14 Credit Unions Hire, Promote & Honor

Source: BsWei/Shutterstock

EAST

Mark Silva

The $1.8 billion Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union in Lowell, Mass., announced one new hire and one promotion.

Mark Silva was hired as vice president – controller. Silva joins Jeanne D’Arc with over 38 years of financial management experience, having held various positions including vice president – accounting manager and CFO. In his new role, he will manage all general ledger systems, accounting modules and investment accounting safekeeping records.

Frank Sitnik

Frank Sitnik was promoted to assistant treasurer – retirement plans manager. Sitnik has been in the banking industry for more than 20 years and has spent the last two years at Jeanne D’Arc. In his previous role, he was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of a team in the member contact center. In his new role, Sitnik will be managing and developing the credit union’s retirement program, and will be responsible for advising members, growing Jeanne D’Arc’s current $100 million portfolio and training the member experience team on the program.

The $615 million ValleyStar Credit Union in Martinsville, Va., announced two promotions.

Denise Ratliff

Denise Ratliff was promoted to vice president of mortgage lending. In her new role, she will plan and oversee activities in the lending department while ensuring the implementation of effective policies for loan products and management. Ratliff joined ValleyStar in 2017 as a lending systems administrator and was later promoted to enterprise fraud manager. She began her career in mortgage lending in 2000 as a credit analyst and has more than 15 years of experience in the mortgage industry, having performed in various roles including origination, underwriting and leadership.

Stephanie Potter

Stephanie Potter was promoted to vice president of brand. In her new role, she will develop and execute the brand vision across all channels while aligning messages to target audiences and business objectives. Potter joined ValleyStar in 2016 as a marketing coordinator and has worked her way up from entry-level to senior management. Her accomplishments at ValleyStar have included using extensive data analysis and consumer behavior studies to create a data-driven marketing team that has been presented with numerous awards under her management, including a local Gold ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation.

MIDWEST

The $1.5 billion IU Credit Union in Bloomington, Ind., announced two new hires.

Scott Trilling

Scott Trilling was hired as vice president, business lending and will be located at IU’s Business Lending Center at 365 East Winslow Rd. in Bloomington. Trilling previously served as vice president, commercial relationship manager for First Financial Bank. He also served as vice president, business banking and vice president, treasury management for First Financial, as well as vice president, business banking and treasury management for Mainsource Bank. Trilling is currently an ambassador for the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington, where he previously served as operating and endowment board chair.

John Grossman

John Grossman was hired as vice president, business lending and will also be located at IU’s Business Lending Center in Bloomington. Grossman previously served as market president for First Financial Bank in Cincinnati. He also served as vice president/regional manager for Fifth Third Bank. Grossman previously served on the finance committee of the Ripley County Community Foundation in Batesville, Ind., the board of the Southeastern Indiana YMCA and the board of Margaret Mary Health in Batesville.

Alex Ablan

The $5.8 billion Veridian Credit Union in Waterloo, Iowa announced three promotions.

Alex Ablan was promoted to the position of branch manager for the new Veridian branch at 7529 Dodge St. in Omaha, Neb., which is scheduled to open later this spring. Ablan has worked at Veridian for four years and was previously the branch manager of the Veridian branch in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Emily Feagins

Emily Feagins was promoted to the position of mortgage loan originator. Feagins has worked at Veridian for 18 years and was previously the branch manager at the Veridian locations in Coralville and Iowa City, Iowa.

Tyler Roatch was promoted to the position of branch manager at the Veridian locations in Coralville and Iowa City. Roatch has worked at Veridian for five years and was previously a loan advisor. He also assists adults interested in homeownership as an instructor of Money Smart classes.

Tyler Roatch

Joel Shearrow

Corporate Central Credit Union ($3.1 billion, Muskego, Wis.) hired Joel Shearrow as relationship development officer. In his new role, Shearrow will proactively assess the financial climate and needs of credit unions in his assigned territory and suggest Corporate Central financial products and services accordingly. In addition, he will advise and schedule training, educational and informational opportunities for member and future member credit unions, and assist Corporate Central in the development of marketing strategies, business plans and sales objectives. Shearrow spent the first part of his career working in the capital markets and investment banking space. From there, he went to work for Milwaukee Tool, holding numerous roles in sales and marketing.

Bethany Dutcher

The $736 million, Midland, Mich.-based Members First Credit Union hired Bethany Dutcher to its leadership team as vice president of marketing. Dutcher has been in the credit union industry for over 20 years. She most recently served as vice president of marketing at Jolt Credit Union ($438 million, Saginaw, Mich.), where she led marketing and communication efforts and developed product road maps to enhance the member experiences.

