CommunityAmerica Builds St. Louis Presence With Hiring of New President

MIDWEST

Bridget Petersen, assistant vice president of strategic partnerships for the $4.2 billion, Falcon Heights, Minn.-based Blaze Credit Union, was appointed to the Cooperative Network’s Board of Directors. The Cooperative Network is the only organization solely focused on advocating for cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The nine-person board of directors helps guide future activities and priorities of the organization as representatives of the cooperative members throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. In her role at Blaze, Petersen is instrumental in all mergers and is currently working with the full integration team on the final stages of the merger of Hiway and SPIRE Credit Unions, now rebranded as Blaze. Her career has included 20 years in human resources and training, marketing and operations. Petersen was previously honored with the 2019 Credit Union Builder Award by the Minnesota Credit Union Network.

The $5.3 billion, Lenexa, Kan.-based CommunityAmerica Credit Union hired Kathy O’Neill as president of its St. Louis, Mo., region. In her new role, O’Neill will lead the credit union’s ongoing expansion in the market, including oversight of retail banking operations in St. Louis, as well as local civic, community engagement and philanthropic endeavors. Most recently, she served as COO at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She also served as a national leader of the Federal Reserve’s Treasury Business Line and took on the role of interim president from July 2023 until April 2024. O’Neill spent a total of over 35 years in various leadership roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Fed System. In addition, she is an executive member of the St. Louis Anchor Action Network, serves on the Chairman’s Executive Council of Greater St. Louis, Inc. and serves on the Board of Trustees for Webster University. She also was recently named one of St. Louis’ Most Influential Business Women by the St. Louis Business Journal.

TRADES

America’s Credit Union Museum in Manchester, N.H., announced the 2024 inductees to its “Credit Union Women Making History: Herstory” exhibit. The Museum will hold its annual induction ceremony on Sept. 26, 2024. The inductees are:

Donna Bland, president/CEO, Golden 1 Credit Union ($19.3 billion, Sacramento, Calif.).

Crystal Long, president/CEO, GECU ($4.3 billion, El Paso, Texas).

Judy McCartney, retired president/CEO, Orange County’s Credit Union ($2.7 billion, Santa Ana, Calif.).

Tansley Stearns, president/CEO, Community Financial Credit Union ($1.6 billion, Plymouth, Mich.).

Joanne Todd, president, Northeast Family Federal Credit Union ($102 million, Manchester, Conn.).

Patsy Van Ouwerkerk, retired president/CEO, Travis Credit Union ($5.1 billion, Vacaville, Calif.).

Caroline Willard, president/CEO, Cornerstone League.

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