Kalamazoo, Michigan, March 1, 2022 - President and CEO of Advia Credit Union, Cheryl DeBoer, has announced her upcoming retirement plans, anticipated for early 2023. DeBoer has thrived as a leader within the credit union industry, spanning over 40 years, beginning as a lobby greeter at a CO-OP Service Center in her hometown during high school. As Advia’s President & CEO since 2004 (formerly known as First Community Federal Credit Union), she has helped grow the organization from $273 million in assets, eight branches, and 52,000 members to over $2.6 billion in assets, 29 branches, and nearly 190,000 members across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Advia is positioned within the top 3% of credit unions nationally when measured in terms of total assets. This is a direct result of DeBoer’s forward-thinking and strategic leadership decisions over the past 18 years. Serving nine counties when DeBoer took the helm, Advia now offers membership to all those living within the southern peninsula of Michigan, nine counties in Wisconsin, and seven counties in Illinois. She has also contributed to significant expansion in Advia’s position as a commercial lender, with the organization now serving nearly 10,000 businesses.
A lifelong learner, DeBoer holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, an MS in Business Administration, and a BS in Business Administration and Accounting. She has embraced and shared her love of education with Advia’s members, her team, and volunteer Board of Directors. She introduced paid higher education initiatives for staff, an annual commitment of youth scholarships to graduating high school seniors, executive team Credit Union Development Education (CUDE) programming, and credit union industry training programs for her volunteer Board of Directors.
Her commitment to the credit union movement runs deep, acting in key leadership roles among industry partners throughout her career. Most recently, DeBoer was nominated by her peers as Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) CU Hero of the Year in 2022. DeBoer was previously named Michigan CU League’s Credit Union Professional of the Year in 2011. Also, DeBoer is an active member of the 340-strong Women Association Executives Network, and has held numerous other board positions, such as Board Director of Salus Group (a healthcare broker for credit unions), Board Director of The Mortgage Center (a mortgage lending CUSO that Advia cooperatively owns with other CUs), Pension Plan Trustee of the Michigan Credit Union Employee Pension Plan (MCUE is a multiple employer-based pension program), and board roles within Alloya Corporate Credit Union (previously known as Central Corporate Credit Union). DeBoer has also contributed greatly by supporting efforts of National Association of State Chartered Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) as part of their nominating committee, and by acting as Chairperson of National Institute for State Chartered Credit Union Examiners (NISCUE) in 2018.
“We will greatly miss Cheryl as Advia’s President & CEO and thank her for the incredible contributions she has made throughout her career to the credit union movement, and more importantly, the significant value for her membership and Advia employees”, said Nicole Kalmbach, Advia’s Board Chair. “Her dedication and passion in living out Advia’s core values and mission of providing financial advantages provides long-term benefits to those she’s worked with, and members’ lives impacted during her leadership tenure”, mentioned Kalmbach.
Advia’s Board of Directors has an active succession planning system in place and is currently in the process of identifying a successor who will continue the same level of exemplary leadership and member-centric focus that represents Advia’s current commitment to its membership, team, and communities served.
About Advia Credit Union
Advia Credit Union’s mission is to provide financial advantages to its members. With over $2.6 billion in assets, Advia seeks to provide quick and easy access to money and time-saving financial tools to nearly 190,000 members in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Advia’s team of over 500 professionals delivers excellent service and innovative products at 29 locations and via digital and mobile platforms. Advia is guided by its core values: driving progress, acting with integrity, building, and strengthening relationships, and keeping people at the core. Visit adviacu.org to learn more about how Advia provides Real Advantages for Real People™.