9 Credit Unions Announce Hires, Promotions & Honors

WEST

OnPoint Community Credit Union ($9.1 billion, Portland, Ore.) hired Patty Groman as SVP and chief people officer. Groman brings more than 20 years of experience as a human resources professional in the technology, marketing, consulting, audiology, recruitment and finance sectors. In her new role, she will oversee OnPoint’s overall talent strategy and culture with a people-centric and innovative approach; lead talent development and acquisition, organizational and performance management, and training and employee compensation; and implement a comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and programs. Before joining OnPoint, Groman was the first female chief officer at Columbia Grain International. She has also led HR and recruitment functions at Opus Agency, Audigy Group, Xenium, United Human Capital Solutions and Washington Mutual. Groman also has extensive experience managing acquisitions and integrations, handling all aspects of due diligence from compliance to culture. She holds a Professional Human Resources certification from the Human Resource Standards Institute and completed the diversity and inclusion certification program at Cornell University.

The $2 billion, Hollywood, Calif.-based First Entertainment Credit Union announced two promotions.

Lisa Rauda-Cook was promoted to vice president of the Member Experience Center. In her new role, she will serve on the senior leadership team and oversee the credit union’s contact center operations, service and sales activities. Rauda-Cook has been with First Entertainment for 10 years and brings a background in strategic planning and analysis.

Paul Partida was promoted to the newly-created role of vice president of enterprise technology and data. In his new role, he will also serve on the senior leadership team and be responsible for leading the credit union’s software development and business intelligence teams. In addition, he will lead the core data architecture and integration processes for First Entertainment, as well as implement technology decisions for the credit union’s corporate projects and initiatives.

Oregon Community Credit Union ($3.4 billion, Eugene, Ore.) announced nine promotions.

Greg Schumacher was promoted to EVP. In this role, Schumacher leads the finance and lending functions of OCCU. His responsibilities also include the leadership, management and planning for accounting/finance, lending, analytics, governance and regulatory compliance.

Tracey Keffer was promoted to COO, adding leadership of the credit union’s branch and member support teams and call center to her current responsibilities of human resources, organizational development, facilities, information security, risk and administration, loss prevention, process improvement and quality assurance.

Brian Alfano will assume the role of chief digital officer to provide executive leadership for teams charged with digital solutions, payments and technology as the credit union prioritizes innovation and investment in its omnichannel platform and data infrastructure.

Casey Foltz was promoted to SVP of analytics and profitability. In this role, he will be leading the credit unions’ teams responsible for the data analysis and reporting necessary for effective process and fiscal decision-making, and collecting and analyzing member feedback; and overseeing key lines of business including investment services.

Dave Schiffer was promoted to SVP of finance and credit. In his new role, Schiffer is responsible for accounting, financial reporting, investments, asset and liability management, secondary market sales, and counseling leadership on fiscal control and efficiency of operations. His new role also includes leadership of credit administration, which includes underwriting, collections and special services.

Kirsten Simmons was promoted to SVP of people development. In her new role, Simmons is responsible for learning and development, human resources, process improvement, quality assurance, OCCU’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program, and overseeing organizational programming that drives OCCU’s member-centric,  people-first culture. She is certified by Cornell University in DEI.

Chris Whittaker was promoted to SVP of indirect lending. In his new role, he oversees all facets of the indirect lending cycle with a focus on diligent management of loan volume growth, member experience and operational excellence.

Rich Black was promoted to vice president of indirect lending business development. In his new role, Black leads the development of unique lending opportunities and partnerships aligned with strategic growth objectives and emerging and future needs of the indirect lending market.

Chelsy McNeil was promoted to director of digital experience. In her new role, she is responsible for developing delivery strategies, improving user experience, driving innovation and leading initiatives related to OCCU’s digital channels, tools, products and services, including digital banking and associated solutions.

