13 CEOs launch Credit Union Women’s Leadership Alliance

Thirteen female credit union CEOs from across the country have joined forces to form the Credit Union Women’s Leadership Alliance.

All 13 leaders represent institutions with assets of $300 million or less, and the group aims to share best practices, foster collaboration, offer opportunities for mentorship and more. Women hold slightly more than half of all leadership positions in the industry, according to a 2018 report from the Credit Union National Association. But women are overwhelmingly likely to run smaller institutions, which are frequently candidates to be merged into larger CUs. Only a few credit unions over $1 billion of assets have a female chief executive.

The group can be seen in part as a domestic version of the Global Women’s Leadership Network, which aims to advance women in the credit union movement across the globe. That group recently announced new leadership, as well.

Lily Newfarmer, CEO of Fort Worth-based Tarrant County’s Credit Union and chair of the CUWLA board, noted in a press release announcing the group’s formation that support systems can be key to sustainability for smaller credit unions, which face similar compliance and margin-management challenges to larger institutions but must face those issues with fewer resources and smaller staffs.

“By creating a support system such as CUWLA, women who run smaller credit unions will not only have opportunities to grow on a personal and professional level but also have the needed tools to help them grow their credit unions and better serve their members,” Newfarmer said in the release, which was distributed by the Cornerstone Credit Union Association, a multi-state league serving CUs in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Tammy Passafiume, CEO of Diamond Lakes FCU in Hot Springs, Ark., called the group “a way for us to build a safe community of women CEOs who are dedicated to the credit union movement and want to see small credit unions thrive.”

The 13 founders of the Credit Union Women’s Leadership Alliance are:

• Lily Newfarmer – Tarrant County’s CU, Fort Worth, Texas
• Linda Bodie – Element FCU, Charleston, W.Va.
• Amy Brodersen – Family Focus FCU, Omaha, Neb.
• Debi Keesee – Spokane Media FCU, Spokane, Wash.
• Maria Martinez – Border Federal CU, Del Rio, Texas
• Winona Nava – Guadalupe CU, Santa FE, N.M.
• Jan Page – Community South CU, Chipley, Fla.
• Carma Parrish – NorthPark Community CU, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Tammy Passifume – Diamond Lakes FCU, Hot Springs, Ark.
• Teri Robinson – Ironworkers USA FCU, Portland, Ore.
• Lynette Smith – TruEnergy FCU, Springfield, Va.
• Heather Walter – Advanz CU, Louisville, Ky.
• Linda White – Upward CU, Burlingame, Calif.