Voting for the champion of CUTimes25 Final Four, which honorsthe most influential leader in credit unions since 1990, closesFriday. Readers have one final chance to determine who will win:Former NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar or Fiserv executive MarkSievewright.

The two men defeated former WesCorp CEO Dick Johnson andNational Credit Union Foundation executive Lois Kitsch, who roundedout our Final Four. Read about these distinguished credit unionleaders in the profiles below. Full length features will bepublished in the Dec. 16 print issue of Credit UnionTimes.

Dollar's Influence Felt Decades Later

He's in the running to be named the most influential leader inthe credit union industry since 1990 for CU Times' 25thanniversary. However, former NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar humbly said he was honoredjust to be on the list that started with 64 and is now down to thefinal two.

While he may be out of the regulatory limelight, his influenceduring the last few decades is still felt by credit unions today.President George W. Bush named Dollar chairman of the NCUA board in2001. Previously, President Bill Clinton had appointed him to thethree-member board in 1997.

Recognized as an architect of some of the most innovativeregulatory actions in the board's recent history, Dollarimplemented Access Across America, RegFlex, incidental power andfield of membership modernization. Also during his tenure on theNCUA board, Dollar also served as vice chairman of the FederalFinancial Institutions Examination Council.

Dollar's foray into public service began when he was elected asone of the youngest legislators – at the time he was 22 – to theMississippi House of Representatives. He served a two-term stint inpublic service before gaining credit union experiencefirsthand.

From 1991 to 1997, he was the president/CEO of then GulfportVeterans Administration Federal Credit Union, a $32 millioninstitution with more than 12,000 members and 150 employer groupsalong the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

That experience gave him the firsthand knowledge of the innerworkings of a credit union, experience his fellow NCUA boardmembers at the time lacked. It was that experience that Trent Lott,then Senate Majority Leader and fellow Mississippian, sought outfor a seat on the NCUA board. With Clinton in the White House,Dollar was confirmed by the Senate as the sole Republican on theboard.

Dollar relocated to a suburb of Birmingham, Ala., after leavingthe NCUA in 2004. He continuesto influence credit unions through his consulting business,Dollar Associates, co-founded with his former NCUA chief of staffand counsel to the chairman Kirk Cuevas. The two consult withcredit unions, trade associations, leagues and others on a host ofissues, including government relations, regulatory compliance,strategic planning, management training and field of membershipissues.

Sievewright Keeps Credit Unions Tech Savvy

Mark Sievewright, president of Credit Union Solutions at theBrookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv and championship finalist in the CUTimes25 Final Four,has spent almost 20 years making a difference in the industry.

“Over the years I've just tried to make certain that creditunions were aware of what was coming, helping them anticipatetechnological changes, which have been so prevalent over thelast 10 years,” he said.

With 30 years of financial services industry experience, theWelsh-born Sievewright held senior leadership roles at HSBC inLondon and MasterCard International in Brussels before moving tothe United States in 1997.

That was when his symbiotic relationship with credit unionsbegan.

“Credit unions had not been part of my life up until then,”Sievewright recalled.

He moved to New England in 2000 to run Tower Group, where hehelped propel engagement with credit unions.

“That is where I really began espousing the importance of creditunions remaining relevant,” Sievewright said.

He spoke at more than 250 credit union events between 2000 and2004 when he joined Fiserv. He continued to advocate for creditunions and in 2011 became president at Credit Union Solutions atFiserv, which pulled siloed businesses together under oneumbrella.

The unit now drives technology for more than 2,300 of America'scredit unions and recently won a deal to do the same in the UK.

He said one of the most meaningful things that happened to himwas being merited the 2010 Ambassador Award by WOCCU for his manyyears of service to credit unions.

“What I've tried to do consistently is to advance the veryunique differences credit unions have and try to advance that inadvising and guiding them around technology strategies andsolutions,” Sievewright said.

Financial Capability, Not Literacy, Is the Answer:Kitsch

Growing up in North Dakota on a farm, Lois Kitsch never thoughtabout a career or even leaving the state, let alone thecountry.

“I didn't have those dreams of being an astronaut or anythinglike that,” she said. “I didn't have that vision or realize what Icould be until I fell into the credit union movement.”

