MANCHESTER, N.H.–Always take on a challenge. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Do the work. That was just some of the advice shared by six women who were inducted into the “Credit Union Women Making Herstory” exhibit at America’s Credit Union Museum
During a ceremony at the Museum, located inside the building that was the original home to America’s first credit union, St. Mary’s Bank, the six women inductees shared their own histories, words of inspiration, tales of determination and more.
The six marked the second group to be inducted into the ongoing exhibit, following 2022’s inaugural class, which included many female pioneers in credit unions who were inducted posthumously.
Inducted were from left: Sarah Vega, Cindy Connelly, Kathy Chartier, Linda Bodie, Kim Sponem, and Brandi Stankovic.
Nearly 200 Nominees
Stephanie Smith, executive director of the museum, noted that in 2022 there were 120 nominees, 20 of whom were inducted. This year another 85 women were nominated, who were considered along with the 100 nominees remaining from last year. After culling through and evaluating those 185 total nominees, this year’s class of six was selected.
In addition, two people from the 2022 class who were unable to attend were also present this year to accept their recognition: Harriett May and Rosie Holub.
Here’s a look at what each of this year’s inductees had to say on a beautiful Fall day in New England:
‘Not Pretending to be Someone I’m Not’
Linda Bodie, President and CEO, Elements FCU, Charleston, W.V.
Bodie has been recognized for leading numerous innovations at her credit union, especially in technology, despite having just $52 million in assets. She was also a 2023 Herb Wegner Individual Achievement Award winner.
Linda Bodie
“I grew up as a child of the 70s,” said Bodie. “In 1972, Title IX was passed. In 1974, women were finally allowed to (get credit on their own). My sixth grade teacher was awesome. In his classroom he would mount pictures of what we were learning about. One time we were learning about famous authors: Thoreau, Emerson, a bunch of old white guys. At the end of the row was Booker T. Washington, a black man, and Louisa May Alcott. If you know about Louisa May Alcott she had to write under a pen name (A.M. Barnard). She was basically not a female.
“This is one of my earliest memories. I was already an activist and this just fired me up more. I’m not going through my life being the last person on the wall, pretending I’m not a female and pretending I’m not who I am.”
‘An Opportunity to Die For’
Kathy Chartier, President/CEO, Members Credit Union, Cos Cob, Conn.
Chartier has also been an active leader despite leading a smaller credit union. Members CU was the first in the state to earn the Juntos Avanzamos designation from Inclusiv and is a CDFI. Chartier has been active in numerous international efforts and in the National Credit Union Foundation’s Development Education program.
Kathy Chartier
“I’ve had the opportunity to have a career anyone could die for,” said Chartier. “And it’s been all by accident. When my children were young and my youngest started first grade, I told my mom, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I need a job.’ She called me back and said, ‘You have an interview. We just started a credit union.’ And I said, ‘What is a credit union?’ I went to a library and looked them up and there was no information. The credit union at the time had $117,000 in assets and 150 members. Thanks to the Connecticut Credit Union League, they came and taught me everything.”
Chartier said joining Members Credit Union and getting involved in development education has changed her life, allowing her to “spread the word about credit unions around the world.”
‘Huge Supporter of Small CUs’
“I am a huge, huge supporter of small credit unions. We are the heart of the movement and are necessary to survive,” Chartier related. “At one point we thought we were going to have to merge. We were $28 million in assets. We became a low-income credit union, a Juntos Avanzamos credit union and, finally, a CDFI. We have grown to $42 million. We are 100% loaned out and growing like crazy.”
‘Everything in My Being’
Cindy Connelly, SVP-government affairs, Georgia United Credit Union, Duluth, Ga.
Prior to joining Georgia United, Connelly was with the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates for 30 years, where she built an early relationship with a future Speaker of the House that would come to pay dividends in a huge way for credit unions many years later.
Cindy Connelly
Connelly thanked numerous people, including former GCUA President Mike Mercer, who was on hand for the induction, as well as John McKechnie, who in the 1990s was with CUNA as one of its government advocacy reps.
“John called one day and said there is this Georgia (state) legislator named Newt Gingrich who I think someday might be important to credit unions. Would you get Georgia credit unions involved?” Connelly shared. “We did and I got to know the man. I think I was a stalker before stalking was around. We did credit union tours, we introduced him to credit unions, we educated him, all before he was Speaker. And all because someone had an intuition and we built a relationship.”
