6 Credit Unions, 2 CUSOs Unveil Career Advancement News

EAST

Candice Richards, regional membership development manager for PSECU ($8 billion, Harrisburg, Pa.), was named a Women of Influence by Lehigh Valley Business. The Women of Influence awards honor high-achieving women for their career accomplishments; honorees are selected based on their professional experience, community involvement and commitment to mentoring. In her role at PSECU, Richards has oversight of the six PSECU Financial Education Centers on university campuses in the region as well as PSECU Select Employee Groups. The winners will be honored at a celebration on May 10 at DeSales University’s University Center in Center Valley, Pa.

The $303 million, Washington, D.C.-based Interior Federal Credit Union promoted Kimberly McCallum to SVP. McCallum has spent the last 10 years as the credit union’s vice president of human resources and marketing, as well as serves as the credit union’s DEI champion, having been part of the first cohort completing the Georgetown University Certificate in Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace. She holds a master’s of science in applied behavioral science from Johns Hopkins University and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional.

Rachael Williams, business development manager for the $679 million, Martinsville, Va.-based ValleyStar Credit Union, was selected to be a member of the Virginia Credit Union League’s Financial Well-being for All Committee to address financial participation, education and inclusion for the communities ValleyStar serves. The committee aims to aid credit unions in living the “Credit Union Difference” through initiatives and programs designed to improve financial outcomes. The committee will also leverage its initiatives and knowledge gained from credit unions to advocate for the industry, and educate policymakers about the credit union’s efforts to improve the financial well-being of the communities it serves.

Leominster Credit Union ($884 million, Leominster, Mass.) announced nine promotions.

Mychelle Phillips was promoted to SVP operations and technology. Phillips joined Leominster in 2003 as manager of the deposit operations department. Since that time, she has progressed to the senior management team, serving in roles within operations, IT and the member service center. She holds an Accredited ACH Professional certification.

Ellen Coughlin was promoted to SVP human resources and development. Coughlin joined Leominster in 2003 as a teller, progressing into the loan servicing area and then moving into HR in 2004. Since then, within the HR and development areas, she has led performance management, benefits and compensation, training and development, recruitment/organizational development and HRIS functions. She earned a master’s degree in HR from Emmanuel College in Boston and completed her PHR and SHRM-CP certifications.

Matt Dufault was promoted to vice president mortgages. Dufault was hired in 2015 as assistant vice president mortgage origination and sales. He transitioned to assistant vice president retail lending sales in 2019, and was promoted to assistant vice president real estate lending in 2020. He has over 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry.

Joanne Lattanzi was promoted to vice president marketing. Lattanzi joined Leominster in 2011 as a marketing administrator. She was promoted to marketing manager in 2013 and then to assistant vice president marketing in 2016. Lattanzi has over 25 years of marketing experience within the credit union and banking industry, attended the ABA School of Bank Marketing and Management and is a Certified Financial Marketing Professional.

Daisy Casiano was promoted to assistant vice president branch manager. Casiano started her banking career at Leominster in 1998 as a teller at the Main Office. After several years, she left the credit union to relocate, and later returned in 2014 as the assistant branch manager at the West Boylston Street Branch in Worcester, Mass. She was promoted to branch manager at the Shrewsbury Street Branch in Worcester in March 2020, transferred back to the West Boylston Street Branch as branch manager in October 2020 and then to the Main Office in 2022.

Kristen DiMeco was promoted to assistant vice president human resources business partner. DiMeco was hired in 2017 as the branch manager at the Clinton Branch in Clinton, Mass. After working in the retail side of banking for more than 15 years, she transitioned to HR in 2021. She became a Certified Professional in Human Resources through the Society for Human Resources Management in 2022.

Brittany Haley was promoted to assistant vice president financial education. Haley was hired in 2014 as a senior teller at the Main Office. She was promoted to the Clinton High School Branch supervisor in 2016 and then to high school branch program and financial education manager in 2021. Haley is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance.

