CU Veteran Van Ouwerkerk Comes Out of Retirement

LAS VEGAS – Just 16 months into retirement, well-known credit union veteran Patsy Van Ouwerkerk has joined the team of Las Vegas-based credit union consultancy Mitchell, Stankovic and Associates.

Van Ouwerkerk has been involved in the credit union movement since 1975. In her most recent post, she served for 12 years as president and CEO of Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, Calif. Under her leadership, Travis CU doubled its asset size, growing into a $2.2 billion credit union – and becoming the largest financial institution in its service area.

Mitchell, Stankovic and Associates said Van Ouwerkerk will specialize in executive coaching and volunteer development – two topics in which she has extensive experience.

Van Ouwerkerk was one of the earliest advocates of credit union shared branching, was active with CUES, and served on the boards of directors for a number of organizations, including Western CUNA Management School, Credit Union Direct Lending, the Filene Research Institute and CO-OP Financial Services. She also served a term as chairman of the California Credit Union League.

"I think the experience I gained from being on the board of a number of organizations will support MSA's initiatives and their commitment to their clients. I will focus on board governance and executive development and coaching." Van Ouwerkerk said. "During my career, I was fortunate to have a number of mentors who I learned from. I believe you have to pay that gift forward. I have a background in human resources and training and will be coaching individuals transitioning in senior management, especially to CEO."

While at Travis Credit Union, Van Ouwerkerk championed executive succession planning. "I had the privilege at Travis to work with a number of individuals who were very promotable," she said. "I can help a credit union board understand what they should be looking for in internal and external candidates."

In 2013 Van Ouwerkerk received the Leo H. Shapiro Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor from the California Credit Union League. The award recognizes excellence in credit union philosophy and a lifetime of contributions to the California credit union movement. It is named after Leo H. Shapiro, father of the California credit union movement and founder of the CCUL.

Van Ouwerkerk retired from Travis CU in August 2014. She said she spent about a year staying involved in a few organizations, including the World Council of Credit Union's Global Women's Leadership Network (which she helped to found).

"I began my consulting with a few board strategic sessions in 2015 and am excited about several executive coaching relationships starting this year," said Van Ouwerkerk.