Gingrich would go on to become one of the forces behind 1998’s Credit Union Membership Access Act, with credit unions overcoming huge odds to get the legislation enacted.
“It's our job to make sure we are providing for ways for people to afford life, and everything I’ve done and everything in my being is I love what credit unions do to help people,” Connelly said.
A ‘Passion’ for Focusing on the Needs of Women
Kim Sponem, President and CEO of Summit Credit Union, Madison, Wis.
During her tenure with Summit Credit Union, Sponem has overseen asset growth to $6 billion from $200 million. Specifically, Sponem has overseen what she said is a “passion,” and that is a focus on financial wellness of women, which is now core to the credit union’s mission.
“We focus on the unique needs, experiences and barriers women face,” said Sponem.
She shared that her passion started early in life in a family that was traditional looking from the outside, with a father who left to go to work every day and a mother who stayed home.
“I didn’t really realize it, but both were feminists,” said Sponem. “I was the youngest of four daughters and they always said we could do whatever we wanted to do and they meant it. My dad gave my mom a portion of his income for her own savings account. They always talked about the importance of having the ability to support yourself and to walk away if you need to.”
Twenty-one years ago when she was named CEO of what was once called CUNA Credit Union, Sponem said she began working to transform the credit union to serve the unique needs of women. She noted 40% of women end up in poverty and must be better than men at managing money.
“We have all become financial educators to address that, and now we are taking on the pay gap women face,” Sponem said.
‘The Future is in Your Hands’
Brandi Stankovic, Principal, Strategic Advisory Solutions, Las Vegas
Brandi Stankovic
Stankovic is well known to many within credit unions. A frequent speaker and leader of strategic planning for credit unions, Stankovic has been involved in the Global Women’s Leadership Network, Credit Unions for Kids, the credit union development education program, CU*Pride, and more.
“We’re here to create a future for this movement,” Stankovic said.
She shared that her own journey in credit unions began when in the Peace Corps and doing work in Mexico that involved translating credit union documents into Spanish in the days before Google translate. Ever since she has worked in credit unions as either a business partner or volunteer and said she was proud to have been a “spark” that ignited credit union fires that others have gone on to keep burning.
“I’ve always believed it’s really about doing the work,” Stankovic said of a career that has involved filling the gap in credit unions for members of the LGBTQ+ community, planting pineapples in Kenya, doing remote transactions with field workers in California, working with prisoners and people with AIDS, and working with youth in 81 countries—which will become 82 next week when she begins work in Botswana.
Many Hurdles, But…
“There have been hurdles in last few years,” Stankovic said. “There have been moments when I thought to myself, ‘I don’t have anything left,’ and I’m wondering why are we doing this, for what? But then I’m reminded of my (two) boys and I know they hear and see me and whether I like it or not, they are learning from me.
“The future of the planet and your kids is in your hands and it’s up to us to make a difference,” she continued. “And credit unions are part of the fabric of our communities May you choose to be part of the solution. May you choose to give strength even if you don’t have any left. And may you choose to stand up even when it’s ugly. And I think we should do it together.”
‘Never Apologize for Being a Strong Woman’
Sarah Vega, Director, Illinois Credit Union Foundation, Attorney At Law, Chicago
Sarah Vega
Vega is well-known to many in credit unions, having first served as the head of the Department of Financial Institutions in Illinois, and later as chief of staff under two NCUA chairmen, Michael Fryzel and J. Mark McWatters.
“My story started in 1991 when I was asked to be regulator of credit unions in Illinois. And I said, ‘What’s a credit union?’ Fortunately, I had some phenomenal CEOs who afforded me some help and guidance. As a regulator I thought how will I regulate? I decided I will work in partnership; I will see what kinds of tools you need to help members grow and thrive.”
Vega noted that while at the DFI the department oversaw credit unions ranging from $11,000 in assets to more than $1 billion.
‘Very Enriched’
“I feel very enriched that I had that state experience,” Vega said. “Then, in 2008, Chairman Fryzel came knocking at my door. I thought, ‘How could I go to NCUA, the very same agency where I said you can’t come into my state unless I’m there?’ I was chair of NASCUS and was doing everything I could for state credit unions. I am very fortunate he provided me that opportunity.
“I said I will give it one year because we all have families. But the passion was just too much. I thought maybe I can help NCUA by showing them a state CU regulator perspective, or at least champion the idea that it’s not NCUA vs. the states. I owe that ability to Michael Fryzel.”
