CUNA announces departure of Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan

CUNA announced Tuesday Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan will be stepping down in September to join the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks as its president/CEO. 

“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Ryan, and his commitment to America’s credit unions has been unwavering. It is hard to lose such a staunch and tireless advocate, but I am so very proud of what Ryan has accomplished during his time at CUNA,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “I’m not going to lie – Ryan’s leaving behind some pretty big shoes to fill.”  

“I am immensely proud of the work we’ve done together — CUNA, Leagues and credit unions — to ensure credit unions remain in a position to improve their members’ financial well-being and advance the communities they serve,” Donovan said. “And I leave confident that momentum we have achieved will be sustained long into the future.”  

Donovan was instrumental in securing several high-profile legislative wins for the credit union movement during his nearly 15-year tenure at CUNA, including protecting the credit union tax status through four major tax battles; overseeing significant expansion of credit unions’ member business lending authority; and modernizing credit union governance.   

Donovan joined CUNA in 2007 after having served as director of federal government affairs for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, where he helped develop a regular cadence of credit unions meeting in-district with their representatives.   

Donovan began his career working for former House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo., as an executive assistant and later joined Representative Brad Sherman’s, D-Calif., office as a legislative assistant where he was ultimately promoted to legislative director and acting chief of staff.