Connects Federal Credit Union selects James McBride as President/CEO
RICHMOND, VA (February 26, 2024) — The Board of Directors of Connects Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce the selection of James McBride as the credit union’s new President/Chief Executive Officer. Mr. McBride will succeed Ms. Evelyn Dowdy, who is retiring after serving in the role for nearly 26 years.
“On behalf of the Board, I want to sincerely thank Evelyn for her many years of devoted service she has given to Connects,” said Dan Vandervort, Board Chairman. “She has worked ceaselessly to help us successfully navigate the many challenges our credit union has had to face over the last 26 years and we are grateful to have had her at the helm. We wish her and her husband the best as they move into a new chapter of their lives. We also look forward to welcoming James, with full confidence in his ability to help us meet the challenges of growing Connects into the future.”
For more than 20 years, McBride has been serving credit union members across multiple states in small, medium, and large organizations. He has worked with credit unions with $70 million in assets to those with more than $1 billion. His expertise lies in staff and organizational development, coaching, accountability practices, and goal attainment. He has most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Lion’s Share Federal Credit Union in Salisbury, NC where he has grown the organization by nearly 20% in the last two years. Prior to Lion’s Share FCU, he served as the Executive Vice President at The Tennessee Credit Union. McBride holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Lipscomb University, Nashville, Tennessee.
“I am thrilled that the Connects Federal Credit Union Board of Directors has selected me to lead the credit union into the next phase of its great legacy,” said McBride. “It is an honor to be the CEO of a credit union with such a long history in Richmond and I cannot wait to serve our volunteers, members, employees, and community.”
The search was completed in partnership with Humanidei. Humanidei brings decades of credit union system experience to the recruiting process, ensuring executive placements that will carry organizations forward in fulfillment of their mission. www.humanidei.com.
James McBride has been selected as the new President/CEO at Connect Federal Credit Union.
About Humanidei
Humanidei was founded in 2019 to help credit unions become more inclusive workplaces. We are passionate about credit unions and the people who lead them. We believe the key to credit union relevance lies in the people, so we partner with credit unions to help them build inclusive workplaces that attract, develop, and retain today’s top talent. We are proud of the work we do with credit union clients across the country, knowing that each day we have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people who lead credit unions and the members they serve.
As we thoughtfully build our team, we are committed to adding professionals who are passionate about people and credit unions; who understand that credit unions will only effectively fulfill their mission when their leadership understands and reflects the communities they serve; and who can help our team expand our own awareness and representation in our credit union community.
About Connect Federal Credit Union
Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Connects FCU began in 1950 as a credit union serving the
employees of the C&P Telephone Company. In 2007, Connects FCU was granted a new charter by the
NCUA, allowing the credit union to serve anyone in the City of Richmond and the Counties of
Chesterfield, Hanover, and Henrico. Now, 70 years and over 8,000 members later, Connects FCU has
established a deep connection to the communities it serves, and the credit union takes great pride in
providing the very best in financial solutions to its members.