Vega recalled that little did she know when she was starting at NCUA it was the beginning of a recession and the corporate credit union meltdown.
“All these great ideas and thoughts were tossed out the window,” Vega said. “We were under such duress. I can tell you Chairman Fryzel was the right leader for the times. I think there should be more recognition for everybody in those kinds of situations. Folks don’t know the true details of how things were done and why, but I can tell you as a regulator you make the best decisions you can at the time with the information you have.”
She said the conservatorships of the corporates led to many “daggers in my back,” but “now we know it all came out well.”
‘Nothing Can be Done Alone’
Vega thanked her parents for being an inspiration to her.
“My mother said, ‘Never apologize for being a strong women’,” Vega related, before adding, “Nothing can be done alone; you always have to have others help you.”
The 2022 Inductees
Two members of the inaugural 2022 Herstory inductees who were not on hand last year were able to attend this year, and also shared their stories. They included:
Listening to One Person, Disregarding Another
Harriett Mae, former president and CEO of GECU, El Paso, Texas
May, the former chair of CUNA, a member of the Cooperative Hall of Fame, a Herb Wegner Lifetime Achievement Award winner and the winner of the World Council’s Distinguished Service Award, said she had a “wonderful career.”
Harriett May
She noted her affiliation with credit unions began when she graduated from high school and her single mom directed her to a credit union for a $1,500 loan to get a car. She later got a job at a bank before a former co-worker enticed her to come to work at a credit union, where she began as a teller.
She was hired by R.C. Morgan, recognized as one of the credit union community’s most visionary leaders and three-time chairman of CUNA.
‘What Would My Mother Think?’
Looking back, May noted that during her career she was able to meet the president of Mexico and to testify before Congress. On the flight home from the latter, she recalled thinking, “What would my mother think?”
Today, “I think about what we have done together. We have helped our members grow, whether male, female, Hispanic, (U.S.) residents, it didn’t matter. We have helped people and those people grew,” said May.
She recalled that at one point her then board chairman told her she needed to be thinking about a successor and that successor should be someone who was “not female.”
She disregarded the chairman’s comment, and was succeeded by Crystal Long, who continues to lead the $4.3-billion GECU.
‘Always Take a Challenge’
Rosie Holub, retired CEO, Missouri Credit Union League.
Holub would lead three credit union leagues during her career. In addition to the then Missouri league, she also led leagues in Wyoming and New Mexico, was the first female chair of several CU organizations, and also took a career change and was a chef and restaurant owner.
Rosie Holub
“When I started I was kind of like a June Cleaver; that’s the way things used to be for women. I was a traditional housewife and a mother with identical twins,” Holub said. “With my husband we moved to Wyoming. I had been teaching college part-time in Colorado, but there was no teaching job in Wyoming. There was an ad in the paper for an education director at a (credit union) league. I had no idea if it was a bowling league. I went to the league and was interviewed by this guy who asked me all the wrong questions. I thought, ‘I can’t screw this up because he doesn’t know what the job does anyway.
“Eighteen months later the president had a heart attack. I had also become a compliance officer. We had 56 credit unions and I was doing all the training and going to credit unions all over the state. Credit unions knew me,” Holub continued. “They wanted me to be the president. I took it and had such wonderful opportunities in my career.”
First Female League President
Holub noted she was the first female league president and when she attended her first Association of State Credit Union League (ACULE) meeting at the age of 34 in 1979 there were only men there who paid her little attention—with the exception of one person.
“The only one who ventured over was (former Texas CU League CEO) Dick Ensweiler. (Ensweiler was recently featured here in CUToday.info as part of a series on families in credit unions and was on hand at the induction ceremony.) He sat next to me and he explained the ropes. I didn’t know the issues of the day. I wasn’t in the political arena,” Holub said. “RC Morgan became a mentor of mine as well, putting me in positions of great discomfort and pushing me out into areas where he thought I had the ability to do things and I had my doubts. Thank you for the push.
“I got my strength and my drive because people had the faith in me and I had to have the faith in me, too, and I wasn’t going to let them down.”
May the Spirit Lift You
Holub said everyone has to start somewhere and she urged other women to have the strength to take advantage of opportunities.
“Always be challenged. Always seek a challenge,” advised Holub. “And may you always be filled with success that will lift your spirits and move you forward.”