While her introduction to credit unions began as a job, once sheunderstood the cooperative model and philosophy she was hooked. Asnational program director at the National Credit Union Foundation, Kitsch has motivated andchallenged others to rethink how to serve marginal markets throughfacilitation, mentoring and consensus building.

Helping people by providing access to education and financialservices as a path to economic empowerment has been the drivingforce behind her 35 years in the credit union industry. Much ofthat time has been spent working internationally in support ofcredit unions in over 40 countries and Kitsch's positive impact incountries such as Macedonia, war-torn Afghanistan and thePhilippines is still felt today.

She said credit unions need to be clear about the desiredoutcome of their financial literacy efforts, beyond just getting people toattend.

“Stop talking about financially literacy as the big answer.Access to information is not how we change the way people live,”she said. “Student debt is a new big problem. What are we doing toimprove the financial capability of our members? Are we teachingour employees how to talk to members about money, recognize thesigns of struggle and have the right language to provide guidanceat the early stages?”

The act of being financially literate, while important, won'taccomplish much unless coupled with efforts that build financialcapability and offer real guidance to change behaviors, she said.For example, the first step many financial counselors take withthose who earn low wages is to give them a budget. Having grown upin a low wage working class family she said most manage their moneywell, there just isn't a lot of it.

“It's when faced with an emergency, the struggle is not justabout money but time. Sometimes credit unions are quick to judgemembers' rash decisions to go to alternate financial providers likepayday lenders,” she said. “But while others may have time toanalyze the emergency situation, for these members it's aboutchoosing the best option at the time.”

Given that a one-time convenient option is better than having nooption, the challenge becomes what can the industry as a whole doto deliver equally convenient options and build awareness.

She said it begins with building meaningful memberrelationships, beyond just saying a cursory good morning. Thecredit union has to be a safe place where members can go to getgood advice without fear of ridicule and judgment.

“Lead with empathy and compassion, then you can get into thelogistics of teaching skills,” she said.

Johnson's Leadership Inspires Generation of Credit UnionExecutives

Not only was Richard Myles “Dick” Johnson instrumental in building thecorporate credit union system, he taught many current credit unionleaders the true meaning of leadership, according to Wright-PattCredit Union CFO Matt Davidson.

“The ability to listen, learn and communicate professionally,all with an appropriate sense of modesty, kindness and humor, aresome of his gifts,” Davidson wrote in a July 7 CU Timesletter to the editor. “Although I didn't even work at WesCorp, Ilearned how to lead by simply watching and listening to him.”

The California credit union leader mentored many credit unionexecutives in the West and was an instructor at CUNA WesternManagement School. In fact, he was such an influence in 1999 theCalifornia Credit Union League gave its foundation his name. One ofthe RMJ Foundation's primary objectives is to develop future creditunion leaders.

Johnson retired from his long-time position as president/CEO ofWestern Corporate FCU in 2002 after 26 years at the wholesalecredit union. According to a 2001 CU Times profile,Johnson credited former NAFCU President Ken Robinson for gettinghim into the industry.

“We were both on active duty in San Diego. My tour was up andthey were sending me back to Washington for the fourth time. Kencame and said there was a credit union job open at the Marine CorpsRecruits Depot (CU).”

Johnson managed Marine Corps Recruits Depot FCU in San Diego fora little more than four years before joining WesCorp as CEO. Healso filled in as interim CEO at the California Credit Union Leaguein 1989 and 1990, between former CEOs Bill Broxterman and DavidChatfield.

He joined WesCorp when its assets were just $70 million, and hadthree employees. At the time of his retirement, it had $17 billionin assets, 400 employees, served credit unions in 31 states and had$1 billion in capital.

WesCorp, caught up in the corporate credit union meltdown, wasplaced into NCUA conservatorship in 2009. The corporate creditunion was officially dissolved in 2012. course of 20 years, thattrend reversed and all the income previously earned by banks wasretained by the credit unions.”

Johnson said he has learned as much from his decades of credit union service as he did during his militarycareer. Several of those lessons cross the boundary between his twostints of service.

Training employees to pay attention to members and their wantsand needs is what sets credit unions apart, he explained, addingthat in that same way, credit unions must understand the humanitywithin their staffs and respond accordingly, both to improve theirservice to the credit union and the credit union's service tothem.

“As the years roll by, everything will change except people'squest for acceptance,” Johnson added. “When the inevitable daycomes – as it will for us all – the only thing that will havecounted are the people.”