ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Tawana Y. James, director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the National Credit Union Administration, retired Friday.
Linda Dent, NCUA's associate general counsel for administrative law, will take over as acting OMWI director. NCUA said it will name a permanent director at a later date.
James started at NCUA in 1980 as a temporary technician and later became an examiner. In 2011, she led the establishment of the agency's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion as part of the implementation of Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
In this role, James addressed issues of diversity, civil rights and the promotion of minority and women hiring, as well as the contracting practices of minority- and women-owned businesses within NCUA and the credit union industry at large.
"Promoting greater diversity is one of this agency's top priorities," NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said in a statement, "and Tawana has served NCUA and the credit union system well in her role as point person on these issues. She took on the formidable task of creating a new office with broad responsibilities and succeeded. She also provided valuable support for credit unions serving diverse communities. Everyone has benefitted from her wealth of experience and her top-notch management skills, and we will miss her greatly."
Since 1994, James has held executive-level positions at NCUA. Prior to taking over as OMWI director in January 2011, James served as director of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives, deputy executive director, a regional director, deputy director of the Office of Examination and Insurance and an associate regional director of operations.
James is a recipient of several NCUA recognitions, including a 2012 Supervisor of the Year Award and the 2007 Pete Crear Lifetime Achievement Award.
