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WEST

The $9.3 billion, Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Redwood Credit Union announced five board appointments.

Judy Herrerias-James was re-elected to the board of directors for a three-year term. She has served as an RCU volunteer official since 2013, is the owner of Stony Point Vineyard, and serves as a board member for the Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board, Sonoma County Farm Bureau and Redwood Credit Union Services Group.

Judy Herrerias-James

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Lisa Wittke Schaffner was re-elected to the board of directors for a three-year term. She has been an RCU volunteer official since 2012 and is the incoming RCU board chair. She is CEO of the North Coast Builders Exchange, sits on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin and is vice president of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation. She also sits on the boards of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber and Sonoma County Fair.

Lisa Wittke Schaffner

Rod Dole was re-elected to the board of directors for a three-year term and will serve as treasurer. Dole has been an RCU volunteer official since 1978 and is the retired auditor/controller/treasurer/tax collector for Sonoma County. He formerly served as co-chair for Ygrene, trustee for CALTrust and on the president’s advisory board at Sonoma State University.

Rod Dole

Debbie Watts was named vice chair of the board.

Debbie Watts

David Gouin was named secretary of the board.

David Gouin

EAST

Hudson Valley Credit Union ($7.9 billion, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) announced seven promotions. 

Michael Burke

Michael Burke was promoted to SVP, senior director internal audit. In his new role, Burke is responsible for supporting the protection of the credit union’s assets by identifying risks associated with business objectives and evaluating controls in place to mitigate these risks. In addition, he will provide value-added advice and support to business partners on the creation or modification of policies, procedures, processes, products or services, and maintain effective and professional working relationships with staff at all levels within the organization – including the Executive Management Committee, Supervisory Committee and board of directors. He previously served as vice president, director internal audit since 2023.

Sarah Gillespie

Sarah Gillespie was to SVP, senior director project management. In her new role, Gillespie will continue to oversee the Project Management Office (PMO) with strong leadership in partnership with her dedicated team. She has completed more than 75 projects in her time with the PMO, including major initiatives tied to mergers and acquisitions, new enterprise systems, and development and oversight of an enterprise capacity mode, as well as played key roles in establishing a Steering Committee and Project Review Committee. She previously served as vice president, director of PMO since 2023.

Debra Leone

Debra Leone was promoted to SVP, chief compliance officer and deputy general counsel. In her new role, she is responsible for leading legal and regulatory strategies, and providing counsel on governance, contracts and regulatory obligations while ensuring alignment with state and federal banking laws. Alongside this, she will oversee the enterprise compliance management system, including regulatory monitoring, policy governance, complaint resolution and examination readiness. Leone previously served as associate general counsel since 2023.

Tina Ludwig

Tina Ludwig was promoted to SVP, head of experience administration. In her new role, she is responsible for the experience design strategy for key channels, including digital (mobile, desktop, consumer relationship management) and insurance referral. Alongside this, she is responsible for experience insights, and activating the data and analytics of the total experiences of employees, members and communities. She continues to serve as an experience cross-functional team leader of initiatives to amplify HVCU’s culture and brand in the products, services and experiences delivered. Ludwig previously served as vice president, head of emerging channels since 2024.

Charles Thompson

Charlie Thompson was promoted to SVP, head of physical operations and security. In his new role, he oversees and represents all aspects of HVCU’s physical operations including construction and branch expansion, real estate, facilities maintenance and general services. In addition, Thompson maintains oversight of all physical security and safety for the organization while serving as the direct liaison for all non-fraud related law enforcement matters. He previously served as vice president, director of physical operations and security since 2023.

Nadine Sheehan

Nadine Sheehan was promoted to vice president, senior HR business partner. In her new role, Sheehan continues to work closely with senior and business unit management to understand needs and develop solutions that align with overall organizational strategy. Alongside this, she will partner with leaders to advise, guide and support all HR matters, including employee relations, organizational development, talent management and compliance, and ensure HR practices support business goals. She previously served as assistant vice president, senior HR business partner since 2023. 

Ana Rodrigues

Ana Rodrigues was promoted to assistant vice president, commercial portfolio manager. Rodrigues joined HVCU in early 2025. In her new role, she oversees all HVCU commercial lending portfolio management functions, including the thorough review of all loans upon their initial acquisition, ongoing expansion and overall retention. In addition, she will continue to develop and maintain relationships with members, offering solutions that align to their business goals.

