Press
NASCUS announces Lucy Ito as the Association’s New Chief Executive Officer
ARLINGTON, VA (September 3, 2014) — The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) Board of Directors and Advisory Council are pleased to announce the selection of Lucy Ito as the organization’s next president/chief executive officer. Ito will replace incumbent Mary Martha Fortney, who will retire later this year. She has been with the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues (CCUL/NCUL) for the past 10 years.
“The Board and Advisory Council deeply appreciate Mary Martha’s enthusiastic service to NASCUS and wish her the very best in retirement,” said Stephen S. Pleger, chairman of the NASCUS Board and Senior Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. “She has been a great friend and resource to all NASCUS members, both credit unions and regulators alike. At the same time, we look forward with great anticipation to a new era for NASCUS under Lucy’s dynamic and innovative leadership. Possessing exceptional qualities of professionalism, energy, and intelligence combined with a career committed to advancing the credit union system in its service of the financial needs of consumers and small businesses, Lucy is uniquely qualified to lead NASCUS in promoting a healthy, vibrant, and innovative state credit union system.”
In her most recent capacity as the Leagues’ Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer, Ito has provided oversight to all four of the Leagues’ divisions: Advocacy, Member Solutions, Strategic Innovation & Planning, and Finance & Human Resources. “I am honored and thrilled to have this opportunity to work with the Board and Advisory Council of NASCUS because I believe the State-chartered credit union system offers the greatest opportunity to advance the personal finance interests of American consumers by assuring not only the safety and soundness of credit unions but also the future viability of the credit union business model. NASCUS fosters a unique working collaboration between state credit union regulators and credit union practitioners. As a result of this dynamic dialogue, the State-chartered credit union system allows local state conditions to drive advances such as field of membership expansions that make sense, locally, enabling credit unions to thrive and consumer-members to prosper,” offers Ito.
Ito’s current credit union system board and committee service includes: CCUL/NCUL Regulatory Advocacy Committee; CCUL State Charter Review Committee; Vice Chairman of the Consumer Protection Sub-Committee of CUNA Governmental Affairs Committee; CU Partner Link Strategy Team; WOCCU’s Worldwide Foundation Advisory Committee; CALCenter Credit Union Board of Directors; CU SacTown 10-Mile Run Committee; and Credit Unions for Kids Wine Auction Committee.
Her previous board and committee service includes: AACUL System Collaboration Task Force; Executive Committee of the CUNA Operations, Sales & Service Council; CCUL/NCUL Shapiro Advisory Committee; CCUL/NCUL Branding Committee; Applied Research Institute; WOCCU’s Global Women’s Leadership Network Advisory Committee; Western States Corporate Realignment Task Force; Member Business Service Board of Directors; Nikkei Credit Union Board of Directors; and Overseas Cooperative Development Council (OCDC).
Prior to joining the Leagues in May 2004, Ito served as Senior Vice President of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). During her 15 years at WOCCU, Ito worked on technical programs and legislative and regulatory issues primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Asia, and the Pacific. She earned a B.A. in Economics and Asian Studies from the University of California-Berkeley and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her post-graduate work includes research as a Regents’ Fellow at the University of California-Santa Cruz and she is a graduate of the CUES Advanced Leadership Institute at Harvard Business School.
“I want to extend my congratulations to Lucy upon her selection by the NASCUS Board to be the next NASCUS CEO and will be pleased to work with her to ensure the transition is seamless. NASCUS has been an important part of my life, and I look forward to its continuing growth and achievements in the future,” said Fortney. “I wish her the best!”
About NASCUS
The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) is the primary resource and voice of the state governmental agencies that charter, regulate and examine the nation’s state-chartered credit unions. NASCUS membership is made up of state-chartered credit unions, state regulators and other supporters of the state credit union system. NASCUS is the only organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of the state credit union charter and the autonomy of state credit union regulatory agencies. To learn more about NASCUS, visit www.nascus.org.