10 CU Professionals Celebrate Career Milestones

WEST

The $3.3 billion, Eugene, Ore.-based OCCU promoted Cheleana Stafflund to vice president of retail operations. In her new role, she will oversee all OCCU branches, deposit operations and investment services. In addition, she will ensure that OCCU’s member-facing operations meet organizational, financial, security, service and growth benchmarks. Stafflund joined OCCU in 2022 as a regional manager. She has a decade of regional operations management experience in the financial sector, including as a vice president at Columbia Bank. Stafflund is also a graduate of Leadership Eugene Springfield.

EAST

The $261 million, Madawaska, Maine-based NorState Federal Credit Union promoted Robin Charette to chief credit officer. Charette has been with NorState for nearly two decades and most recently served as vice president commercial services. In her new role, she will lead all lending operations, overseeing all aspects of lending including risk management and member relationships.

Timothy L. Anderson, president/CEO for United States Senate Federal Credit Union ($1.6 billion, Alexandria, Va.), was named one of “The Most Influential CEOs Making a Difference for 2024” in the May 2024 issue of business magazine CIO Views. Anderson served as EVP and chief retail officer for USSFCU prior to assuming the role of president/CEO in 2019. He also served on the USSFCU Board of Directors for over 15 years in various capacities, including as chairman. He began his career with USSFCU as branch manager of the flagship Hart Senate location. In 2023, Anderson earned a spot in the African American Credit Union Coalition Hall of Fame.

The Board of Directors for the $1.6 billion, Pittsfield, Mass.-based Greylock Federal Credit Union voted unanimously to appoint Anthony Rinaldi as director emeritus. Individuals who are appointed directors emeriti function as an advisory committee to the Board of Directors, and Rinaldi’s designation reflects a two-year term. Rinaldi joined the board in 1994 and served as chairman for five years. He most recently served as chair on the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO) and Compensation committee. Rinaldi recently retired from his role as EVP of Fairview Hospital for Berkshire Health Systems in Great Barrington, Mass.

MIDWEST

The $1 billion, Lansing, Mich.-based LAFCU announced three new hires.

David Ostrowski was hired as enterprise project manager. In his new role, Ostrowski is responsible for overseeing the overall direction, implementation, execution, control and project management of enterprise-wide projects. He most recently worked for global human capital management software company Ceridian HCM Inc., where he advanced three times over a 10-year span, starting as a senior business systems analyst and finishing as the senior delivery manager implementation operations, global consulting practices. Prior to Ceridian, he served at organizations such as Health Plan Services, Inc., Citi Group Inc., Global Strategic Connections LLC, SG Capital Group LLC and Huntington Management LLC. Ostrowski holds an MBA with a focus on finance and information systems management from Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Business in Detroit, Mich. He has attained several certifications including the Professional of Human Resources certification, Certified SAFe 5 Product Owner/Product Manager, ITIL Foundations Certification v4 and Scrum Master certification.

Zach Emerson was hired as a mortgage loan officer. In his new role, Emerson will be actively growing LAFCU’s mortgage portfolio through strategic activities, including networking, hosting seminars, and developing and maintaining relationships with area professionals. Prior to joining LAFCU, he worked as an electronic enrollment analyst for Delta Dental of Michigan.

Brook Jones was hired as a commercial loan officer. In his new role, Jones assists current and potential LAFCU members with their lending needs by providing a comprehensive range of products and overseeing loan applications to ensure a seamless and reliable lending experience for all borrowers. Prior to joining LAFCU, he served as an assistant vice president of business banking at PNC Bank in Lansing. He also worked at Bank of America N.A. as a mortgage loan officer and small business relationship manager.

SOUTH

The $4.4 billion, Warner Robins, Ga.-based Robins Financial Credit Union promoted Rose Fulton to branch manager of the Hartley Bridge location in Macon, Ga. In her new role, Fulton will be responsible for overseeing daily operations, managing a team and ensuring that members receive the highest level of service. Fulton has been with the credit union for nine years. She started as a member service representative and then became assistant manager of the credit union’s Log Cabin branch in Macon, a position she would serve in for five years. She has earned several awards including the $4 Million Dollar Club award for 2016 and 2017, Employee of the Year in 2016 and Star Leader in the third quarter of 2023.

Cindy Watson, assistant vice president of branch delivery for the $4.4 billion, Tullahoma, Tenn.-based Ascend Federal Credit Union, retired on May 24 after more than 30 years of service. Hired by Ascend in 1993, Watson was promoted to assistant vice president of branch delivery in 2017. During her tenure with the credit union, she held a variety of different roles including loan officer, manager of records retention and assistant vice president of member services. In her most recent position, Watson’s primary duties concentrated on optimizing daily branch functions and successes. She was also responsible for effectively providing leadership through being a positive role model, coaching team members and providing ongoing communication to branch managers. In addition, Watson played an important role in the successful rollout of several strategic initiatives including the implementation of the credit union’s call center, indirect lending program and consumer lending department. Watson was a finalist for the Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce’s Women Impacting the Community Award, which recognizes local women making a difference in the areas of business, education, community service and lifetime achievement, in 2022.

The $2.9 billion, Tampa, Fla.-based GTE Financial promoted Julie Smith from internal auditing manager to assistant vice president of internal auditing within the Assurance and Consulting Services Department. Smith joined GTE Financial nearly 10 years ago as a senior internal auditor and quickly worked her way up to manager. In her new role, she will conduct audits of various credit union departments and processes to determine the credit union’s exposure to risk, the level of compliance with regulatory requirements, adherence to company policies and procedures, the effectiveness and efficiency of internal control procedures, the accuracy and completeness of financial records, and more.

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