A little more than 30 days in and Sheilah Montgomery understandsthat she came in under extraordinary circumstances as the newpresident/CEO of the CreditUnion of Atlanta.

Montgomery took the helm March3 after serving 21 years as the president/CEO of 1st Choice Credit Union, alsobased in Atlanta, literally 15 minutes away from the building sheis currently working in.

“I would like to be able to go in and nurture and expand on whatI believe is a great job they are already doing–serving those ofmodest means,” Montgomery said.

It was in July 2010 that DeFarra Gaymon, known as Dean, CUA's president/CEO at the time,was fatally shot and killed by a New Jersey undercover sheriffdetective in a Newark park. Gaymon was in town for a high schoolclass reunion. The death is still under investigation and a grandjury is scheduled to hear the case by May, according to the EssexCounty Prosecutor's Office.

CUA tapped one of its senior executives as interim chief while asearch was conducted to find a permanent CEO. Montgomery, a fixturein the Atlanta credit union movement, was very familiar with CUA,having worked there as a vice president from 1988 to 1990. In fact,it was shortly after she was instrumental in picking the currentbuilding CUA is housed in, including the furniture, that Montgomerytook the position at 1st Choice.

Montgomery said she received a call from her former CUA bossasking if she would be interested in throwing her name in the hatfor the CEO position. After talking with him about what the boardwas looking for, some deliberation and prayer, she accepted. Thecredit union interviewed at least a dozen candidates, bothinternally and outside CUA. Ultimately, the board decided onMontgomery. She likes to believe it was her 35-year financialservices track record that gave her the edge. But leaving 1stChoice was not an easy move.

“For all practical purposes, that was the bestjob I ever had. The credit union is really on autopilot. I reallydidn't have to worry about its financial condition. It's as solidas a rock,” Montgomery said. “That made my transition easier.”

What made the move even smoother was she knew many of CUA'ssenior team and board of directors. That familiarity helped whenthe executive team met off-site for strategic planning sessionsshortly after Montgomery's arrival. She walked in with a four-pointagenda on the credit union's direction but listened to candidfeedback on what management liked and didn't like about thecooperative.

One of Montgomery's four initiatives is embracing technology. Agrowing segment of the population is opting to do its bankingoutside of the traditional branch walk-ins, she said. “There isthis myth that inner city and lower income members don't have thecapacity to engage in technology. I don't buy into that.”

Montgomery would also like to see the credit union form morerelationships with young people from infants to age 35. As astarter, discussions are under way to form councils made up ofkids, teenagers and young adults to pick their brains on the typesof services and products they want and need.

“All of us on the management team are 40 and older. We don'tknow how to reach them. We can't tell them what to do. They have totell us,” Montgomery acknowledged.

She also wants to start monthly savings club meetings andcampaigns to let bank customers know there is a credit unionalternative. Plans are also on the table to empower smallbusinesses including how to have a good relationship with theirfinancial institution, building leverage and forming partnerships.Montgomery said since lenders have stopped lending over the pastcouple years it is critical to give those firms assistance. As acommunity development financial institution, CUA can apply forgrants to help with technical and other forms of support.

“Small businesses will bring you all these beautifully writtenbusiness plans, but when you ask them about capital, they don'tknow how to answer,” Montgomery said. “We want to teach them how tomanage their money. We'll be more hands-on than banks.”

Under her watch, Montgomery also wants toexpand CUA's footprint in the community through partnerships. Thecredit union currently has five churches in its membership andwants to expand that alliance by 50% by the end of the year. At thetime of the interview, Montgomery was at Hartsfield-Jackson AtlantaInternational Airport, the largest in the world, to see if CUAcould have ATMs installed there. Through the partnerships, shehopes to start financial literacy programs in a way thatparticipants will motivate each other to stay on track with theirgoals.

Montgomery is confident in her new role partly because 1stChoice and CUA's models mirror each other in the way that theyserve people of modest means. Still, she is excited about thepossibilities given CUA's larger size. The $20 million 1st Choiceserves 8,200 members and has 10 employees while the $60 million CUAhas 18,000 members and 42 employees. While both are CDFIs and thereis some field of membership overlap, Montgomery said eachcooperative has loyalty ties. Seventy percent of 1st Choice membersare Grady Hospital employees. CUA still has a large following withcity employees.

Gaymon's legacy can still be seen and felt at CUA. In August2010, a third branch re-opened offering new account, investments,loan services, an ATM and call center to serve a large seniorcitizen member base in the area. It was one of Gaymon's lastprojects. Montgomery said she knew him, collaborated with him onideas and watched how he moved the credit union in new directions.She conveyed those memories during one of the strategicsessions.

“The first thing I let them know was I loved Dean as much asthey did, and I wasn't trying to replace him,” she recalled saying.“For the first 60 days, I told them I'm not going to changeanything. I will listen and learn. I want them to understand thatnot only are we in this for the long run but we're in ittogether.”