Skip to main content

Diana Dykstra named President of Western CUNA Management School

Diana Dykstra named President of Western CUNA Management School; Dr. Michael Steinberger named Dean of Academics

Ontario, CA (December 7, 2015) — Western CUNA Management School (WCMS) Board of Trustees have announced that—after 44 years of exemplary service—Dr. James D. Likens will retire at the end of 2015, and have selected California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues President and CEO Diana Dykstra to serve as president of the school. In addition, the Board of Trustees are pleased that Dr. Michael Steinberger has agreed to expand his role and will now serve as the dean of academics.

In this new role, Dykstra will help guide WCMS as the school moves into a new era of credit union leadership development. She will serve as the executive lead and as a direct connection between the school and the credit union movement throughout the Western United States. Partnering with Dykstra in this effort, Dr. Steinberger will serve as the academic lead and be the primary driver in the development of future focused leadership development programs for the students of WCMS.

Dykstra is a 1992 Honors graduate of WCMS and has served as the president and CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues since 2010. She has been a project reader and a popular instructor at the school for 18 years. Diana is a sought-after speaker and an influential voice in the credit union movement.

“The Board of Trustees is honored that Diana has agreed to serve as the president of WCMS as we make this important transition from 44 years of Dr. Likens’ leadership. Her work on campus and her leadership role in the credit union movement will be critically important as the school works to meet the ever changing leadership development needs of today’s credit unions.” said Gene Pelham, WCMS Board Chairman and president and CEO of Rogue Credit Union in Oregon.

Dr. Steinberger—a highly regarded associate economics professor and recent department chair at Pomona College in Claremont, CA—joined WCMS in 2006 as associate dean. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with majors in economics, political science, and statistics; earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and in 2004, joined the faculty of Pomona College. His research has been cited in cases before the US Supreme Court, and he has made research presentations at several government agencies, including at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Dr. Steinberger also serves on the Supervisory Committee of First City Credit Union in Los Angeles and on the board of TRUST for Credit Unions in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Likens—recently appointed by the board of trustees as dean emeritus— commented: “This is great news. Michael will bring to WCMS academic leadership of the highest order. How lucky we are to have him.”

“Michael has been instrumental in building a strong academic program for our students,” said Dykstra. “Under Dr. Likens’ mentorship he has been fully immersed in the schools ethos and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him to build upon the legacy of Dr. Likens.”

“At 13 years of age I followed in the footsteps of my parents and opened my first credit union account. I am a beneficiary of and sincere believer in the credit union ideals of people helping people,” said Dr. Steinberger. “I am honored that the Board of Trustees has chosen me to partner with Diana in carrying on Dr. Likens’ work at WCMS preparing the next generation of credit union leaders.”

“We are fortunate to have a credit union movement icon like Diana leading our administrative efforts and an award-winning educator like Michael leading our academic efforts,” said Pelham. “Diana and Michael have been instrumental in WCMS’ past success and we are so excited about what this partnership means for the future success of the students and faculty of WCMS.”

Dr. Likens’ official retirement date is December 31, and Dykstra and Dr. Steinberger are already at work building the strategic plans and curriculum for the 2016 session of Western CUNA Management School.

About Western CUNA Management School

WCMS serves credit unions in the 13 western states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It is sponsored by the Alaska Credit Union League, California Credit Union League, Credit Union Association of New Mexico, Hawaii Credit Union League, Idaho Credit Union League, Montana Credit Union Network, Mountain West Credit Union Association, Nevada Credit Union League, Northwest Credit Union Association, and Utah Credit Union Association, in cooperation with Pomona College in Claremont, CA. Graduates who have developed their skills and knowledge at the school occupy positions of leadership and responsibility at some of the nation’s leading credit unions.

Contacts

Nancy Wood
Director of School Administration
Western CUNA Management School
909-212-6059
nancyw@wcmspomona.orgwww.wcmspomona.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Please no profanity or political comments.

Popular posts from this blog

NCOFCU Newsletter

The Bucket Coach is a financial advice book designed by Fire Services Credit Union, Tronto, Canada. and written exclusively for Fire Fighters It's a practical guide for household financial management, including investments, credit and mortgages, and retirement. Developed with contributions from Fire Fighters," NCOFCU Newsletter : " Kevin Connolly Chief Executive Officer    Fire Services Credit Union Phone: 416-440-1294 ext 301  Toll Free: 1-866-833-3285 E-mail:  kevin@firecreditunion.ca 1997 Avenue Rd Toronto, ON M5M 4A3 
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sunday Reading - What is the Dow Jones?

    What is the Dow Jones? Created in 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the world’s oldest and most widely recognized stock indexes—a measure tracking the stock performance of a selected group of companies ( see most recent data ). Originally designed to track America’s leading industrial firms, the Dow has evolved into a cultural and financial shorthand for the health of the US economy. As of 2025, it measures 30 major companies —like McDonald's, Boeing, and Nike—across sectors such as technology, healthcare, finance, and consumer goods.  Unlike most modern indexes, which are weighted by the total value of a company’s shares, the DJIA uses a price-weighted formula —meaning stocks with higher share prices exert more influence, regardless of company size. The DJIA has been updated 59 times since its creation to reflect changes in the US economy ( see ch...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

New from AutoLink

New from AutoLink
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Powell Rejects Any Plan for Fed to Intervene in Secondary Market to Bring Down Rates

