A few credit unions, including Robins Financial Credit Union and Centra Credit Union, announced new additions to their leadership teams, and Lake Area Mortgage announced that six of their team members were recognized in the Scotsman Guide 2025 Top Originators List.
New Hires:
- Robins Financial announces April Mouton Beal as the new Vice President of Community Engagement & Marketing. In this new role, Mouton Beal will cultivate partnerships with local organizations, design impactful engagement opportunities, oversee marketing efforts, and drive measurable growth in community support and brand recognition while ensuring alignment with the mission and goals of Robins Financial.
- Payfinia announced the addition of Lisa St. Germain as vice president of Client Success and Justin Epstein as senior director of Product. St. Germain and Epstein have notable financial and payments expertise. In their respective roles, they will work with clients and partners to enhance their instant money movement workflows for financial institutions and their members/account holders. St. Germain will work with new and existing Payfinia clients to ensure implementations run smoothly and manage the client relationship. Epstein oversees the entire Payfinia money movement product portfolio as well as the service delivery functions.
- The Illinois Credit Union League (ICUL) is pleased to announce the addition of two experienced professionals who will play key roles in supporting Illinois credit unions. Brian O’Kelly has joined the league as a Regional Director, and Roberta Devorsky will serve as a Compliance Analyst.
- Joshua Yates has joined Centra Credit Union’s digital team as their new Vice President of Digital Experience Strategy and Delivery. Yates has worked in the credit union industry for 18 years and brings more than 25 years of software development experience to the team.
- PenAir Credit Union (PenAir) is pleased to announce the addition of two accomplished professionals to its leadership team. Todd Potter has joined as Vice President of Mortgage, while Jennifer Stone has been appointed as Head of Audit. Their expertise and leadership will further strengthen PenAir’s commitment to enhancing the financial well-being of its members.
Recognitions:
- Lake Area Mortgage – A Division of Royal Credit Union is proud to announce that six team members were recognized in the Scotsman Guide 2025 Top Originators List. This annual ranking highlights the top-performing residential mortgage originators in the United States. Michelle Robinson, Derek Lodermeier, Mark Gobran, Joe Bydzovsky, Marco Rodiles, and Joe Juliano earned this recognition due to their hard work and dedication to helping Members achieve their dreams of homeownership.
Promotions:
- Kentucky’s Credit Unions is proud to announce the promotion of Eileen Burden to the position of Vice President of Support. Eileen, who began her journey at Kentucky’s Credit Unions in November 2017, initially served as Professional Development & Training Manager. She returned to the League in March of 2024 as the Manager of Compliance, providing invaluable assistance to credit unions.
- HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation / Hope Credit Union) has announced the appointment of Cassandra Williams as President of Hope Credit Union and Ed Sivak as President of Hope Enterprise Corporation. Williams and Sivak’s appointments follow one of the most impactful years in HOPE’s history. Bill Bynum will continue to serve as HOPE’s Chief Executive Officer.
- Shaun Dawson, who has worked for 25 years at the Greater Texas Credit Union office in Edinburg, has been promoted to Branch Manager, now serving the Rio Grande Valley community. Dawson, a South Texas native, started as a teller at the Edinburg branch in 2001 and has had various roles supporting all aspects of member services and branch operations before being named to the top branch post.
- Holy Rosary Credit Union announces it has promoted James Auger to Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Special Accounts, Chris Maxwell to Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Human Resources and Sydney Albee to Director of Marketing. “These key promotions reflect our commitment to fostering talent from within,” said HRCU President and CEO Brian Hughes. “James, Chris and Sydney all play an integral role in supporting our growing membership, including our recent expansion into the Greenland, NH market. We are excited to watch them thrive in their new roles.”
- People’s Credit Union announced the promotions of Eric Soares to Head of IT Operations and Jordan Faustino to Systems Administrator I. Reporting to the Head of IS & Technology, Mr. Soares will be responsible for the day-to-day supervision and talent development of the Helpdesk Technician and Systems Administrator I roles. He will also be responsible for the Credit Union’s helpdesk program including service metrics. In his new role, reporting to the Head of IT Operations, Mr. Faustino will provide support, upgrades, and troubleshooting of various applications for the Helpdesk program, including the TeamDynamix ticketing system, and will administer and deploy desktops and laptops throughout the organization.