Press
Hon. Sylvia G. Ash named Board Chair of Municipal Credit Union
Becomes first female chair of the Board in Credit Union’s history; credit union also names Board positions for upcoming year
NEW YORK CITY, NY (May 12, 2015) — Honorable Sylvia G. Ash has been named Chair of the Board of Directors of Municipal Credit Union. Ash is the first female to be Board Chair in MCU’s 99-year history. She replaces Mark S. Brantley, Esq., who will continue on the board as a Director.
Ash has been a member of MCU’s Board of Directors since May 2008 and most recently held the position of 1st Vice Chair and Chair of the Coordinating Committee. A graduate of Howard University School of Law and a practicing attorney for more than 20 years, Ash was elected as a Civil Court Judge in 2005 and as a Supreme Court Judge in 2010. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Association, and is a Master in the Kings County American Inns of Court.
“I’m so pleased and honored to be elected Board Chair,” said Honorable Sylvia G. Ash. “Municipal Credit Union has done a wonderful job of serving its members for nearly a century, and I look forward to helping MCU do more great things for its members and the New York community.”
Ash begins her term as Chair of the Board immediately and follows Mark S. Brantley, Esq., who held the position for the past five years. During Brantley’s tenure as Board Chair, MCU grew its assets by almost $600 million from $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion, membership increased by17% to 375,000 members, and the credit union opened new branches in Coney Island, Harlem and Springfield Gardens. Brantley was integral in MCU’s recent launch of the STEP Line of Credit program, a short-term loan initiative recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative as an economic commitment to action to break the harmful cycle of payday lending.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve as MCU’s Chairman of the Board and to represent our hardworking members,” said outgoing Board Chair Mark S. Brantley, Esq. “I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished during my tenure. We’ve grown the credit union substantially during the most difficult financial period of our generation, saw the launch of MCU Park home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, and developed great programs to ensure the sound financial futures of our members. We never wavered in our adherence to the credit union credo of ‘people helping people.’ Despite my decision not to seek re-election as Chair, I will continue to work tirelessly with my fellow board members to ensure MCU sustains measured growth while providing quality financial products and services to our membership.”
In addition to naming Ash as Board Chair, the MCU Board of Directors announced the following Board Members were elected to these officer positions for the coming year:
James Durrah, First Vice Chair
Richard Wagner, Second Vice Chair
Loretta Jones, Third Vice Chair
Shirley Jenkins, Secretary
S. Nana Osei-Bonsu, Treasurer
Caroll Duncanson, Assistant Secretary
Mario Matos Jr., Assistant Treasurer
MCU’s Board also includes Mark S. Brantley, Esq., Tessa I. Hackett-Vieira, Beryl Major, and Joy S. Schwartz, Esq. as Directors. Thomas E. Diana continues to serve as Director Emeritus. Joseph Guagliardo and Cheryl Wright continue to serve on the Supervisory Committee which also includes Giovanni Porcelli as Chair, Karen Lucas as Secretary, and Almeta Coaxum.
“I want to extend my congratulations to Sylvia Ash on her appointment as our Board Chair and my sincere appreciation to Mark Brantley for his many years of tremendous service leading our board,” said MCU President/CEO Kam Wong. “I know that MCU will continue to reach great milestones and meet the financial needs of our growing membership as we move forward.”
Municipal Credit Union (MCU) is the oldest credit union in New York State and one of the oldest and largest in the country. Established in 1916 and headquartered in New York City, today MCU has assets of over $2.1 billion and offers a full range of financial services to over 375,000 members. With branches in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, members also have access to the credit union’s large and growing ATM network. Eligibility to open accounts at MCU is available to New York City and Yonkers municipal employees; state and federal employees who work in the five boroughs; health care professionals who work in New York State; members of select industry groups; employees of private colleges in New York City and private and public colleges in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester; certain family members, and qualifying retirees. MCU is an equal opportunity lender and deposits are federally insured to at least $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. government agency. For more information about Municipal Credit Union, visit www.nymcu.org.