Matt Tekin

The $1.6 billion, Pittsfield, Mass.-based Greylock Federal Credit Union promoted Matt Tekin to vice president of operational risk management. In his new role, Tekin oversees the credit union’s enterprise risk management program, implements security measures in compliance with industry standards, manages the NCUA exam process, and provides management support toward the development of the credit union’s business continuity program and incident response program. He previously served as assistant vice president, IT security, audit and infrastructure. He began his career with Greylock in 2017 as an IT security engineer.

Falan A. Morrocco

The $3.9 billion, Smithfield, R.I.-based Navigant Credit Union hired Falan A. Morrocco, Esq. as vice president, associate general counsel. Morrocco brings more than 20 years of professional experience, having most recently served as senior legal counsel for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. In her new role, Morrocco will assist the general counsel in overseeing Navigant’s general legal matters, while supporting the organization’s risk and compliance functions to ensure alignment with regulatory requirements and policies. In addition to her prior role at BCBSRI, Morrocco’s legal experience includes tenures as legal counsel at Santander Bank and as an associate at the Providence, R.I.-based law firm Roberts Carroll Feldstein & Peirce, Inc. She earned her law degree from New England Law Boston, graduating cum laude in 2015.

MIDWEST

Christy Woods

Royal Credit Union ($5.4 billion, Eau Claire, Wis.) promoted Christy Woods to collections manager. In her new role, Woods will be responsible for overseeing a variety of loan accounts including consumer, residential and secondary market loans. With a strong focus on reducing overdue payments and minimizing loan losses, Woods will analyze loan performance patterns and develop strategic plans to mitigate financial risks. Her efforts will support Royal’s organizational goals and ensure the financial well-being of its members. Woods joined Royal in March 2024 as collections supervisor. She holds the Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor (CCUFC) certification, issued by America’s Credit Unions, and the Professional Collection Specialist (PCS) designation, issued by the American Counseling Association (ACA) International.

SOUTH

Alexis De Jesus

Floridacentral Credit Union ($617 billion, Tampa, Fla.) hired Alexis De Jesus as chief lending officer, SVP. In his new role, De Jesus will oversee all aspects of the credit union’s lending operations, including consumer, mortgage and commercial lending portfolios. He will lead initiatives focused on credit quality, portfolio diversification, and the development of risk-based lending strategies that align with member needs and long-term institutional goals. De Jesus brings 28 years of experience in the financial services industry, having held senior leadership roles in retail branch operations, member experience and the contact center. Prior to joining Floridacentral, De Jesus served as SVP, Orlando market operations at the $2.8 billion, Lake Mary, Fla.-based Addition Financial Credit Union. He is a Certified Executive Leadership Coach.

CUSOS

Member Support Services, LLC (MSS), a CUSO helping credit unions better serve their members through improved efficiency built on operational scale, appointed three members to its inaugural advisory board, newly formed to help grow its shared services model and provide a clear alternative to consolidation at a critical time for the industry. The three-person, non-governing advisory board will offer input on go-to-market strategy, operational priorities and opportunities to deepen collaboration across the industry and keep credit unions independent.

Gene Foley was appointed to the advisory board. Foley is the former CEO of Harvard University Employees Credit Union ($1.2 billion, Cambridge, Mass.) and now leads Focus Strategy Group, bringing over 25 years of executive credit union leadership and strategic consulting experience.

Gene Foley

Kirk Kordeleski was appointed to the advisory board. He is the former CEO of Bethpage Federal Credit Union (now the $13.4 billion, Bethpage, N.Y.-based FourLeaf Federal Credit Union), and currently serves as a partner with PARC Street Partners. He has more than 35 years of experience advising credit unions and fintechs on strategy, governance and leadership.

Kirk Kordeleski

Erin Coleman was appointed to the advisory board. Coleman is the SVP of industry impact at Callahan & Associates and brings nearly 30 years of experience supporting credit unions through consulting, mentorship and strategic facilitation.

Erin Coleman

Member Access Processing (MAP), a Kent, Wash.-based card processing aggregator for credit unions, appointed Maggie Prohs, vice president of operations at Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union ($1.3 billion, Columbia, S.C.), to its Client Advisory Board. MAP’s Client Advisory Board (CAB) is composed of eleven MAP clients, including representation of its six owner credit unions. The CAB meets quarterly with the objective to enhance the payment experience of credit union members by advising MAP senior management on challenges, opportunities and strategies for success in the payments marketplace. In her role at Palmetto Citizens, Prohs drives strategy and oversees critical functions including payment strategy, compliance, fraud, security and facilities.

Maggie Prohs

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

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.