Diversified Members Credit Union (DMCU) in Detroit named Sati Smith as its CEO, making her the credit union’s first African American CEO and one of the few African American women in the U.S. to be in that role.
DMCU, formerly known as Detroit Municipal and Detroit Metropolitan Credit Union, opened its doors on Nov. 2, 1929, in the Lafayette Building on Michigan Avenue in Detroit. Only three days earlier, the nation experienced the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929.
“This a major accomplishment not only for me and my family, but for the entire community,” says Smith. “It sends a strong message to women and other minorities that we can break glass ceilings. We can accomplish what we want to accomplish. My sincere hope is that this will inspire others.”
DMCU has nearly 30,000 members, has $500 million in assets, and employs nearly 100 team members at its locations in Detroit, Clawson, and Novi. The credit union offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services, and a financial coaching program to meet its members’ varied needs.
As CEO, Smith will provide leadership and strategic vision for DMCU, working with the board of directors to ensure adherence to its community-based approach to financial services. She will provide oversight for DMCU’s operations, ensuring its services continue at a high standard, and its member-supported policies and procedures are properly implemented.
She will also play an integral role in developing future goals for DMCU that prioritize the continued support of its diverse membership.
“The foundation of DMCU is the many wonderful people that we serve,” says Smith. “We see our members as individuals with their own stories, struggles and triumphs. This approach has kept DMCU going strong for nearly a century and will continue to set us apart in the increasingly competitive financial landscape.”
Over the last 25 years, Smith has worked her way up from a teller with Kemba Financial Credit Union in 1998 to a data processing clerk, IT manager, branch manager, operations manager, and COO with DMCU. She openly shares her story of being a single mother on welfare who had not graduated from high school when she started her career.
While rising through the ranks and raising her daughter, Smith got a GED and put herself through college, earning a Bachelor of Social Work from Wayne State University and a Master of Arts from Ashland Theological Seminary.
Her daughter, now 31, works at DMCU as a loan processor.
Smith takes over the role of CEO from Kathie Trembath, her longtime mentor, who is retiring after 40-plus years in the credit union industry and nearly two decades with DCMU. Trembath will stay on as a consultant for the next several months.
DMCU also announced Michigan native Mark Evenson has been named DMCU’s new chief financial officer. Evenson is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti and Walsh college of accountancy with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in management and corporate finance. He previously served as chief financial officer for Cornerstone Community Financial in Auburn Hills and brings more than 18 years of experience to his new role
