Leadership Roles Filled at Naveo CU, Truliant FCU & SRP FCU

EAST

Naveo Credit Union ($170 million, Somerville, Mass.) hired Karen Yee as SVP, chief lending officer. Yee brings extensive risk and compliance experience in financial services, and succeeds senior lender and SVP of lending Albert Pinho, who will retire in March. She most recently served as chief credit officer at 42 North Private Bank. Before that, she served in various roles within the lending and credit environment, including SVP, director of default management, corporate credit; SVP, consumer lending partnerships and business controls director, business banking. She has also taught as an adjunct professor at Quincy College in Quincy, Mass., for over 10 years. In her new role, Yee will plan and organize the daily activities of the credit union’s lending and business development efforts. She teaches financial literacy through the United Way, holds an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston and earned a project management certification from Boston University.

MIDWEST

Jennifer McHugh, vice president of community engagement for Royal Credit Union, received the Volunteer of the Year Award at Eau What a Night: The Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce’s 109th Annual Meeting. McHugh has served on the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) Governmental Affairs Committee since 2016 and has been the chair since 2019.

SOUTH

The $5.1 billion, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Truliant Federal Credit Union hired Billy Baker into the newly-created role of vice president of facilities and security. In his new position, Baker is responsible for security, management and oversight of general services, construction, facilities and maintenance. He will oversee site maintenance and Truliant’s real estate portfolio. Baker brings a wealth of experience and expertise in corporate real estate and security. He most recently spent more than two decades at Capital One in Richmond, Va., where he held various leadership positions, most recently chief security officer and leader of its Enterprise Safety and Security Team.

The $1.6 billion, North Augusta, S.C.-based SRP Federal Credit Union hired Shana Reid as chief development officer. In her new role, she will primarily be responsible for the direction, management and performance of the community development, marketing, human resources, and employee learning and development departments, in accordance with SRP’s overall business plan and strategic direction. Reid previously served as vice president of community college operations for Georgia Military College. She has also served as vice president of operations and as a regional manager for other organizations, and holds an executive MBA from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.

The $4.9 billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based Coastal Credit Union promoted Ewelina Caplap to program manager of Coastal Wealth Management, available through CUSO Financial Services. In her new role, Caplap will oversee the management of Coastal’s program, which covers investments, insurance, financial planning, trusts and estate planning. Caplap has 20 years of financial services experience, primarily in investments, insurance and operations, and has been with Coastal since 2015. She holds an MBA from Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pa.

TRADES

The National Credit Union Foundation confirmed four new members of its volunteer Board of Directors and reappointed four others during its annual meeting. Two final seats held by America’s Credit Unions remain vacant until the appointees can be named at a later date.

Enrique Delgadillo, president/CEO of BALANCE, was appointed to the board.

Juan Fernandez, president/CEO of the Louisiana Credit Union League, was appointed to the board.

David Sweitzer, chief experience officer of TruStage, was appointed to the board.

Jenny Vipperman, president/CEO of ORNL Federal Credit Union ($3.6 billion, Oak Ridge, Tenn.), was appointed to the board.

Robert Cashman, president/CEO of Metro Credit Union ($3.4 billion, Chelsea, Mass.) was appointed to another term on the board.

Christine Cordell, SVP/chief project and learning officer of Blaze Credit Union ($2.1 billion, Falcon Heights, Minn.) was appointed to another term on the board.

John Sackett, director of Royal Credit Union ($5.1 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.) was appointed to another term on the board.

Debbie Smith, president/CEO of Georgia United Credit Union ($2.1 billion, Duluth, Ga.), was appointed to another term on the board.

LEAGUES

Cornerstone League, the association representing credit unions in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, hired Cara Tharp as executive director for the Arkansas Credit Union Association, the League’s political division in Little Rock, Ark., effective Feb. 5. She succeeds Vicky Salkeld Dahinden, who retired in December 2023. From 2014 to 2024, Tharp was the program manager for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. In addition, she was a member of the Occupational Licensing Advisory Group from 2018 to 2021, and served as chair of the Survey and Information Committee.

VENDORS

ALM First Executive Benefits, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ALM First in Dallas, Texas, hired Shirley H. McMillan as director, executive benefits. McMillan brings over 20 years of experience in executive compensation, benefits consulting, strategic planning, operations and partner relationship development. She most recently served as COO for a wealth management firm. McMillan also held various positions with executive benefits firms M Benefit Solutions and Executive Compensation Institute (ECI Companies), including as SVP and COO for M Benefit Solutions.

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