Source: BsWei/Shutterstock
WEST
Larry Abolaji The $316 million, Visalia, Calif.-based Tucoemas Federal Credit Union hired Larry Abolaji as vice president of lending. Abolaji brings over 17 years of experience in the financial industry, having most recently served as vice president of consumer lending at Rogue Credit Union ($3.1 billion, Medford, Ore.). Before that, he served as vice president of loan servicing and asset recovery at the $1.4 billion CFCU Community Credit Union in Ithaca, N.Y. He also managed corporate trust operations at BNY Mellon in East Syracuse, N.Y., from 2006 to 2015. In his new role, Abolaji will play a pivotal role in driving impactful changes and elevating the institution's work as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Minority Depository Institution (MDI). He will apply his strategic vision and expertise to guide efforts to expand access to credit, particularly for underserved and marginalized communities. Abolaji holds a graduate-level certificate in leadership from Michigan State University and a Project Management Certification from DePaul University in Chicago. In addition, he participated in the leadership development program with the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C., and served on the boards of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and GO Foundation, both located in Ithaca.
MIDWEST
Emily Walton The $4.7 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.-based Royal Credit Union announced one promotion and two board appointments.
Emily Walton was promoted to digital experience manager. In her new role, Walton is responsible for leading the digital experience team to create and implement strategies designed to improve the digital experience, satisfaction and conversion. She joined Royal in 2009 and has since held several positions including business analyst, deposit operations coordinator, business process analyst and most recently business process improvement manager. Walton is a member of Royal's Toastmasters, Community Giveback Day planning and Rock the Riverfront race committees.
Nancy Beltz Nancy Beltz was reelected to a three-year term on Royal's board at the credit union's 59th Annual Meeting on April 25. Beltz was first elected to Royal's board of directors in 1999 and currently serves on the credit union's finance committee. She is a past chair of the audit committee.
Tom Huffcutt was also reelected to a three-year term on Royal's board. Huffcutt has served on the board since 2013. He currently serves as chairperson of Royal's board of directors and the compensation/governance and political action committees. Previously, he served on the finance and audit committees. Huffcutt also served on Royal's nominating committee for four years.
Tom Huffcutt SOUTH
Ian Beirnes The $2.1 billion, Richardson, Texas-based Texans Credit Union hired Ian Beirnes as vice president of IT systems. In his new role, Beirnes will be responsible for managing the credit union's technology infrastructure and operations department. He previously served in an IT leadership role at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond from 2010 to 2022, and as the director of IT infrastructure and offshore operations for Hewlett-Packard from 1995 to 2010. Beirnes attended Stanford University's Executive Digital Transformation Strategy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Professional Cloud and DevOps programs, and holds certifications in Amazon Web Services, Google, Hashicorp, Pink Elephant and Microsoft.
LEAGUES
Montana's Credit Unions recognized three professionals at its annual Power Up conference last month.
Darci Parsons with the $76.4 million, Hamilton, Mont.-based Ravalli County Credit Union was recognized as the Steve King Professional of the Year.
Darci Parsons Kyle Elliott with the $2.2 billion, Whitefish, Mont.-based Whitefish Credit Union was recognized as the Young Professional of the Year.
Kyle Elliott Lyle Phillips, also with Whitefish, was named the Mitch Reed Volunteer of the Year. All three individuals were recognized for demonstrating leadership beyond their own credit unions, maintaining unrelenting dedication to the credit union principles, and serving as mentors in their credit unions and communities.
Lyle Phillips Cameron Newfarmer, project manager for the $2 billion, Arlington, Texas-based Texas Trust Credit Union, was chosen as the 2023 Young Professional of the Year by the Cornerstone League. Newfarmer serves as chair of the credit union's Community Unity team, which oversees employee-led community outreach activities, and serves on the board of the Texas Trust Gives Foundation. In addition, he serves as a Young Professional Advisor to help strengthen development and networking opportunities for younger credit union employees, earned the designation of Credit Union Development Educator, and has been tapped by the Cornerstone League to present and share at various workshops and its annual Leadership Academy. Newfarmer is a graduate of the Southwest CUNA Management School and recipient of the program's Award of Excellence. He is also a board member of the school's alumni association.
Cameron Newfarmer Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at [email protected].
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
