CUNA received its last nomination last week for its board election. The nomination period for the CUNA Board of Directors has now expired. 

For the special election, the director elected will now take office Dec. 20 and will serve through the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM). All other eight regular directors will take office upon the adjournment of CUNA's AGM, to be held Feb. 28, 2022, during CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference and will serve through the 2025 AGM. 

The final nomination was received and verified prior to the deadline:

• District 1, Class A – Stacey Walker, Board Director, XCEL FCU, Bloomfield, NJ

Two incumbents and two newly-elected directors have been elected to the CUNA Board by acclamation:

• Joe Thomas, President/CEO, NextMark Credit Union, Fairfax, VA (District 2, Class A)
• Jim Morrell, President/CEO, Peninsula Community FCU, Shelton, WA (District 6, Class A)
• John Sackett, Director, Royal CU, Eau Claire, WI (Class C)
• Debbie Smith, President & CEO, Georgia United Credit Union, Duluth, GA (Class C)

Each credit union nominee must be an employee or a voting board member of the nominating credit union, with the nomination seconded in writing by at least two other credit unions from the same class and, for Class A and B, district. 

Nominees to be elected by leagues must be a league chief executive officer and be nominated in writing by that league, with the nomination seconded in writing by at least one other league.

There are four contested elections. Ballots will be sent to eligible credit unions and leagues on November 16; voting will continue through December 17.

• District 1, Class A (Special Election)
  • Jason Lindstrom, president/CEO, Evergreen CU, Portland, Maine
  • Lori J. Herrick, president/CEO, Manchester Municipal FCU, Manchester, Conn.
  • Stacey Walker, board director, XCEL FCU, Bloomfield, N.J.
• District 3, Class B
  • Alvin J. Cowans, president/CEO, McCoy FCU, Orlando, Fla.
  • Cecilia Homison, chief executive officer, First Commerce CU, Tallahassee, Fla. 
• District 5, Class B
  • Stephanie Teubner, president/CEO, Blue FCU, Cheyenne, Wyo.
  • Gregory W. Gallant, president/CEO, Tulsa FCU, Tulsa, Okla.
• Class D (two open positions)
  • Patty Corkery, president/CEO, Michigan CU League, Lansing, Mich.
  • Debbie Painter, president/CEO, Kentucky CU League, Louisville, Ky.
  • Caroline Willard, president/CEO, Cornerstone League, Plano, Texas

Districts/Classes are defined as follows:

• District 1, Class A:  Credit unions having less than 38,000 members in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands
• District 2, Class A:  Credit unions having less than 38,000 members in Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia;
• District 3, Class B:  Credit unions with at least 38,000 and not more than 141,000 members in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee;
• District 5, Class B:  Credit unions with at least 38,000 and not more than 141,000 members in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming;
• District 6, Class A:  Credit unions having less than 38,000 members in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam, Johnston Atoll, Midway Atoll, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Atoll;
• Class C: Credit unions having at least 141,000 members, elected at-large nationwide;
• Class D: League Presidents, elected at-large nationwide.

Two Class C and two Class D positions are also up for election. Elections for Class C (credit unions having more than 141,000 natural-person members) and Class D (leagues) will be conducted at-large nationwide, rather than by district.

CUNA’s Bylaws state a maximum of 10 percent of the Board may be credit union directors from Class A, B or C from any one (1) state. In addition, no more than one voting CUNA Director shall be from the same credit union. No individual may hold more than one CUNA Director position.  The CUNA Board currently has two representatives from the following:

• California – Terms of the two current CUNA directors from California expire in 2023 and 2024. Therefore, no candidates are eligible to be nominated and elected from California for the District 6, Class A position or the Class C position.
• Texas – Terms of the two current CUNA Directors from Texas expire in 2023 and 2024. Therefore, no candidates are eligible to be nominated and elected from Texas for the District 5, Class B position or the Class C position.

CUNA’s board has determined that a board candidate should possess certain qualities and characteristics. The board also desires to be diverse and inclusive.