EAST

The $343 million, Fairhaven, Mass.-based Alltrust Credit Union hired Gerald “Jerry” Rego as vice president of business banking and commercial loan officer. Rego brings over 20 years of commercial lending experience, having previously worked with large and small businesses throughout the community. His most recent role was vice president, senior commercial loan officer at Bristol County Savings Bank. He serves on the advisory board for the Salvation Army of Fall River in Fall River, Mass., and is a mentor for the EforAll of the South Coast in New Bedford, Mass.

The $156.5 billion, Vienna, Va.-based Navy Federal Credit Union promoted Dottie Day to vice president of Winchester and contact center operations. Day succeeds Susan Brooks, who retired after a 30-year career at Navy Federal. Day, a U.S. Navy Veteran and military spouse, most recently served as assistant vice president of workplace transformation. She began her career at Navy Federal in 2005 at the Oceana Branch in Virginia Beach, Va., and later led a variety of teams in branch operations and served as regional manager.

MIDWEST

The $5.1 billion, Neenah, Wis.-based Community First Credit Union hired Ryan Johanek as vice president business lending. Johanek brings nearly 19 years of banking experience, including 16 years in business banking. In his new role, he will expand Community First’s business lending efforts in the Green Bay, Wis., market, working with locally-owned businesses based out of the Bellevue, Wis., branch.

The $133 million Hopewell Federal Credit Union in Heath, Ohio hired Audra E. Johns as marketing and business development director. Johns previously worked at the Cleveland Clinic on the content growth team, where her focus was email marketing. She joins HFCU full time after working for the credit union part time as a business development representative.

SOUTH

The $1.9 billion, Indian Land, S.C.-based Sharonview Federal Credit Union announced two promotions.

David Brand was promoted to chief lending officer. In his new role, Brand will serve on the executive leadership team and be responsible for overseeing and implementing lending strategies that support Sharonview’s mission. Additionally, he will develop and lead teams to manage lending operations, which include mortgage lending, consumer and business lending, and loan servicing. Brand joined Sharonview in 2018 as vice president of consumer lending, and in 2021, he was promoted to SVP of lending operations. He has more than 20 years of financial services and leadership experience. Prior to joining Sharonview, Brand served in financial services roles that included oversight of teams responsible for mortgage, member business loan origination and indirect lending.

Shaundra Warren was promoted to chief risk officer. In her new role, Warren will continue to serve on the executive leadership team, holding responsibility for ensuring effective and efficient governance of Sharonview’s enterprise risk. Additionally, she will be responsible for enabling business strategic planning across the organization. Warren joined Sharonview in 2016 as assistant vice president of loss mitigation and most recently served as SVP of enterprise risk and organization change management, a position she was promoted to in 2021.

Steve Franke, chief financial planning officer for the $2.1 billion, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Allegacy Federal Credit Union, was named one of the five top directors in mid-sized investment firms from Kehrer Bielan Research and Consulting for his work with Allegacy Investment Group, the credit union’s financial planning group. Franke joined Allegacy in 2013 as program manager and was previously president of Franke Professional Services Inc. He is a Certified Financial Planner with Series 6, 7, 65 and 24 securities licenses through Allegacy’s broker-dealer, CUSO Financial Services, L.P. Franke’s past awards include program manager of the year in 2008 and honorable mention for program manager of the year in 2012 by Bank Investment Consultants Magazine. In 2016, he was ranked 42 by the same publication for his work with Allegacy. He serves on the executive advisory council with CUSO Financial Services, L.P., and is a member of the board of directors for BISA.

TRADES

CUNA hired Clement Abonyi Jr. as director of advocacy. In his new role, Abonyi will help manage the association’s relationships with Democrats on a variety of key advocacy issues. He previously served as chief of staff to House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and has also worked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, U.S. Treasury and House Financial Services Committee. Abonyi served as a day-one political appointee in the Biden Administration at the U.S. Treasury Department as special assistant in the Office of Legislative Affairs, where he managed relationships between Treasury and congressional offices, and played a role during the confirmation of Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyamo.

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