The $3.7 billion, Chesterfield, Mo.-based First Community Credit Union promoted two employees.

Corey Hollander

Corey Hollander was promoted to vice president of member support. In his new role, Hollander will oversee the information center, online support and electronic services. He will also be responsible for the new video teller department that is scheduled to launch this year. Prior to this promotion, he served as assistant vice president – digital branch coordinator.

Donna Edie was promoted to assistant vice president of electronic services. In her new role, Edie will oversee the electronic services department, which processes all ACH, ATM and debit card operations. In her 35 years at First Community, she started the ATM department as a one-person operation, working up to her most recent position as manager of electronic services.

Donna Edie

SOUTH

Steven Happel

The $484 million, Harahan, La.-based OnPath Federal Credit Union hired Steven Happel as vice president of people and development. Happel was most recently a human resources manager for Results CX and has held similar positions in the health care industry, as well as with Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center. He holds an MBA and Senior Professional in Human Resources designation.

The $4.5 billion, Lake Jackson, Texas-based TDECU hired Jose Delgado as SVP, chief banking officer. In his new role, Delgado will contribute to the strategic planning and direction of the credit union, and will be responsible for first-line member services and the overall growth of TDECU’s core retail consumer banking. He brings almost 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, having most recently served as SVP of branch services for the $11.6 billion VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla. He also served as an executive at Golden 1 Credit Union ($18.3 billion, Sacramento), Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, among other financial institutions. He holds an MBA from Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo.

Jose Delgado

Drew Huckeba

SAFE Federal Credit Union ($1.5 billion, Sumter, S.C.) promoted Drew Huckeba to SVP and chief lending officer. Since joining SAFE in 2012, Huckeba has held several leadership roles including assistant vice president of branch operations, assistant vice president of mortgages and most recently, vice president of lending. He currently manages the credit union’s nearly $1 billion loan portfolio and has more than 10 years of experience in lending operations, portfolio management and project leadership.

Tyra Garcia

Tyra Garcia, business and community engagement partner for the $1.8 billion, Arlington, Texas-based Texas Trust Credit Union, was named to the board of directors of the Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce in Grand Prairie, Texas. Grand Prairie Chamber of Commerce Chairman Martin Caballero nominated Garcia to the board based on her community involvement and work supporting Grand Prairie businesses and civic and school leaders. As a board member serving a two-year term, Garcia will be a liaison to Grand Prairie businesses, working to strengthen and grow the city’s economic prosperity by supporting chamber programs and resources that assist local businesses. She will also co-chair the Branding Iron group, whose members preside over ribbon cuttings and serve as ambassadors at chamber events.

Joe Newberry (Photo credit: Neville Simpson, Huntsville/Madison County Chamber)

Joe Newberry, president/CEO of the $8 billion, Huntsville, Ala.-based Redstone Federal Credit Union, received the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber’s Distinguished Service Award for his many years of service to the community. The annual award is the chamber’s highest honor and is presented to a deserving community leader by the outgoing chair of the chamber’s board of directors. Newberry is a past Huntsville/Madison County Chamber board chair and has led Redstone since 2008.

The $964 million, Miramar, Fla.-based Tropical Financial Credit Union hired Kara Yaquinta as marketing manager. In her new role, she is responsible for supporting Tropical Financial’s digital growth, working closely to educate teams on how to use various marketing platforms and helping to optimize and expand automation efforts throughout the organization to enhance the overall member experience. Yaquinta previously worked at Tropical Financial for more than four years prior to leaving this past fall to serve as a marketing automation specialist for PSECU ($8 billion, Harrisburg, Pa.). In her previous tenure with Tropical Financial, she served as digital content/social media strategist followed by digital growth strategist. She was also named a Credit Union Rock Star in 2021 by CUNA.

Kara Yaquinta

Sidney Henderson

The $952 million Greater Texas Credit Union in Austin hired Sidney Henderson as vice president of marketing. Henderson brings 12 years of credit union industry experience growing membership and increasing the usage of products and services through data intelligence and strategic marketing initiatives. In her new role, she orchestrates the marketing and public relations strategy for members of Greater Texas and its subsidiary, Aggieland Credit Union. In addition, she oversees the branding initiatives for both entities and is responsible for driving growth of the credit union’s products and services, which includes building and strengthening the credit union’s strategic relationships with Texas A&M University and Texas State University. Henderson began her credit union career at a PenFed Credit Union ($32.5 billion, Tysons, Va.) location in Killeen, Texas and has held senior level marketing positions at Texas Trust Credit Union and the $151 million Chocolate Bayou Credit Union in Alvin, Texas.

Please send your People news items to Natasha Chilingerian at [email protected]