Jason England was promoted to retail operations manager. England was hired as the branch operations administrator at the Main Office in 2019. He transferred to the West Boylston Street Branch in early 2020 and was then promoted to retail operations specialist in late 2020. England has over 10 years of banking experience.

Jaime Tomer was promoted to learning and development manager. Tomer was hired in 2013 as the teller supervisor at the West Boylston Street Branch and transferred to the Main Office in 2014. She was promoted to training specialist in 2017 and then to senior training specialist in 2020. Tomer has more than 15 years of banking experience.

MIDWEST

Royal Credit Union ($4.5 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.) hired Jay Brettingen as vice president commercial loan officer. In his new role, Brettingen will be responsible for developing business relationships and delivering financial expertise with client-centric solutions to business members. He brings over 30 years of business banking experience to Royal, and was previously a board member for Feed My People Food Bank and the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic.

SOUTH

The $2.5 billion South Carolina Federal Credit Union in North Charleston hired Charlis Wright as an investment advisor for South Carolina Federal Investment Solutions, which the credit union makes available through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. In her new role, Wright will serve clients in the Columbia, S.C., area, providing strategic financial management solutions to clients interested in planning for retirement, building wealth, transferring assets to future generations and more. Previously, she worked for Edward Jones Investments as a financial advisor. She holds Series 7 and 66 licenses and an insurance license to sell Life, Accident, and Heath, as well as Property and Casualty, and is president of the Ridge View High School Parent Teacher Student Organization in Columbia.

CUSOS

Members Development Company (MDC), a research and development CUSO in Kansas City, Mo., announced four appointments to its board of directors.

Kevin Johnson, who previously served as vice chair for the MDC board, was elected chairman of the board. Johnson is president/CEO for Suncoast Credit Union ($15.7 billion, Tampa, Fla.). He also serves on the boards of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, the Southeastern Credit Union Foundation and CUNA Mutual Group, among several other organizations. Johnson is a CUNA-certified credit union executive.

James Nastars, who previously served as secretary/treasurer for the MDC board, was elected vice chair. Nastars is president/CEO for Meritrust Credit Union ($1.8 billion, Wichita, Kan.) and brings more than 30 years of credit union and banking experience. He serves on the boards of Meritrust Technology Strategies, LLC, Custom Financial Resource, LLC, CU NextGen, Kansas Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Support for Catholic Schools, LLC and the Greater Wichita Partnership’s leadership council. Nastars holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

April Clobes, who previously served as an MDC board member, was elected secretary/treasurer.  Clobes serves as president/CEO of Michigan State University Federal Credit Union ($7.2 billion, East Lansing, Mich.) and has been with the credit union for 27 years. She serves on the boards of several organizations, including Lansing Economic Area Partnership, MSU College of Music National Leadership Council, Michigan Humanities Council and Filene Research Institute. Clobes has also earned several distinctions, including Top Woman to Watch and a LUMINARIES award by CU Times, the ATHENA award from Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and multiple leadership awards by the Detroit Free Press. She holds a master of arts from Michigan State University and an MBA from Western Michigan University.

Brenda Worrell was newly-elected to the MDC board as a director. Worrell is president/CEO for Idaho Central Credit Union ($9.7 billion, Chubbuck, Idaho). She serves on the board of the Curql Collective, the Northwest Credit Union Regulatory Affairs Committee, the Idaho Credit Union Governmental Affairs Committee and Southeast Idaho Parade of Homes Committee. A certified public accountant, Worrell holds an MBA from Idaho State University, and is an Excellence in Finance award winner and CUES-Certified Credit Union Executive.

SwitchThink Solutions, a Phoenix-based IT services CUSO formed in partnership with Corelation, announced one retirement and one promotion.

Anne Stauch, vice president, account management, will retire on March 31 following a 39-year professional credit union career. Stauch began her career in a credit union customer support position with CunaData. She advanced into product management with CunaData, which was acquired by EDS and later by Fiserv. She joined SwitchThink in 2019, establishing the account management function for the start-up CUSO.

Jeff Givens was promoted to Stauch’s position and will assume responsibility for her client services team. He most recently served as vice president, sales.

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