9 Credit Unions, CUSOs & Vendors Unveil Career Moves

EAST

The $254 million, Madawaska, Maine-based NorState Federal Credit Union announced two promotions and two position changes.

Hannah Cummings was promoted to Ashland Branch Manager in Ashland, Maine. Cummings was hired in October 2021 as a member service advisor, and since July 2022, she has held the position of marketing assistant. In her new role, she will be responsible for the in-branch, day-to-day activities assisting members and future members of the Ashland area.

Danielle Hebert was promoted to director of community engagement. Hebert joined NorState in 2016, and since then she has held various positions including member service advisor, marketing coordinator, consumer loan originator and most recently marketing director. In her new role, she will be responsible for strengthening the credit union’s community engagement and relationships with community partners as well as overseeing the financial literacy programs, social responsibility initiatives and charitable giving programs.

Mark Johnson was named chief experience officer, SVP of strategy and performance. In his new role, Johnson will seamlessly integrate the responsibilities of both positions, ensuring a cohesive and strategic approach to enhancing the member experience, the employee experience and overall organizational performance. He was hired in November 2023 and has decades of data-driven and people-centric management experience.

John Young was named director of organizational development. Young joined NorState in 2020 and has held various positions, most recently director of learning and development. In his new role, Young will be responsible for optimizing organizational processes, identifying opportunities for efficiency and ongoing expense management plans through the collection and management of data, as well as day to day observations and assessment of current back-office and frontline processes.

The $584 million, Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union appointed Steven Hernández, Esq., to serve as a director on its Board of Directors and as its 2Gen Committee chairman. He previously served as an advisory board member for the credit union. In his new role, Hernández will help guide the credit union in achieving its mission, with a focus on implementing the 2Gen strategy developed by the Aspen Institute, an education and policy studies organization, to help families meet the needs of vulnerable children and build wealth that transcends generations.

Hernández is the executive director of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), an education advocacy organization. He previously served as executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity; on the Connecticut State Legislature as director of public policy and research for the Connecticut Commission on Children; and as the legislative and budget director at the Council of the District of Columbia in the office of Washington, D.C., Council member Jim Graham. He also served as a clerk in the District’s Court of Appeals and as a consultant to the Washington law firm Baker & Miller, PLLC. Hernández holds a Juris Doctorate from the Washington College of Law at American University.

Lisa C. McGuinness, the first female chair of the board at Ocean Financial Federal Credit Union ($359 million, Oceanside, N.Y.) and alumna of Sacred Heart Academy (SHA), was one of the graduates honored at Sacred Heart’s Leadership Awards Dinner in Hempstead, N.Y., on March 22. McGuinness was recognized for her leadership in the information technology industry for more than two decades. She graduated from SHA in 1977 and began her career at Dime Savings Bank, where she assisted in the programming of its first ATM Machines. She later held executive leadership roles at Estée Lauder, Avon and Cole Haan. At Ocean Financial, McGuinness has been a part of the Board of Directors for approximately seven years, first as a volunteer for the Supervisory Committee then as a board director starting in 2019.

The $1.6 billion, Pittsfield, Mass.-based Greylock Federal Credit Union promoted Chris Barry to assistant vice president, business banking officer. In his new role, Barry will service existing and new business members, work on business development, originate commercial loans, and help to create and manage new products, services and classes to serve the community. He joined Greylock as a commercial credit analyst in 2006.

MIDWEST

Verve, A Credit Union ($1.4 billion, Oshkosh, Wis.) hired Mitch Kime as chief growth officer. Kime brings 30 years of experience as a financial executive across sales, marketing, operations, credit risk and product line leadership. He most recently served in various executive positions at KeyBank. Kime also previously served in senior-level roles at Capital One, PNC and National City Bank. He is a graduate of the CBA Graduate School of Retail Bank Management.

SOUTH

Dustin Jacobs, vice president of marketing at the $830 million, Hollywood, Fla.-based BrightStar Credit Union, was appointed to the board of directors at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., arts incubator ArtServe. Jacobs has over two decades of experience as a senior-level marketing leader at various companies in South Florida. As part of the Board, he will help provide guidance for ArtServe as it embarks on a five-year strategic plan with The Devos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland.

CUSOS

CU Healthcare PayCard, a Plano, Texas-based CUSO focused on bringing together payment and health care ecosystems, appointed John Ainsworth to its Board of Directors. Ainsworth is currently president/CEO of Bonifii, a CUSO focused on delivering innovative applications on a global distributed ledger platform for credit unions. He has more than 30 years of experience as an executive with major financial organizations. Prior to Bonifii, Ainsworth served as EVP of North American markets at MasterCard Worldwide, managing the independent bank and credit union segments. Prior to that, Ainsworth was Mastercard’s SVP of global accounts.

VENDORS

Baker Hill, a Carmel, Ind.-based provider of loan origination and risk management solutions for banks and credit unions, hired Sheila Simpson as chief human resources officer. Simpson brings over two decades of professional experience in HR. In her new role, she is responsible for creating progressive employee experience, talent and leadership development programs while optimizing HR policies and processes, which will support Baker Hill’s current growth trajectory. She is also focused on providing the necessary strategic and operational HR to support cross-functional teams that drive results for Baker Hill and its financial institution clients. Most recently, Simpson served as chief HR officer for Intelinair. Before that, she served as the managing director of HR at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Allied Payment Network, Inc., a provider of online and mobile money movement solutions to banks and credit unions, hired Arlington Wade as vice president of sales for its West region. Wade brings experience in the digital payment sector and business development. His career has been singularly focused on the fintech industry, having worked exclusively for providers that partner with community banks and credit unions. His accomplishments include being the top sales representative for Security Card Services (acquired by First Data, then Fiserv). He also served at national credit card and payments processing company Ironwood, where he managed a sales team, oversaw onsite conversions and was the top performer in new bank relationships. He was awarded the Electronic Transactions Association Payment Professional designation in 2020.

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