SNELLVILLE, Ga.– The African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) has announced new inductees into its African American Credit Union Hall of Fame.
The five individuals will be inducted during a ceremony held in conjunction with CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington on March 5, 2024 at the National Museum for African American History and Culture.
The 2024 honorees are:
- John Bratsakis, president/CEO, MD|DC Credit Union Association
- Maurice Dawkins, president/CEO, American Spirit Federal Credit Union
- Karen Madry, president/CEO, Afena Credit Union
- Anthony Taylor, board director, Ascend Federal Credit Union
- Robert Trunzo, president emeritus, TruStage
“The African American Credit Union Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have contributed to the credit union movement by providing financial services and access to financial capital for African Americans and people of color,” the AACUC said.
Here is why the five individuals are being inducted, according to the AACUC:
John Bratsakis
“John Bratsakis has been president and CEO of MD|DC Credit Union Association since 2011. His 35-year career in the credit union movement includes extensive experience in operations and advocacy.
“He served as senior vice president of Baxter Credit Union in Vernon Hills, Ill.; CEO of Community Trust Credit Union in Gurnee, Ill., and held management positions with United Federal Credit Union in Michigan and Teachers Credit Union in Indiana.
“John is currently the chair of CU4Kids, Credit Union Miracle Day and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. He also serves on the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) Executive Committee as secretary/treasurer and as Board Member for CU Risk Intelligence, League InfoSight, and Plexcity a back-office company for associations.”
Maurice Dawkins
“Maurice Dawkins has served as CEO of American Spirit Federal Credit Union since 2003. Under his leadership, American Spirit has grown to $78 million in assets, expanded into under-served areas of Delaware, been recognized as one of the top U.S. credit unions and received a Five-Star Bauer Financial rating for its financial strength.
“With over 30 years of operational leadership in the financial industry, he has built diverse teams to support business growth while leading change to drive peak organizational performance. He holds a B.S. in accounting and a minor in business management from Thomas College. He serves as AACUC Eastern Regional Chapter president, among other boards.”
Karen Madry
Karen Madry is the president/CEO of Afena Credit Union and the first African American chairwoman of the Indiana Credit Union League. Her national and international influence includes chairing CUNA's Small Credit Union Committee, earning recognition from the World Council of Credit Unions for the League’s hurricane relief efforts in Domnica and receiving the League’s Global Good Award for her involvement in international projects.
“A popular speaker and often featured in trade publications, she has transformed the Afena CU by emphasizing a holistic approach and building strong community relationships. Under her leadership, it has achieved remarkable growth, obtained CDFI status and expanded the field of membership.”
Anthony Taylor
“Anthony Taylor is the first African American appointed to Ascend Federal Credit Union’s Board Development Committee. He has served the board and Supervisory Committee over 19 years. As chairman, the credit union experienced remarkable asset and member growth, making it the largest credit union in middle Tennessee and one of the largest in the state.
“He has been instrumental in ensuring Ascend has a high-performing board that serves the best interests of its members by prioritizing board governance efforts and ensuring the Board reflects the diversity of the membership. He holds a B.S. from Middle Tennessee State University and a J.D. from the Nashville School of Law.”
Robert Trunzo
“Robert N. Trunzo is president emeritus of TruStage. He is known for his focus on shaping a more inclusive company and contributing to a more equitable industry and community.
“Examples of his contributions include forming TruStage Ventures Discovery Fund benefitting fintech companies led by BIPOC, LGBTA+ and woman founders and pledging resources and financial support to ACCOSCA for establishing a lending education program in Africa.
“Mr. Trunzo is a founding member of CU DEI Collective and a founding investor in the FinHealth fund. By partnering with Inclusiv, he helped increase the number of CDFIs and access to $12 billion in new funding for CDFIs and MDIs.”
Just Because It’s Autumn Doesn’t Mean Falling for Schemes to Overcharge You for CU Industry News. Instead, Try This Crisp Offer
The biggest, best and freshest news reporting in credit unions remains free! Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily Fresh Today news update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more. So stop paying those bank-fee-like subscription prices from other so-called “news”” publications!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance you didn’t know was coming.
And did we mention it’s free?