Enterprise Risk Management Expert, Credit Union Compliance Expert and Credit Union Development Educator.

MIDWEST

Royal Credit Union ($4.2 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.) named Alyssa Strukel and Cooper Larson its new Royal Credit Union Young Professional Credit Union Activists (YP CU Activists.) Royal launched the YP CU Activist program in 2019 as a way to strengthen the credit union movement and amplify the voice of young professionals.

The YP CU Activists will serve from August 2022 through July 2023 and work to share the credit union difference with policymakers at key advocacy events. Strukel will represent Royal at Minnesota advocacy events and Larson will participate in Wisconsin advocacy efforts. They will meet with their state legislators in St. Paul, Minn., and Madison, Wis., in January 2023, and will return to Washington D.C. in February 2023 to attend CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference.

In addition, Strukel and Larson will spend approximately two hours a month expanding their credit union advocacy knowledge and preparing to attend the events. They will also participate in lawmaker visits to Royal and attend key political events in the community.

SOUTH

Joe Newberry, president/CEO for the $7.6 billion, Huntsville, Ala.-based Redstone Federal Credit Union, received the John W. Dixon Award from the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) for his selfless service and dedication to the Army and its soldiers. Newberry will officially be honored as the recipient of the national award during the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition scheduled for Oct. 10–12 in Washington, D.C. Redstone has served as a community partner of AUSA’s Redstone-Huntsville Chapter since 2004.

The $3.9 billion, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Truliant Federal Credit Union promoted Linell Johnson to SVP, controller. Previously he was vice president, controller, a role he held since 2017. In his new role, Johnson leads Truliant’s financial reporting, operational accounting, internal controls, financial policies and financial analysis departments. He also provides oversight of budgeting, risk analysis, fixed asset management and ACH processing. Johnson joined Truliant in 1994 and worked in accounting before becoming its first financial analyst in 1997 – developing organizational and profitability systems, and refining budgeting processes.  Johnson, a Certified Public Accountant, serves as treasurer for Truliant’s Political Action Committee, and is a co-founder and former coach of the Winston-Salem Roadrunners Track Club.

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