  Frank Diekmann October 20, 2025 2:22 am No Comments PHILADELPHIA–Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there are no plans for the central bank to directly intervene in secondary mortgage markets in an attempt to help bring down mortgage rates, an idea some have proposed as a means of addressing the affordability crisis In housing. Jerome Powell Speaking at the  National Association for Business Economics  conference in Philadelphia, Powell spoke to the Fed’s progress with “quantitative tightening,” that is, its work to reduce the more than $6 trillion of securities it holds on its  balance sheet . Read more about the Balance Sheet HERE Those holdings include approximately $2 trillion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which are bundles of home loans that are packaged together and sold to investors, usually by middlemen  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , noted Realtor.com. Rolling Off Balance Sheet As the report noted, the Fed dramatically increased M...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

The Role and Hazards of an Interim Executive

  The Role and Hazards of an Interim Executive Leadership transitions are rarely smooth. A change at the top can trigger uncertainty, speculation, and anxiety. Staff worry about their jobs, members wonder about continuity, and boards feel the weight of stewarding the organization through uncertain change. The utilization of an interim executive director is meant to stabilize the organization and allow the board enough space and capacity to find the right successor leader. Here’s a catch: if an interim executive is also a candidate for the successor role, the very purpose of an interim engagement is compromised. With an Interim, there’s always a second wave of anxiety Every leadership transition comes with some anxiety. The staff sometimes don’t know what’s going on. The board is worried about continuity, and members may be worried about joining. One task of an interim is to absorb some of that anxiety and provide reassurance that things are moving forward. But there is al...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

How Stablecoins Could Prove to Be Anything But Stable for CUs That Don’t Get Moving

LOST PINES, Texas–With the GENIUS Act enacted and the countdown on for NCUA and regulators to get rules in place for stablecoins, credit unions were told it’s “go time” to begin preparing for a new technology that could “eat the lunch” of interchange. The cautionary words came from  Dr. Lamont Black , an associate professor at the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University, where among other things he teaches a graduate course on cryptocurrency, and who is also a fellow in Filene’s Credit Union of the Future Center of Excellence, and who s well-known to many in credit unions for his work and insights.  After several years of speaking to credit unions on crypto, he told  Catalyst Corporate’s  Strategic Summit meeting he has pivoted now due to the rapid change taking place, and in addition to talking about AI (see separate reporting in the CU Daily), he has a warning for CUs when it comes to another emerging technology. Eating the Lunch of Payments “I believe st...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Understanding the Fed’s Balance Sheet

Chair Jerome H. Powell Monetary policy is more effective when the public understands what the Federal Reserve does and why. With that in mind, I hope to enhance understanding of one of the more arcane and technical aspects of monetary policy: the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. A colleague recently compared this topic to a trip to the dentist, but that comparison may be unfair—to dentists. 1 Today, I will discuss the essential role our balance sheet played during the pandemic, along with some lessons learned. I will then review our ample reserves implementation framework and the progress we have made toward normalizing the size of our balance sheet. I will conclude with some brief remarks on the economic outlook. Background on the Fed's Balance Sheet One of the primary purposes of a central bank is to provide the monetary foundation for the financial system and the broader economy. This foundation is made of central bank liabilities. On the Fed's balance sheet, the liabili...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Fire Police City County Federal Credit Union to construct new Fort Wayne headquarters

Fire Police City County Federal Credit Union announced Wednesday plans to break ground next month on a headquarters at North Clinton Street and Penn Avenue. The project will cost about $13 million, a spokesman said through email. The new building will have about 22,000 square feet, including a full-service branch, to accommodate the credit union’s growth in recent years. The credit union has more than 11,300 members at six branches in Fort Wayne and New Haven and has experienced a 7% membership increase over the last five years, the news release said. The credit union’s assets have grown about 46%. “As our membership continues to grow, it’s essential that we grow with it,” Diane Scherer, president and CEO of the credit union, said. The new headquarters represents the credit union’s “ongoing commitment to providing exceptional service,” expanding its capabilities and investing in the future, she said. “We’re excited to build a space that reflects our values and enhances the experience f...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Treasury/SBA issue information on $349B available for business lending

CUNA  The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief legislation signed into law last week recognizes credit unions as part of several vital economic recovery programs, notably the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Through the program, the Small Business Administration (SBA)  will make available funds for small businesses  to secure up to eight weeks of payroll costs including benefits, as well as to pay interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. CUNA continues to engage with the SBA and Treasury on strong specific guidance on the PPP. “Treasury and the Small Business Administration expect to have this program up and running by April 3rd so that businesses can go to a participating SBA 7(a) lender, bank, or credit union, apply for a loan, and be approved on the same day,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “The loans will be forgiven as long as the funds are used to keep employees on the payroll and for certain other expenses.” All existing SBA-cert...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

For Banks and Credit Unions, AI Can Be Risky. But What’s Riskier? Falling Behind.

By Nicole Volpe,  Contributor at The Financial Brand For many bank and credit union leaders, Generative AI is mostly generating… anxiety. On one side is the fear of getting it wrong: exposing sensitive data, triggering a compliance breakdown, or wasting money on experiments that never scale. On the other looms something even more stress-inducing: watching competitors that have mastered AI serve their customers faster, cheaper, and with more personalization, while gaining market share in the process. Small and mid-sized financial institutions have long worked to offset competitive disadvantages versus larger and more-digital competitors, but AI threatens to widen the gap. Global and national players have the budgets and talent to embed AI deeply within their operations. Fintechs can pivot quickly and launch new digital experiences with fewer legacy constraints. Meanwhile, a majority of banks and credit unions sit in between — too small to match the giants’ scale, yet too complex and...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»