ARLINGTON, Va. — NASCUS President and CEO Mary Martha Fortney has announced her retirement after 21 years with the trade association representing state regulators, including 11 years at the helm.
The NASCUS board has begun searching for Fortney's successor but does not expect to make an appointment until the fourth quarter of 2014.
"It has been my privilege as president and CEO to position NASCUS as a success and to bring the organization into the 21st Century," Fortney said in a statement. "I am proud of what NASCUS members and I have accomplished together. I have been one of the luckiest people to have worked all this time with such dedicated regulators and credit union system leaders, to watch NASCUS grow to what the organization is today."
Fortney came to NASCUS in 1993 as director of accreditation and communications, before moving on to serve as VP and then being named president and CEO in 2004. During her tenure, the state supervisory agency increased its voice in Washington, and the organization now regularly works with other financial regulators, as well as policymakers.
"On behalf of the entire board, and both the regulator and industry membership, I would like to recognize Mary Martha's leadership over a challenging period for both the regulators and the industry," John Kolhoff, chair of the NASCUS board, said in a statement. "Through this period of significant change, she has been a leader in establishing strong dialogue amongst federal and state regulators and the institutions they supervise."
NASCUS CU Advisory Chair Catherine Tierney hailed Fortney's "tireless efforts on behalf of the dual charter during her tenure. She has led NASCUS through an important period of credit union history and positioned NASCUS to continue to evolve with the industry as we look forward to the future."
Before joining NASCUS, Fortney served as director of agency liaison, office of presidential correspondent in the Carter White House, and spent 12 years on Capitol Hill working as a legislative director and as a majority staff director for the Subcommittee on General Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs. For the past 15 years she has also been actively involved with Women in Housing & Finance, serving as its president and president of its sister organization, the WHF Foundation.
"My many years of service, from the White House to Congress to NASCUS, have been most rewarding," she said. "My passion will always be with the credit union system, but I feel it is time to move ahead. Of course this is bittersweet, but change is good for both people and organizations. I am excited by the next chapter and look forward to the future and to NASCUS' continued evolution."
