Torchbearers

Diana began her 42-year credit union career at The Golden1 Credit Union in Sacramento, CA, in 1982, where she rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President. During her tenure, Diana led her team in developing the prototype for the now-successful Credit Union Direct Lending (CUDL) program. She then served as Senior Vice President of Patelco Credit Union and later as President/CEO of both San Francisco Fire Credit Union and CoastHills Federal Credit Union, before assuming the role of President/CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues.
Diana, a certified International Credit Union Development Educator (ICUDE), is a 1992 graduate of Western CUNA Management School, where she also served as President. She received the James D. Likens Alumni Recognition Award in 2001, the California League's Distinguished Service Award in 2002, the Phil Greer Lifetime Achievement Award from the CUNA Lending Council in 2012, the American Association of Credit Union Leagues' highest honor—the Eagle Award—in 2014, and the Eugene H. Farley League Leadership Award in 2024. In 2019, Diana was honored with the National Credit Union Foundation's Herb Wegner Memorial Outstanding Individual Achievement Award.
She has served on the board of directors for the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL), America’s Credit Union Museum (ACUM), CUNA Strategic Services, the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), the Global Women's Leadership Network, ViClarity, and Plexcity—a cooperative business serving member credit union leagues. Diana retired from the California and Nevada Leagues in July 2024.

Rosi began her career within the credit union movement as the Education Director for the Wyoming Credit Union League and League Services Corporation. Hired in part for her experience in teaching management and leadership courses at a college level. Rosi was tacked with creating training programs for the League, a critical role with the passing of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974. Just one year later. Rosi became the first woman to serve as President of the Wyoming Credit Union League.

In 1984, Rosi was recruited by Alaskan FCU where she assumed the role of Senior Vice President of Marketing and Human Resources and she continued her legacy of creating innovative educational programs for employees. Later, as the Senior Vice President of Credit Union Services. Marketing and Staff Development at Alaska USA CU, Rosi successfully took on the task of penetrating new markets, developed new operational manuals, and created an award-winning promotional video.

After a detour into a career as a chef and restaurant owner, Rosi returned to credit unions in 1996 as the first woman President and CEO of the New Mexico Credit Union League and Affiliates. Here she developed the best-selling CUNA Call Center Handbook (Kendall Hunt, 1999), Also in 1999, she became the first woman President/CEO of the Missouri Credit Union System. In 2002, Rosi was recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Business in St. Louis. She's served on a variety of boards and committees including as the first woman Chair of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) and the first woman Chair of Credit Union House in Washington DC. She also served on the University of Missouri's Board of Advisors for the Department of Personal Financial Planning/Consumer Economics, continuing her legacy of furthering financial education.

Rosi says her career has been a journey... to make the end result of each situation encountered, or each interpersonal contact made, more positive than prior to my involvement." She retired in 2010.

A native of El Paso, Texas, Harriet began her professional journey soon after graduating from the University of Texas El Paso in 1971. She began working at the Government Employees Credit Union (now known as GECU)in 1974 where she launched a career that would have a significant positive impact on the credit union movement.

After quickly rising through the ranks to various management and executive positions with GECU, Harriet was elected President and CEO in 1996, a role she would hold for 15 years.

Harriet represented El Paso credit unions at state, national and international levels including as Chairperson of CUNA and the Texas Credit Union League. She was instrumental in the creation of Juntos Avanzamos ("Together We Advance"), a designation for credit unions committed to serving and empowering Hispanic and immigrant consumers by helping them navigate the U.S financial system and providing safe, affordable and relevant financial services.

Harriet's commitment to her community and to the credit union movement has been recognized by her peers time and time again, including as a recipient of the Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Individual Achievement in 2008 and the Distinguished Service Award from the World Council of Credit Unions in 2009 and 2010. Harriet retired on March 31, 2012.

Elizabeth Hamilton, affectionately known as Sis, began her career in 1943, at age 17 when she was hired by the local telephone company in Greensboro, North Carolina. Once hired, she joined the credit union now known as Summit Credit Union. Sis was immediately asked to serve as the Board Secretary. She became increasingly more involved in the credit union and soon became the Manager and Board Treasurer. Under her leadership, the credit union started to grow.

In 1981, Sis started a credit union service organization (CUSO) as an innovative way to offer data processing and management services to struggling credit unions. Sis began managing First Carolina Central Credit Union under a management contract and soon after, Guilford County Employees Credit Union, Wake Forest University Credit Union, and Kayser Roth Hosiery Credit Union. For most of the 1980s, Sis Hamilton simultaneously managed five credit unions using a shared central office and branches. They eventually merged with Summit CU to expand service offerings, but Sis continued to support other smaller credit unions over the years through the CUSO management arrangement until her retirement.

Sis was active in several leagues and associations and served as a Director of the North Carolina Credit Union League for over 25 years. She tirelessly committed her time and talent to the credit union movement for 70 years:
70 years as a Board member of Summit Credit Union and 60 years as the CEO, making her the longest-serving credit union manager and volunteer in the United States, if not the world.

Her legacy lives on with the Hamilton Scholarship Fund. Established upon her retirement in 2003, the foundation funds over $50,000 in college scholarships. financial wellness programs, and provides support for education and training programs to small credit unions each year.

Carol's passion for credit unions began at NW Corporate Central Credit Union and the Washington State CU League where she began her career in the 1970s. She was recruited by CUNA as the first director of the National CU Roundtable think tank and the Credit Union Foundation. While at CUNA, Carol was among the team of three who created the Foundation's internationally recognized CU Development Education program.

Carol is most known as a passionate activist for low-income women. She represented US credit unions at the United Nations Women's conference in Beijing, China and has taught cooperative principles throughout Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. In collaboration with her Mali, West African credit union colleague, Carol created a non-profit training center to incorporate lifeline services with microfinance, helping young women go from begging to businesswomen in 18 months.

Carol represented US credit unions at international forums in Latin America, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. She is a three-time Silver Award winner from the World Council for her work in developing countries. The NW Cooperative Federation honored Carol with the DiMarcello Cooperative Spirit Award in 1998 and in 2003, she received the Anna Reed Award from the CU Women's Association of Oregon and the Ambassador Award from the Washington CU League. In 2007, CUNA honored Carol with the prestigious Herb Wegner Award.
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Miriam Rivera Lieb Vellek, known to her friends and colleagues as Mimi, began her credit union career in 1970 as a teller at the New Mexico Central Credit Union in Albuquerque, New Mexico, later becoming general manager there. In 1976, she took on the role of CEO of the Department of Interior Federal Credit Union in Washington, DC, becoming one of few women credit union CEOs at that time. In 1983, she became CEO of Transportation Federal Credit Union, a role she would hold until her retirement in 2008.

Mimi was a mentor for many women in credit unions, encouraging them to assume leadership roles. She worked tirelessly to develop leaders in the movement and was insistent that credit unions should reflect the core credit union principles of people helping people. Mimi was a steadfast supporter of Credit Union Service Organizations and believed in using technology to better support credit union members

She was a founder and served on the boards of Encore Electronic Service Cooperation and Encore Branch Serving Corp. - CUSOs providing ATM and shared branching services; as well as Ongoing Operations, LLC., which provides disaster recovery and business continuity services. Mimi served on the board of directors for the DC
Credit Union League, including as treasurer and chair, and was one of the first women to serve as a national director on the CUNA board.